Salmon - Pacific vs Atlantic?

[fitfool]

I had the good fortune of eating at Maneki in Seattle over the holidays. At first I was afraid I had chosen my meal poorly. I had a salad of tuna, amberjack, and avocado over a bed of spring mix greens. The fish would've tasted great had it not been for the ginger ponzu sauce that it was drowning in. Then I ordered the Maguro Namban which I had never heard of before. The description was that it was pieces of seared tuna coated in some kind of seasoning. I had envisioned a light sear on the outside and then still raw on the inside. It was nothing of the sort. It was cooked all the way through and just tasted like chicken. Big disappointment. I couldn't even bring myself to finish eating it. However! My friend had ordered the tekka don, slices of raw tuna over a bed of rice. And it tasted great. Since I was still hungry, I decided to get a little sushi and ordered 2 pieces of salmon and yellowtail. Just what I needed. Maneki went from being a disappointment to being my favorite sushi place. So much so that we went back the very next night. This time we headed straight for the sushi bar and indulged ourselves in the sashimi dinner that isn't listed on the menu (and what a bargain...just under $20 for 19 pieces plus tastes of salmon roe, flying fish eggs, and sea urchin) The sushi chef was friendly and answered all of our questions. He even shared a little snack he had made for himself of crispy salty fried eel backbone that was also amazing.

Now then...here's my question. The salmon that we got was a much deeper red than I'm used to seeing out here. It almost looked more like tuna than salmon. In Boston, I usually see the salmon as being various shades of orange. What accounts for the difference in look and taste? Was the salmon in Seattle a different kind of salmon? Is it Pacific versus Atlantic salmon? Wild-caught versus farm-raised? I don't know. But I really really liked the salmon at Maneki.

salmon in Seattle (that's yellowtail in front)



salmon in Boston (orange piece in upper right)


thread in food_porn

Comments

[gefiltebitch.livejournal.com]

yeah that's likely wild pacific salmon. you can tell from the darker colour and the smaller veins of fat.


i'm jealous, it looks fantastic :D

[kizlj.livejournal.com]

yep, that's the good stuff. it's definitely wild, probably king salmon. when Copper River season opens, it's practically a citywide holiday in Seattle.

[rum-pirate-sc.livejournal.com]

Those are the best days here... purrrr

[thunderslug.livejournal.com]

Plus, farm-raised salmon are fed to get that deep red color, as it's more appetizing. There's some debate on what it does to the nutrition, but *all* coldwater fish are pretty good for you.

[versimilitant.livejournal.com]

I believe all species of wild pacific salmon are out of season right now. It is wild caught from June through September. Most likely, whatever you ate was farmed or frozen.

Pacific salmon is not one species. There are, in order of fattiness, King, Coho, Sockeye and Chum. Atlantic salmon are a different species. IMO, the fattier Pacific species are tastier and much better for sushi. Atlantic wild caught is nothing to turn your nose at, though.

Yeah, I went to Alaska & visited a salmon fishery on Metlakatla. Could you tell? I ate so much salmon, I nearly turned pink.

[versimilitant.livejournal.com]

Oops, forgot Chinook salmon. Also, California and lower 48 fishing season is April/May to October , depending on species.

/foodie nerd and proud of it

[litlaur.livejournal.com]

This post only makes my sushi craving much stronger *drools*

I find that wild Pacific salmon has much more flavor and better texture (and, of course, deeper, sometimes almost ruby red color) than Atlantic farm-raised salmon. So far, Sockeye is my favorite, cooked or raw.

[annieeats]

I know higher quality salmon like Sockeye salmon is redder (and freaking delicious) and wild is also redder. Higher quality salmon tends to be used for sushi. From Cook's Illustrated:

Both raw and cooked, the wild salmon had a rich, rosy-pink hue, while the farmed salmon was lighter pink. Wild salmon attain their color by absorbing a carotenoid called astaxanthin from their krill-based diet, while farmed salmon eat fish feed supplemented with various sources of astaxanthin to enhance their grayish color. The feed is available in a variety of compositions, enabling fish farmers to select the precise pink to reddish hue of the flesh they'd like to sell (much like using a color swatch).

[alfaspider.livejournal.com]

That looks soooooooo gooooood.

after reading your post....I realized that....

[jessacord.livejournal.com]

It's lunch time....and I am going to get some sushi. I'd had a hankering for it anyway, but this just sealed it. :o)

[dg76.livejournal.com]

wild caught is usually deeper red than farm-raised HOWEVER... sometimes farm-raised is dyed to try to emulate that color.

i'm not sure about pacific vs. atlantic, or different breeds being different colors, i'd have to ask my fiance about that one (i'm positive we've had this conversation before)

[asifallforever.livejournal.com]

Hmmm batter that up and deep fry it with some french fries and a couple pieces of white bread and you got a really good meal!

[springsign.livejournal.com]

Oh, sushi! I miss it so!!! I want to eat my monitor now.

[fitfool.livejournal.com]

alas I am but a beginner as far as understanding ingredients. Your question might get more useful suggestions if you ask in the food_porn community (or maybe try cooking). The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is when using jalapenos, cut them in half and then remove the seeds and the inner walls since those parts are spicier. But even that might still be too spicy for you. Is it a matter of concentration? Could you dilute the chili by adding lots of other ingredients too so that the overall taste is very mild?