Norwegian farmed salmon

[Jenise]

Long long ago, when we first met, Bob and I ate a lot more salmon than we do now. What we fell in love with was Norwegian farmed salmon. Mild, never fishy or strong tasting, with attractive fat lines. Used to get it, when they had it, at Bristol Farms. I hate strong, fishy fish.

And most salmon tastes kind of strong to me. It didn't in Alaska when it was pristeen fresh, but since I left Alaska I've gone back to only eating it on rare occasions. Even here, where we get it wild. Most of the time, it's just a bit too strong.

So a few days ago at Trader Joe's I saw something new: Norwegian Farmed Salmon. Very pale, with the distinctive fat lines I remember. TJ's doesn't usually carry fresh fish, but this salmon is cut into pieces and somehow cryovacced. I would normally avoid pre-packaged fish like the plague, but caved on this because of the Norwegian thing and prepared it last night.

OMG. SO good. It's exactly what I remember. Not a trace of fishiness, tastes freshly caught. We'll be eating more salmon!

Well, I think all Atlantic salmon is milder than any of the Pacific varieties (king/chinook, coho, sockeye etc). I've never really seem a taste difference between Norweigan vs say Faroe Islands/Scottish, Canadian, etc. I tend to buy farmed salmon with noted source and no antibiotics (and therefore never buy Chilean) . But as long as fresh, most Atlantic tastes the same (and is paler with fat lines).
Maybe you just mosrly see Pacific species.

[Jenise]

Well, I think all Atlantic salmon is milder than any of the Pacific varieties (king/chinook, coho, sockeye etc). I've never really seem a taste difference between Norweigan vs say Faroe Islands/Scottish, Canadian, etc. I tend to buy farmed salmon with noted source and no antibiotics (and therefore never buy Chilean) . But as long as fresh, most Atlantic tastes the same (and is paler with fat lines).
Maybe you just mosrly see Pacific species.

Probably do--Costco carries very pretty farmed Atlantic salmon. But I never buy it because I can't deal with the quantity.

The Francophile and I are fond of salmon and have it every couple of weeks. It's always farmed salmon, from Tasmania. The fish are, as I understand it, Atlantic salmon. Fishmongers always have it on hand, fresh, and our butcher down at the village shops sells cryopacked salmon fillets.

I'm with you, Jenise: I don't like strong tasting "fishy" fish either. The taste of Tasmanian salmon manages to be rich without being overpowering or "fishy".

The Francophile usually gets the job of cooking it, because he's perfected the way of getting a nice brown toasty crust on both sides of the fillet without drying it out in the middle.

BTW is it the fashion in American restaurants to serve salmon underdone, so it's barely going opaque in the middle? We get that a lot here - maybe a bit less now than 10 years ago, thank goodness. I can't stand underdone fish.

Yes, Tillie, underdone fish is the usual here.

I suppose I have to speak up for fish with vigorous flavor. Not flavors of spoilage, of course, but naturally oily fish: mackerel, sardine, bluefish (=>barramundi), even The Dreaded Anchovy. These are fish that support strong preps. Try bluefish with mustard sauce, mackerel in tomato sauce, sardine grilled over charcoal (makes quite a flame!).

Works well with the sturdiest white wines in your cellar, too.

[Jenise]

What Jeff said. I love sushi, yet I don't like my salmon rare. Mostly because the undercooked part doesn't taste as good to me as the cooked part, but of course I don't like it overdone either. Just get it opaque, and we're good.