Salmon isn’t a preferred fish of mine. I rarely order it as an entree, and I don’t think it deserves a place on my nigiri platter. There’s something about the mouth-feel and heavy flavor that turns me off, and there’s a lot of poor quality farmed salmon out there.
But when chopped up and mixed with other ingredients, I think everything balances out a bit more, and that unique buttery texture of the protein becomes a wonderful basis for a dip, rillete, or tartare.
Decatur Wine and Food Dude makes a stellar salmon rillette served with pita chips and cucumber slices.
Every table at Le Bernardin receives a “complimentary” creamy, delicious salmon terrine.
Perhaps the most iconic dish at The French Laundry are the salmon cornets (minced salmon with lemon oil and chives in a cone). made these last year.
They looked a bit more refined when I had them at Per Se last year.
With the onset of Alaskan salmon season a few weeks back, I went by Whole Foods to pick some of the good stuff out and give this fish another go. I asked which of the many salmon they had in stock would be best for a raw dish, and the fishmonger said “none of these”, and turned around and grabbed two vacuum packed filets from a freezer. It turns out Whole Foods carries some sushi grade fish that are not on display. Availability changes and quantities are limited, but the sushi grade stuff actually ended up being cheaper than the more expense Sockeye. It may not have had the wild and deep flavor of the Sockeye, but the sushi grade was firm and fresh and perfect for my intended use – Salmon Tartare.
It’s a Bon Appetit recipe (a magazine I think has improved since changing editors), and the recipe combines shallot, chives, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, and cucumber with chopped salmon to make a nice and cool summer starter, that looks pretty too. I’ll chop the salmon into smaller cubes when I make it again.
As a side note, we also started this meal with some caviar, and the standard chopped egg, onion, creme fraiche, etc. This paddle fish caviar is a steal at $20 an ounce from Caviar Star. It’s a reasonably affordable way (along with champagne of course) to get a little fancy at the start of a meal.
