Alaskan Greehorn Cookbook
The following recipes came from my work as a cook on a Purse Seine boat in Southeast Alaska.
Grilled Red with Orange Rice:
I came up with this idea after about the twentieth time I made salmon for dinner on the boat. "Red" is fisherman slang for a Sockeye Salmon. Sockeyes are plankton eaters, thus giving their flesh a brilliant - almost neon - red color.
Filet Sockeye leaving skin intact. Marinate in soy sauce and fresh ground ginger root for three to four sets (3-4 hours). If you are not on a fishing boat in Southeast Alaska then substitute appropriate act of tedium that will induce hunger. The fish will taste better if you do not skip this step. The old cook on the Elaine B from Lopez Island taught me the following trick and it works wonders on the fish. Fire up a barbecue grill, and when grill reaches temp, cover with two or three layers of lettuce. Place salmon skin down on bed of lettuce. Make sure to candy the top of the fish with the ginger root from the soy sauce mix. Cook until flaky on the outside, yet still red on the inside - don't worry it will not kill you. You should have also started steaming some rice about an hour ago, oops. Timing is everything when cooking on a fishing boat. Add a couple spoonfulls of homemade orange marmalade to rice and stir. Serve grilled Sockeye on a bed of rice.
Dock Flowers:
This appetizer came about one afternoon when looking for a way to use up some leftover salmon from last night's dinner. It turned out to be a crowd pleaser, and the skipper even asked for seconds. A "dock flower" is fisherman slang for any attractive female seen from the boat.
Garlic toast points with Sockeye Salmon spread, cream cheese, and red bell peppers. Filet, season, and bake Sockeye. Chill and flake with a fork, making sure to remove all pin bones. Add Old Bay seasoning and mayonnaise to taste, chill again. Spread butter and garlic on whole wheat bread and bake until crispy and brown, or if you are feeling lazy use Ritz crackers, the skipper likes those too. Spread cream cheese and salmon spread on toast points and top with julienne bell peppers.
The Odyssey Fried Rice:
A Hawaiian guy from the Odyssey, another Southeast Seine boat, taught me this dish while we were eating a raw Sockeye bathed in soy sauce and washed down with vodka. Some details may have been lost in the process, yet the boys back on the Elaine B still loved it.
Steam two cups of rice, more if the fellas are hungry, and even more if they are hungover and hungry. Fry six strips of bacon in large skillet or wok, chopping bacon into small pieces. Add a bunch of diced green onions to the bacon, and despite your cardiologist's best advice, do not remove the bacon grease. Add the rice to the bacon and onion mix and season to taste with soy sauce. Fry for a couple of minutes and then add a couple of handfulls of thinly-shaved salmon. Don't be cheap with it, we can catch more. Remove from heat after no more than a minute. Crack three eggs over top of the stir fry and stir gently before serving. If you must cook the eggs longer, go ahead, but remember that there are also raw eggs in good mayonnaise and Caesar dressing.
Smoked Dog Salad:
"Dog Salmon" or Chum Salmon as it is more properly known is excellent when smoked due to the natural oils in the fish. On the Elaine B we prepare a brine of equal parts brown sugar and salt and cure the fresh fish overnight. Air dry the brined fish, and smoke in Alder wood for six hours and cool. Anything that is not eaten by the fellas while the fish is supposed to be cooling can then be made into a "sissy" salad that no real fisherman would ever touch. I , however, thought it was good.
Prepare a vinaigrette beginning with red wine vinegar, fresh minced garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Whisk briskly and add an equal amount of olive oil as vinegar. Add fresh spinach or available greens, diced Granny Smith apples, chopped walnuts and dried cranberries. Toss in vinaigrette and crumble smoked salmon onto top of salad. Hope that you don't get beat up for "wasting good fish on a stupid salad."
Grilled Red with Orange Rice:
I came up with this idea after about the twentieth time I made salmon for dinner on the boat. "Red" is fisherman slang for a Sockeye Salmon. Sockeyes are plankton eaters, thus giving their flesh a brilliant - almost neon - red color.
Filet Sockeye leaving skin intact. Marinate in soy sauce and fresh ground ginger root for three to four sets (3-4 hours). If you are not on a fishing boat in Southeast Alaska then substitute appropriate act of tedium that will induce hunger. The fish will taste better if you do not skip this step. The old cook on the Elaine B from Lopez Island taught me the following trick and it works wonders on the fish. Fire up a barbecue grill, and when grill reaches temp, cover with two or three layers of lettuce. Place salmon skin down on bed of lettuce. Make sure to candy the top of the fish with the ginger root from the soy sauce mix. Cook until flaky on the outside, yet still red on the inside - don't worry it will not kill you. You should have also started steaming some rice about an hour ago, oops. Timing is everything when cooking on a fishing boat. Add a couple spoonfulls of homemade orange marmalade to rice and stir. Serve grilled Sockeye on a bed of rice.
Dock Flowers:
This appetizer came about one afternoon when looking for a way to use up some leftover salmon from last night's dinner. It turned out to be a crowd pleaser, and the skipper even asked for seconds. A "dock flower" is fisherman slang for any attractive female seen from the boat.
Garlic toast points with Sockeye Salmon spread, cream cheese, and red bell peppers. Filet, season, and bake Sockeye. Chill and flake with a fork, making sure to remove all pin bones. Add Old Bay seasoning and mayonnaise to taste, chill again. Spread butter and garlic on whole wheat bread and bake until crispy and brown, or if you are feeling lazy use Ritz crackers, the skipper likes those too. Spread cream cheese and salmon spread on toast points and top with julienne bell peppers.
The Odyssey Fried Rice:
A Hawaiian guy from the Odyssey, another Southeast Seine boat, taught me this dish while we were eating a raw Sockeye bathed in soy sauce and washed down with vodka. Some details may have been lost in the process, yet the boys back on the Elaine B still loved it.
Steam two cups of rice, more if the fellas are hungry, and even more if they are hungover and hungry. Fry six strips of bacon in large skillet or wok, chopping bacon into small pieces. Add a bunch of diced green onions to the bacon, and despite your cardiologist's best advice, do not remove the bacon grease. Add the rice to the bacon and onion mix and season to taste with soy sauce. Fry for a couple of minutes and then add a couple of handfulls of thinly-shaved salmon. Don't be cheap with it, we can catch more. Remove from heat after no more than a minute. Crack three eggs over top of the stir fry and stir gently before serving. If you must cook the eggs longer, go ahead, but remember that there are also raw eggs in good mayonnaise and Caesar dressing.
Smoked Dog Salad:
"Dog Salmon" or Chum Salmon as it is more properly known is excellent when smoked due to the natural oils in the fish. On the Elaine B we prepare a brine of equal parts brown sugar and salt and cure the fresh fish overnight. Air dry the brined fish, and smoke in Alder wood for six hours and cool. Anything that is not eaten by the fellas while the fish is supposed to be cooling can then be made into a "sissy" salad that no real fisherman would ever touch. I , however, thought it was good.
Prepare a vinaigrette beginning with red wine vinegar, fresh minced garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Whisk briskly and add an equal amount of olive oil as vinegar. Add fresh spinach or available greens, diced Granny Smith apples, chopped walnuts and dried cranberries. Toss in vinaigrette and crumble smoked salmon onto top of salad. Hope that you don't get beat up for "wasting good fish on a stupid salad."
posted by Yonder Vittles at 12:50 PM
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