Fish Frenzy!

There is a bit of a salmon frenzy going on in BC right now....the salmon run this year is the largest it has been since 1913! This means lots of salmon and at good prices! So I decided to join the throngs...and get me a salmon....a whole salmon! So I crept out of work on this terribly rainy day and headed down to Fisherman's Wharf on Granville Island to buy a salmon fresh off the boat. But when I got there they were sold out! So much for my idea that no one would go out on such a crappy day...but such was not the case. The nice fisherlady told me to come back on Saturday when they will sell line caught salmon...not sure what the difference is, but she seemed really keen so I said I would return then. I was not to be discouraged and headed to my favorite market fish monger to see what they had...knowing I would now be paying retail...but still hoping for a good deal. Success!
I found this guy...isn't he beautiful ? Just over 4lbs of Sockeye goodness. I wanted to try cutting up the salmon myself so I took him home whole, instead of getting the fish monger to filet him for me. Next time I will get them to do it...or make sure I have better ( sharper) knives at hand. I kind of butchered him but did get some filets out of him. I also ended up with a lot of good flesh still on the carcass....so I carefully shaved the bits off and decided to make salmon ceviche with them.

Next I placed the bones and head etc. into a large pot , covered it with cold water, added some onion, parsley, cracked pepper, garlic clove, bay leaf and a splash of wine and made salmon stock.And the filets? Apparently the best way to freeze them is to put them in a container ( ie plastic container) and cover them with cold water and freeze them. So I tried this...hopefully it works we shall see later after I defrost one of my salmon popsicle's.

Salmon and pineapple ceviche

Fresh salmon chunks or bits (bite sized)
red onion, diced
juice of 2 lemons
juice of one lime
fresh pineapple cut up into small dice ( slightly larger than the onion)
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
splash of Ponzu sauce
jalapeno pepper, tiny dice ( optional)

The amounts can vary depending on how much salmon you have and how big are the chunks. Just make sure there is enough juice to pretty much cover the salmon. Place everything in a plastic of glass bowl with a lid. Shake or mix it all up gently to make everything is coated. Place in the refrigerator ( mixing occasionally) for two to four hours... it depends on the size of the chunks and how you like your salmon. My salmon was so fresh that I only marinated for 1.5 hours.