Processing salmon..

concealedG36

Well, I'm getting ready for my yearly trip up to a little fish market in Michigan's Upper Penninsula. There is this little "factory" where some Native Americans process salmon fresh out of the Great Lakes. For those of you who don't know, Indians are allowed to net certain amounts of fish each year (regular fisherman have a lot more restrictions). Anyway, they sell whole fish there for between 1 and 3 dollars each, and most of these fish are like 10-20 pounds each (they sell Coho and King salmon and also whitefish). That's a very good price seeing as how it costs over $10 a pound at the store. I usually get about 100 pounds of fish (or as much as I can fit into my 3 coolers) and I can it, cut it into steaks and fillet a few. I was wondering if any of you have other ideas for how I can process this salmon. I get so much I can barely eat it all by the time it starts to get freezer-burned. I love canning it, it lasts a long time. But, again, I'm just wondering what else I could do (smoking it maybe?).

NEEDCOLD

I always smoked mine. It is time consuming, but you can have a bit of fun experimenting with different flavors and brines and stuff.I'd usually end up giving away a good ammount to friends and family. There is only so much fish a guy can eat.Salmon steaks, salmon salad sandwiches, salmon on salad, salmon fillets, smoked salmon, grilled salmon,.........AAAAGGGGHHHHH!....salmon coming out of my ears!

218Beekeep

Boy,a guy could clean up,if he could buy a truck load of that,bring it south,smoke it in the back yard,and sell it at the gun shows!!I had an uncle who`s boys are in the shrimpin` bidness,they`d catch `em,he`d sell `em off the tail gate of his truck,along side the road. That was uncle Bubba Williams that sold the shrimp,not ta be confused with The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

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Will the last reb to leave flarda,please bring the flag?

DaRoosta

Smoking it is a great idea. I grew up salmon fishing in Oregon and my parents still go every weekend in the river when they're running. I talked to them last night and they caught 7 in the last 2 weekends. All of these fish were between 20 and 38 lbs. They basically have so much fish that our friends and relatives are sick of it, too.They invested in a FoodSaver. It's one of those vacuum sealers that takes all the air out and keeps it free from freezer burn for much longer. I guess it's the air that really causes the freezer burn, but I'm not an expert. They smoke it, poach it, bbq it, whatever. Then they put it in the FoodSaver and keep it for Christmas time when guests come over. Often times they give it as presents for unexpected company.In any case, I think if you were to get one of those handy little units (works good for game, too) you might be able to save all that fish and have it until the next fishing season rolls around.

laxcoach

Try freezing it in a container of water, i.e. milk carton. I've done this with bass, doves, grouse. ducks, turkey and goose fillets, and used it as long as two years later. Make sure the meat is completely immersed in water and the container is sealed.

barto

we just smoked 20 lbs.,it dont get no better than that.(actually, my wife did the smoking, i did the watching.)

concealedG36

That's what I was looking for, the FOODSAVER! I knew there had to be some way to keep the fish for longer than 3 months. Thanks for the tip! I think my dad might even have one of those things too! Also, I never get sick of salmon, I really like it. It's kind of like venison, I can eat it all the time. Also, thanks for the freezing tip laxcoach.Thanks[This message has been edited by concealedG36 (edited 10-02-2001).]

SXSMAN

Sounds like they might have alittle extra Salmon for others,any chance of you sharing the location of the town with the rest of us?Wife and I eat salmon a couple times a week,can't eat enough and it's good for you.Thanks ConcealedG36SXS[This message has been edited by SXSMAN (edited 10-04-2001).]

concealedG36

SXSMAN, the place is located in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan. I think the name of the town is Moran. You get to it by crossing the Mackinac Bridge and then heading North on U.S. 23. It'll be on the West side of the road within about 20 minutes of the bridge in a town that only has one other business that I can remember, a bar. Anyway, they have more fish than I've ever seen in one place at one time. I'm sure they will sell it to as many people as want to drive all the way up there. It's only about 2 hours North of my dad's property in the Southern Penninsula, and I'll be up there scouting my deer hunting area this weekend so it's not too far for me. p.s. I just bought a pressure cooker and my dad DOES have a foodsaver. So, I'll be eating good all winter long! Yeeehaaaa!

whiteclouder

I tried to smoke some but couldn't keep it lit. Sorry, couldn't resist.Used to fish off the OR coast at Garibaldi, back when you could catch enough to make it worth while. Smoked all of it.Clouder..

DaRoosta

Clouder - Garibaldi is very close to where my parents fish. They have a house on the Nehalem River. It's about 20 miles North of Garibaldi. They live in the Portland area and drive to the coast every weekend and have been doing that for the past 20 years. Didn't even have a phone down there for the first 10 or so. They've been catching fish like crazy this year. I just wish I was a little closer so they could share the wealth. I visited a few weeks ago and they gave me two smaller fish (8 and 12 lbs.). I brought them home and had a nice little BBQ with friends. Nothing beats fresh salmon.

whiteclouder

Roosta:I have a brother living in Forest Grove. We used to fish Newport, DePoe and as I said Garibaldi. Love to visit there.Clouder..

DaRoosta

Clouder - my sister lives in Forest Grove now. Nice area, but it's growing like crazy. Every time I visit, it seems to have new housing developments that keep getting closer and closer. They really like it and that's what matters.