Cooler full of salmon? Here are some Alaskans’ best recipes and techniques

Fillet it, grill it, smoke it, cure it: We have plenty of ideas and tips.

By Julia O'Malley
Updated: July 22, 2022 Published: July 21, 2022

Salmon BLT (Photo by Julia O'Malley)

We’re smack in the center of an abundant salmon season in Southcentral, and lots of Alaskans have fresh fish on their hands. If you’re looking for help with your catch, we have video guides from locals on how to fillet and grill it, plus a step-by-step guide to smoking fish in an electric smoker and a gorgeous recipe for blueberry cured lox.

If you’re looking for a simple way to break out of your usual routine with fresh salmon, you might try sprinkling it with a different spice mixture than usual, like everything bagel seasoning. Kim Sunee also has a guide to quick grilled salmon toppers.

Ten out of 10 recommend grilling fresh salmon with salt and pepper and slipping it into a BLT, preferably with farmers market tomatoes and lettuce atop sourdough bread from Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop or your own kitchen. And, whether you smoke it or have leftover grilled fish, we can talk you through how to develop your own signature salmon dip.

Smoked salmon (Photo by Julia O'Malley)

Here are 10 recipes for your catch:

• Lazy-beautiful chive blossom salmon

• Pan-roasted fillets with green herb sauce

• Grilled salmon with savory compound butter

• Sugar-crusted salmon with mango-peach salsa

Broiled salmon with birch syrup glaze (Maya Wilson / Alaska from Scratch)

• Broiled salmon with birch syrup glaze

• Fresh salmon stacks

• Salmon with carrot-top pesto

• Saltine salmon

• Coconut-lime salmon

• Salmon lettuce wraps

Honey Sriracha salmon lettuce wraps (Maya Wilson / Alaska from Scratch)

Julia O'Malley

Anchorage-based Julia O'Malley is a former ADN reporter, columnist and editor. She received a James Beard national food writing award in 2018, and a collection of her work, "The Whale and the Cupcake: Stories of Subsistence, Longing, and Community in Alaska," was published in 2019. She's currently writer in residence at the Anchorage Museum.