The Grover’s Creek Salmon Hatchery, (Suquamish Tribal), off Indianola Road, Kitsap County WA, is giving away free Chum Salmon to anyone who would like them to smoke or use. These salmon have had their eggs stripped for the hatchery.
They also welcome volunteers for the stipping process, Mon. Wed. and Friday. You can all them at: 360-598-3142
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
Post-stripped hatchery chums? Doesn’t sound too appetizing to me but at least they’re not wasting them.
-John
Seem like they should just throw them into the river to add some food source to our sterile rivers here in Washinton state. This would give the baby Salmon in the river something to feed on when they hatch.
Even a catch and released fish if it dies gives something back to the world in its flesh.
Since this is the tribal hatchery, I’m sure a proper amount of salmon are returned to the stream. I had a report last night from one of the volunteers who helps out there who did take a couple of fish to smoke and he said they came out great. A note 'tho, if you are going to keep any chum, the males are much better for smoking since the flesh on the females is soft (all the energy goes into making eggs.)
For those who don’t know about the Pacific Salmon, they all die after spawning, unlike the Atlantics or steelhead which go back out to sea for another cycle.
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
On the Rez near the river where I used to fish there was a native who smoked hundreds of salmon every year . He had a 10ft x 14 ft smokehouse and turned out the best smoked fish you ever tasted . The deal was if you brought him 2 fish he would give you one backed smoked . Heck of a deal . The first time I went to him with fish I picked the best 6 nice bright silver chums .(the limit was 6 per day in the 1960s ) He didn’t want them , He said the ones to bring were the darker males . More natural oils and way better flavoring when smoked . So those chums might be just what you want for smoking .
A yupik eskimo buddy of mine buries salmon heads under ground for about a month and lets them ferment and then eats them. Calls them stinkhead. Another one makes “eskimo ice cream” from a combination of coagulated seal fat, blueberries, and sugar. Based upon those recipes I’m not ever taking food advice from my native american friends!
Give me a bright chum with sea lice and I’ll eat it - smoked or unsmoked it’s a great meal. But once they’ve been in the river more than a few days the meat turns to jello. Sorry but after all the spawning-ravaged chums I’ve seen in my life I can’t get excited about smoking up some post-stripped chums. I am certainly glad however there are those out there who are, more power to you! And if you want I can get my Yupik buddy to forward his stinkhead recipe, too.
Best,
-John
JC,
I agree the males do seem to hold up a lot better. That works out great, too, letting the hens go preserves the future generations.
Best,
-John
I tried smoking a salmon once back in the 70’s…
It made the papers soggy, it was hard to keep lit, and it tasted funny.
I’ll never try that again.
Ken
“The memory of a fisherman is more like fiction than journalism, that is, it doesn’t ignore the facts, but it is not entirely bound by them, either.”
John Gierach