Fresh Copper River Salmon - Grizzly-Worthy from Alaska

I was SO EXCITED to see fresh Copper River Sockeye Salmon finally hit our market this weekend! 

Sockeye is the sirloin of salmon, premier from the Copper River in Alaska - very firm and meaty and with a deep red color, and when it's fresh and available, it's a true treat here at my house.

Trouble was, what favorite recipe to use for this delectable treat?  I had picked up two very large pieces of fish, so I ended up making our three favorite recipes, all of which are posted here today. 

All three variations were perfect...and just as they differ from each other, everyone in the house had a different favorite, but it sure was nice to be able to have a small piece of each one for a comparison - better than the finest seafood restaurant!

Salmon is wonderful cooked on cedar planks on the grill.  It's also very easy to bake the salmon and prepare for the different glazes - I place mine in a large flat roaster pan, skin side down, and then add our favorite white wine to the pan, pouring until it is about 1/2" deep around the fresh salmon.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes per inch of thickness, and it will be flaky, moist and wonderful.  If you use a metal spatula to cut thru the fillets or steaks, you can easily slide the spatula under the cooked salmon and lift it out to your serving plates, leaving the cooked skin in the pan and out of site.  Whichever is your cooking preference, you won't be disappointed!

After a day spent at the lake waterskiing, this was a quick and wonderful dinner to pull together.  Happy tummies tonight!  Let me know which is your favorite!