Pink Year

speedbird · Jan 3, 2023

johnnyboy said:
Put them in the smoker.

I've shared smoked humpy with friends and they couldn't tell it was humpy. Although it might not matter because anything smoked tastes good though.

I thought this until I smoked a brightish Chum next to a small King. The King tasted great, the Chum tasted like smoked protein with no flavor.

I'm guessing Pinks meat quality evaporates as soon as they hit the freshwater? I took two dime brights last year, the hen was white meat while the male tasted identical despite being colored up

HauntedByWaters · Jan 4, 2023

Kashf said:
I thought this until I smoked a brightish Chum next to a small King. The King tasted great, the Chum tasted like smoked protein with no flavor.

I'm guessing Pinks meat quality evaporates as soon as they hit the freshwater? I took two dime brights last year, the hen was white meat while the male tasted identical despite being colored up

I use a teriyaki brine for chum and pinks to make up for this. I bring it to parties and don’t tell anyone and it’s eventually all gone so people like it when they don’t know. I smoked some bright sockeye one year and brought a side to a party and one guy hovered over it and ate it all in under 5 minutes. I’ve never been able to achieve the pinniped response like that from smoked chum or humpy but it’s still gone pretty quick.

JayB · Jan 4, 2023

I've always had very good results when I've combined bright fish + the careful handling described above + a dry brine (4:1 brown sugar : kosher salt + garlic) + smoking with alder.

Teriyaki glaze + cedar planking on the BBQ was also pretty decent. Not as good as king/coho/sockeye prepared the same way but tasty enough for everyone to finish off.

When I have the time to prepare it the ikura from pinks has been quite good. Great on eggs and for some reason my girls, who aren't generally adventurous eaters also like it.

Smalma · Jan 4, 2023

Salmon in general and pinks in particular are very fragile meats thus the better you take care of them the better the end product. My gold standard in treating any of my salmon is to immediately bleed them and have them gutted and on ice (and yes with pinks belly packed) within 5 minutes.

A fresh pink in the salt (one who is has easily shed scales) on the grill the day caught is excellent table fair. For the smoker I select the same fish or as a second choice one whose scales are just setting with little other sexual deformities (no green colorations or even the beginning of a hump on the males). The meat quality of pinks deteriorates quickly as they mature.

Once several decades ago 3 of us were fishing MA 10 at the end of July. As part of our limit catch we had an early pink, a resident coho and small Chinook that all were of similar size (all maturing fish of about 4.5#s). All the fish were treated as above and as an experiment I took those 3 fish home, immediately fileted them, placed them in a dry brine (salt only) over night, rinsed and sprinkled with a generous coat of brown sugar and smoked over hickory chips. I took care to ensure the pieces were the same size and kept the species separate. I took 3 number plates of the final product to work asking 6 fish snobs (very particular about their fish) to rank the 3 sample. All 6 ranked the coho last and 5 of the 6 (to their surprise) preferred the pinks. So yes, fresh pinks can be very good table fare

Curt

Nick Clayton · Jan 4, 2023

Put me in the camp of pinks being good eating as well.

Definitely important to take care of them properly, but I think they get a bad reputation. I think partly this stems from people not bleeding/gutting/icing immediately (its amazing watching people keep pinks and just toss them up on shore for hours before going home to clean them), people eating pinks that are quite mature and well into their freshwater stage, and quite frankly people just believing what they've been told/read and these things giving them pre conceived notions of what is "better".

I'll also add that pickled pink is fantastic.
@Bagman Got me into that years ago and it is one of my absolute favorite ways to eat salmon. I prefer it over smoked.

Chucker · Jan 4, 2023

Kashf said:
I thought this until I smoked a brightish Chum next to a small King. The King tasted great, the Chum tasted like smoked protein with no flavor.

I'm guessing Pinks meat quality evaporates as soon as they hit the freshwater? I took two dime brights last year, the hen was white meat while the male tasted identical despite being colored up

Pink salmon have enzymes in their flesh that break down proteins, in far higher amounts than other salmon. These enzymes are active at the temperatures of the water that pinks are normally caught in, so they start breaking down the meat as soon as the fish is killed. The only way to slow this down is to reduce the temperature as soon as you can - hence the advice to bleed, gut and ice as soon as possible. The best way to do it is in an ice slurry for a few minutes, then onto ice in a cooler. Even half an hour at 60 degrees or so makes a noticeable difference.

I always salt pink fillets before grilling them (heavy salt for half an hour or so then rinse off excess). It helps. I have also done the salt crusted whole fish thing with pinks, and had people rave about it. If I catch any fresh early season pinks this year, they will certainly make their way to the table!

Herkileez · Jan 4, 2023

IMO pinks are the mildest tasting of the 5 west coast salmon species. They also seem to take on the flavour of whatever sauce/seasoning they're cooked in. I prefer them, and chum, as the best smoked as well. For smoking, I use a basic EZ cure brine overnight (but with amount of salt 1/2 'd ) rinse, pat dry, then baste with maple syrup ( I'm Canadian, eh?) before smoking.
We use this on it's own, or added to alfredo sauce over fettuccine noodles..the best!!

JayB · Jan 4, 2023

Chucker said:
Pink salmon have enzymes in their flesh that break down proteins, in far higher amounts than other salmon. These enzymes are active at the temperatures of the water that pinks are normally caught in, so they start breaking down the meat as soon as the fish is killed. The only way to slow this down is to reduce the temperature as soon as you can - hence the advice to bleed, gut and ice as soon as possible. The best way to do it is in an ice slurry for a few minutes, then onto ice in a cooler. Even half an hour at 60 degrees or so makes a noticeable difference.

I always salt pink fillets before grilling them (heavy salt for half an hour or so then rinse off excess). It helps. I have also done the salt crusted whole fish thing with pinks, and had people rave about it. If I catch any fresh early season pinks this year, they will certainly make their way to the table!

May sound like a silly question since it sounds self-explanatory but can you explain the "salt crusted whole fish thing" in a bit more detail?

Chucker · Jan 4, 2023

JayB said:
May sound like a silly question since it sounds self-explanatory but can you explain the "salt crusted whole fish thing" in a bit more detail?

This explains it; https://www.seriouseats.com/salt-baked-whole-fish-with-fresh-herbs-5212108

I have done it on the grill too, with not quite as much salt, enough to make a 1/4” crust or thereabouts. Humpy slime helps make the salt stick!

Millsfly · Jan 4, 2023

G_Smolt said:
View attachment 48431
Throwback to 2013, when I was a clean-shaven humpy pimp and we got about 70 million pinks back to Northern SouthEast Inside waters. Forget doubles and triples...septets were all the rage (octets, actually - the photographer (Matt Smythe) had a fish on while taking this pic).

I'm a firm believer in the humpy. They're the gateway drug of anadromous fly angling.
#humpiespaythebills #pinksaresalmontoo

i see a Hal Herring in that photo. what a dude...

G_Smolt · Jan 4, 2023

Millsfly said:
i see a Hal Herring in that photo. what a dude...

Heck yeah. Hal is a great fella...lots of good discussions that week.

Bonus points if you can name all the folks in the pic. Double bonus if you can get them in order!

Josh · Jan 4, 2023

Smalma said:
Given the historic flooding on the upper Skagit, the Nooksack and Fraser (BC) there will likely be significant conservation concerns on pinks returning to those basins.

I'm actually pretty bummed about this.

Divad · Jan 4, 2023

Josh said:
Will this be the year I actually make an effort on doing some pink fishing? WHO CAN SAY?

I promise you don’t have to put in much effort, it’s a beer or 4 game

Millsfly · Jan 5, 2023

G_Smolt said:
View attachment 48431
Throwback to 2013, when I was a clean-shaven humpy pimp and we got about 70 million pinks back to Northern SouthEast Inside waters. Forget doubles and triples...septets were all the rage (octets, actually - the photographer (Matt Smythe) had a fish on while taking this pic).

I'm a firm believer in the humpy. They're the gateway drug of anadromous fly angling.
#humpiespaythebills #pinksaresalmontoo

Alright I'll try

1. Chris hunt. 2. Degen Guide from AK who works for TU. 3. No clue. 4. Duda. 5. Herring. 6. Harper 7. Crump.

I know some are wrong...