A few trips to Alaska made me a big fan of seasonal salmon fishing, something that long held a place on my bucket list. I spent several days on the Cooper River and really caught that fly-fishing bug. There’s a whole art to wading into an icy body of water to nab the salmon running upstream in between your legs.
(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)
My “mise en place” – check out my pink flamingo salt and pepper shakers!
“Fish on” is what you hear when people line up to do what’s known as combat fishing on the river. Come the end of June, that Alaskan sun seems to never go down and you can throw out lines until the midnight sunset. I learned a lot after my first impulsive rumpus in the waters. My friend, Dan Driscoll, and I came to the riverside spectacle totally unprepared. We were only able to rent tackle; no hip-boot waders were available, so we duct taped several layers of 55-gallon garbage bags about our feet and waded into the zone amid some very anxious people politely fly-fishing – spaced 40 feet apart on a crowded bank of the river is combat fishing at it most challenging.
We fell to that challenge and could only fish for about an hour because our feet became too painfully numb in the icy waters. I could barely walk out without falling over. Morons were we, born to be free, free like the fishes in the sea. We were spotted as easily as square pegs trying to fit into a round hole. The daily limit is three fish per person and our combined total was … two. But when thawed out, I started prepping those goodies at the cleaning station.
(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)
As raw as it gets is as good as it gets.
Tables are set up at the river’s edge to save folks from cleaning salmon at their campsites, inadvertently attracting grizzly bears – they love salmon, too. As I was “‘MasterChef’-ly” filleting the fish well enough to see through the bones, I indulged in some fresh salmon “sashimi” from the last little bits sliced off the head of the carcass.
As I snacked away, two very burly and confident Indigenous guys – Alutiiq and Tlingit peoples have sustainably fished salmon in these waters for more than 10,000 years – strolled up to the table and threw their full catch in front of me. One of them said with a somber yet surprisingly giggly tone, “We were watching you clowns fish and we think you need these more than we do.” Then they walked away smiling. I was smiling, too, because I was picturing myself in their eyes, looking desperately foolish in those improvised 55-gallon bags that were most definitely not Jimmy Choos.
In Alaska, I voraciously devoured as much salmon as I could and learned a few tips about cooking very thick steak-cut king salmon. Dan and I stopped at a local diner and I ordered the grilled king salmon steak for two days straight. The owner said Harrison Ford loved them, too. Those thick slabs were grilled to photo-worthy perfection and were precisely cooked inside. What was the secret?
(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)
Mix your marinade well.
Those grilled sides looked so sublime, with single grill marks. Yet I knew fillets that thick could be a bit raw when plated, if not double grilled on each side. Finally the chef told me he “nuked ’em” for 90 seconds to bring the inside temp up to meet the grill-side temps. How smart is that? I have tried that “secret” recipe on several fish since, but using it on salmon works best for me because of its oily – read healthy – quality. And the miso-marinated approach I’m divulging here is my own chef’s secret. Reminiscent of the miso black cod on the menu at NYC’s famed Nobu, it’s a decidedly tasty treat – why not serve it up to Mom for a meal that’ll definitely make her happy she had the patience to clean your diapers on the daily long, long ago?
When ticking off your ingredients list, please remember to shop with kindness and consideration for Mama Earth by selecting sustainably farmed or wild salmon. If you purchase an entire side with skin, bravo (if there ain’t no scales), because I’ve got an extra tip: Keep skins in the freezer until you’ve got a good amount gathered and then make my salmon “bacon.” I cut the skins into 2″- wide strips, anoint them with olive oil, applewood-smoked salt and some ground pepper, then quickly broil them to a crispy brown on both sides in between two wire resting racks (this way the skins won’t curl while cooking). Those savory strips go fast
(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)
No less than 24 hours in the fridge – remember to turn and shake often!
when the beer is flowing, and when your kitchen is filled with that aroma you’ll be smellin’ what I’m tellin’.
CHEF SID’S MISO-MARINATED SALMON SLIDERS
Yield: 8-10 sliders
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup miso paste, red or white
- 1/4 cup Mirin wine (it’s a sweet rice wine)
- 1/4 cup sake
- 2 tablespoons good soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey or brown sugar
- 2 pounds salmon, cut into 5″-6″ chunks that can fit on a small dinner roll
- 8-10 slider-size dinner rolls
- Microgreens or sprouts
- Mayo
(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)
Sauté first, bake later.
PREPARATION
- Heat oven to 410º F.
- In small saucepot, mix miso paste, Mirin wine, sake, soy sauce and honey or sugar until well combined, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat; set aside and allow to fully cool to room temperature. You do not(!) want to marinate with a hot/warm marinade.
- Dry salmon chunks with paper towels, place in a resealable bag and add marinade; remove as much air as possible from bag, then seal and place in refrigerator for at least 24 hours – 36 is better – and remember to rotate or flip the bag several times to make sure fish is well marinated.
- Remove salmon from bag, gently wipe off any extra fluid and reserve remaining marinade.
- Bring marinade to a boil to reduce, allowing it to thicken well; set aside.
- In sauté pan over medium heat, cook salmon about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on thickness and until edges start to show a touch – just a touch! – of sizzling opaqueness; carefully remove fish from pan and place in over-safe baking dish. Tip: Layering the bottom of the dish with thinly sliced lemons before placing the salmon lends the fish even more flavor.
(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)
A liberal brush with reduced marinade is a must before the second cook.
- Liberally brush salmon with reserved marinade (keep what’s left over after that), place in oven and bake 6-10 minutes, until sides of fish are just getting opaque; remove from oven and cool.
- To serve, split a slider roll, place a handful of microgreens or sprouts on the inside of the bottom half, place a chunk of salmon on top, and then top that with a schmear of mayo mixed with a bit of remaining marinade before placing the top half of the bun. Place on serving platter and repeat until all sliders have been assembled; garnish with lemon slices from the baking dish.
- I like to serve my sliders with a side of plantain chips or terra fries, and a generously poured bloody mary. And it’s Mother’s Day, so be festive – try adding a dollop of wasabi crab or salmon roe between the bun for a real treat.
Note: If you’re paying attention to the details of my images, that bloody mary has a slice of one of my pickles under the two-mating shrimp!
Sid Hoeltzell is an award-winning Miami-based commercial food and beverage photographer and former “MasterChef ” contestant. He has completed more than 450 commissioned works for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, teaches food photography seminars and is a preferred fine art photographer for Christie’s, Sotheby’s and private collections.
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(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)
Baking your glazed salmon on top of lemon slices adds more zest.
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(Sid Hoeltzell © Miami 2023)
Juicy, double-glazed goodness.