WA Salmon

While best known as a recreational sports fish, WA Salmon is now enjoying growing appeal as a gourmet species with a moist, meaty flesh and excellent health benefits due to its lean meat. It also boasts a relatively oily flesh which provides high Omega-3 content, making it a healthy eating option. Preparation is key to ensuring the fish is at its best, so the best tasting fish are prepared from the moment they are caught to ensure the flesh stays tender and unstressed. WA Salmon has a stronger taste than some other fish species and are sensational in a seafood curry, or can be easily baked or roasted.

Don Hancey’s Cooking Tip
With a sustainable fishery, WA salmon is an under-utilised species that is healthy and plentiful. My favourite way to respect this fish is to make WA salmon fish cakes. Get the kids involved to help prepare and lightly crumb the fish cakes and then shallow fry. Marinated cooked salmon is available in tins and is the hero ingredient in fish cakes. Add whatever you like to the mix including onion, carrot, dill, cooked smashed potato, lots of chopped parsley, salt, pepper, egg, a handful of breadcrumbs and a squirt of lemon juice. Kids love making them into little patties (can be a little messy). Flour and crumb, lightly fry and serve as is or with a lemon flavoured mayo (use kewpie if you don’t feel like making your own).

Experience
The annual autumn salmon run attracts many visitors to the southwest region each year. At this time of year, the region offers fishing competitions, camps and classes to celebrate the salmon run. You can try freshly caught WA salmon at many of the southwest’s local restaurants and buy fresh or frozen fillets at local seafood retailers and fishmongers.