The Seafood Lover’s Guide to Wild Salmon: How to Tame the King of the Waters

Posted on in our Seafood Blog

Wild salmon are caught in environments right in nature and feed on a diet of plankton and other small fish. This includes rivers, lakes, and oceans. Wild salmon only eat organisms that are found in their natural environment!

Around half of the salmon that’s sold around the globe comes from a fish farm. They use a process that’s called aquaculture that breeds salmon for human consumption. These types of salmon are given high-fat and processed feed to produce bigger fish.

Since farmed salmon eat different things than wild salmon do, their nutritional value is different. A 1/2 fillet of wild salmon has around 281 calories. The same amount of farmed salmon has about 412 calories.

Farmed salmon also has higher grams of fat and saturated fat. Wild salmon has higher amounts of minerals, including zinc, iron, and potassium, and most importantly, the omega-3 fatty acids that our bodies cannot produce by itself so we need to get this fat from our food source!

The Different Wild Salmon Varieties

There are a few different types of wild salmon varieties available. Each has its own specific characteristics and flavors.

King Salmon

King Salmon is rich, buttery, and big. An average King Salmon can weigh up to 100 pounds, making it the king of all salmon.

Since it’s so large, King Salmon comes in thick fish fillets. This fish holds up well when grilled, so you don’t have to worry about it flaking apart when you try to flip it.

Sockeye Salmon

Another seafood species is Sockeye Salmon. They’re known for having bright red flesh and a bold scent. They have the most flavor out of all the salmon species.

They’re also smaller than King Salmon and not as fatty. A full-grown Sockeye Salmon can get up to 15 pounds. It’s also less expensive than King Salmon.

Coho Salmon

Coho Salmon has a medium amount of fat, falling below King Salmon. The average Coho Salmon can get up to 24 pounds. It has a mild flavor that’s more subtle than other types of salmon.

Pink Salmon

Pink Salmon isn’t as popular as some of the other varieties of the fish. It’s the smallest out of all of the Pacific salmon, getting up to three pounds. It’s also rare to find Pink Salmon to buy since it’s usually sent to canneries.

Pink Salmon has a delicate flavor, light pink flesh, and tender texture. It’s a great choice for salads or salmon cakes.

Chum Salmon

Another small and low-fat salmon, Chum Salmon, is popular because of its roe. Have you seen the fluorescent orange balls that you get with your sushi? Those come from Chum Salmon.

The Best Wild Salmon Recipe

Looking for the best way to cook wild salmon? Look no further than our recipe page! You can find our favorite methods of preparation here: Visit Our Recipe Page

Purchase Wild Salmon Today

The next time you get a hankering for salmon, don’t resort to going to your local grocery store. The best place to find that is at Wild Alaska Salmon & Seafood.

Visit our online store to see what salmon we have available.