Salmon Patties w/Russian Tartar Sauce

 Main ingredient: my 1/2 pound can of freshpack Copper River Sockeye with Jalapeno.  Tonight I made a quick dinner out of a can of salmon mixing 2 eggs & a cup of Panko into it.  Skin, oil & all.  Every last drop. 

I like making my tartar sauce homemade.  Went to the new 3 Bears out Knik-Goose Bay Rd. looking for pickles.  Must be the Alaska/Russian connection out there as I found Russian Style pickles that are great standing alone & excellent grated into Best Foods mayo for Russian Tartar Sauce.  Zer Gut!

This picture shows the reason I can Copper River Reds exclusively.  Look at all that oil in the can!  Copper River Sockeye (Reds) are the highest in Omega-3 fatty acids.  The Panko is used to soak it all up & the eggs to bind for patties, fritters or loaf at this point.

One can makes 3 adult size & 1 kid size pattie.  With quick white rice & steamed broccoli you got a fast, healthy mid-week meal. 

Salmon Pattie w/Russian Tartar Sauce

Copper River Reds in the Can

 All the stars lined up this past week & I was able to home can Copper River Reds!  I left the Kenai for good 10 days ago so when a friend came up with the best salmon in the world I had the time, equipment & know how to do a home pack.  But, it turned out my old electric can sealer did not work properly, so I went to my neighborhood Walmart & purchased a "hand cranker" can sealer for $200.  It works like a charm after I read the directions over & over.  Now I am confidant I won't kill anybody.

 My new Warthog Blade Sharpener made easy work of cutting up the sockeye.  The tough skin of the salmon dulls the knife after a few fillets.  Three swipes through the Warthog and I'm good to go.  No more struggling with dull knives!!!

First pack was a Freshpack with Jalapeno.

Second pack was a Freshpack with Ginger.

                               Copper River Reds are the perfect size for 1/2 lb flat salmon cans. 

 I turned my front entry way into a cannery.  Hooked up the stove to a bottle of propane & I was in business.

Jalapeno Freshpack Signed & Sealed

After the cans are sealed & cooled the next step is to make hand printed labels.  I code the can lids before I seal them with what kind of pack they are.  I know what they are but nobody else does until I stick the label on. 

Doesn't matter that this past week was the hottest days of the summer.  I got Copper River Reds in the can!

Not For Sale Brand

Moosketti. With italian sausage, mushrooms, black olives and garlic bread on the side.

Salmonberries

Salmonberries are so cool looking as they are not always the the same color picked from the same bushes. Look how big one salmonberry is next to the dime for size. Flash frozen then bagged for later days.

Someday My Fish Will Come

A buddy gave Mr. FishTaxi a Copper River King (upper bag in left corner) and two Copper River Reds (bottom bag). That was nice. Not enough to can, though. So we vacuumed-packed the fillets. Last couple paydays I've been buying a couple of cases of cans at $40.00 a case. I could handle 30 Copper River Reds right now. Well, anytime soon!

Ready for Reds

I'm really enjoying my new job hours. I like getting off work at 5pm and having weekends off. This weekend I don't have anything planned except "getting ready for reds." Washing floors, walls and shelves. All the coolers are cleaned and ice made. Propane bottle is full, water is running strong and my toy truck's gas tank is full. Filled it up today for $46.00.

Cases of salmon cans are 40 bucks at Carrs/Safeway in Valdez town this year. Thats empty, so a lot of folks are going to jars. The only thing I'm putting in jars this year is Fireweed Honey and Yardberry Jam. I'll stick with freshpack reds in the can.

Dinner last night was so good I had to take a picture of it. And today the Nanuq was gone.

Marylin's Fireweed Jelly

I'm going to give this a try this year. Fireweed even grows out of the cracks around here.

Marylin's Fireweed Jelly Recipe

When the fireweed is in full bloom its time to begin the process of putting away all the jams, jellies, and preserves for the long winter ahead. This jelly recipe imparts a nice distinctive flavor for those peanut butter sandwiches or steaming stack of hot cakes.


Pick,wash, and measure 8 cups of fireweed blossoms (flower part only!!)

Add 1/4 cup lemon juice and 4-1/2 cups water.

Boil 10 minutes and strain.

Take the strained juice and heat to lukewarm. Add 2 pkgs Sure Jell (or other powdered pectin) and bring to boil.

Add 5 cups sugar and bring to full boil.

Boil hard for 1 minute. Pour into hot clean jars and seal.

Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Good Cookin',

Marylin

AOJ's Fireweed Jelly Recipe

Lots of interesting recipes at the Alaska Outdoor Journal site above.

Marylin's Halibut Green Chile Dip will be tried soon!

Chive Talk

My wild chives are ready to dehydrate. Once they go to seed they can be bitter. That pretty purple flower is the first sign.

I covered the trays with wax paper and poked holes with a fork.

It takes about an hour and the house smells wonderful. Dehydrating chives is the way to go. They retain their shape, aroma and color nicely. After dehydrating I put them in ziplock freezer bags in the pantry.

In the meantime its fresh chive city. Sourcream and chives on baked potaotes. Chives in scrambled eggs. Chives in the salmon pies I'm making tomorrow. All the while dehydrating chives all weekend.