Pickled Salmon and Avocado Cocktail

Pickled Salmon and Avocado Cocktail

Pickled Salmon and Avocado Cocktail

Pickled King Salmon, Avocado, Iceberg Lettuce, Sweet Onion, Jalapeño, Dill, Tabasco Sauce

Earlier, I shared my recipe for Pickled Salmon — silky pieces of king salmon cured in a tangy, aromatic brine. Here’s another way to enjoy it — cool and refreshing, layered with avocado and crisp lettuce in the style of a Mexican seafood cocktail.

A playful nod to the classic Mexican shrimp cocktail, this version swaps shrimp for buttery pickled salmon and lets the natural acidity of the brine do the work — rather than the lime juice used in the traditional version.

Served over a bed of crisp iceberg, the flavors build in layers — creamy avocado, mild sweet onion, a flicker of jalapeño heat, and fragrant dill. A drizzle of olive oil and a few dashes of Tabasco bring it all together.

Pickled Salmon and Avocado Cocktail

Ingredients
To Serve

Fill cocktail glasses halfway with shredded iceberg. Layer pickled salmon, avocado, onion, jalapeño, and dill over the lettuce. Spoon a bit of the pickling liquid over the top and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a few dashes of Tabasco. Offer sea salt, freshly ground pepper, and extra Tabasco on the side, along with your favorite chips or crackers — we like Milton’s crispy sea salt crackers for their satisfying crunch.

Pickled Salmon and Avocado Cocktail

Cool, briny, and full of contrast — it’s a refreshing twist on a classic where the salmon absolutely shines.

Pickled Salmon with Buttered Pumpernickel

Pickled Salmon with Butter Pumpernickel

Pickled Salmon with Buttered Pumpernickel

Pickled salmon is a study in balance — delicate yet bold, bright yet savory. Thick-cut king salmon steaks are trimmed into even chunks, salted, then gently poached until just set. The fish absorbs a fragrant brine of vinegar, shallot, dill, rosemary, and jalapeño, creating layers of flavor that are clean and complex. The texture remains tender but firm, each piece glistening in a lightly aromatic oil-and-vinegar marinade.

Served chilled with buttered pumpernickel, the pairing brings contrast and depth — the bread’s dark, slightly sweet notes underscore the salmon’s gentle acidity and herbal lift. Each bite captures the essence of coastal simplicity — clean, briny, and deeply satisfying.

Pickled Salmon with Butter Pumpernickel

Pickled Salmon Recipe

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Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon

Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon

Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon

The inspiration for this delicious dish comes from maeuntang, a spicy Korean fish stew.

Maeuntang is a flavorful and spicy stew that typically features a variety of seafood, tofu, vegetables. The broth is always seasoned with Korean red pepper flakes (gochugaru) and often red pepper paste (gochujang) plus other aromatic ingredients like garlic and ginger. It’s usually served with a side of rice.

This braised salmon dish takes on a creamy twist, blending Korean with French influences by incorporating unconventional elements such as butter, white wine, and heavy cream. Rather than serving it with rice on the side, the stew embraces a unique touch for the starch – mini potatoes braised directly within the broth.

Gochujang is a Korean red chili paste with sweet heat and a fermented umami richness. It is definitely spicy – but also has a balanced fruitiness, slight smokiness and depth of flavor from the sun-dried Korean red peppers.

It’s a heavenly pairing, marrying the freshness of the sea with the richness of a fiery, creamy broth. Each spoonful delivers a perfect balance of heat and richness. Potatoes and radish contribute not only to the stew’s visual appeal but also to its complexity of flavor. A sprinkling of parsley, scallion, and red chiles add fresh, colorful notes.

For a striking garnish, add a purple dendrobium orchid which is durable and has the ability to withstand varying temperatures without wilting, making it suitable for hot dishes. And while the orchid is considered safe for culinary purposes, here it is used for visual appeal rather than taste.

Creamy Gochujang Braised Salmon

Gochujang Braised Salmon Recipe

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Tiradito de Salmón con Rocoto

Tiradito de Salmón con Rocoto

Tiradito de Salmón

Rocoto Chile Emulsion, Sweet Potato, Radish, Avocado
Cilantro, Corn Nuts, Pickled Manzano Chile with Onion

Often referred to as a cousin of ceviche, Peruvian Tiradito boasts a unique identity characterized by thinly sliced raw fish, arranged and adorned with a zesty marinade, and a myriad of flavorful toppings.

Here the dish showcases Wild Alaska King Salmon infused with a citrusy lime rocoto chile emulsion. It is a colorful symphony of freshness and heat with creamy and crunchy notes.

Tiradito de Salmón con Rocoto

Receta de Tiradito de Salmón con Rocoto

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Crispy-Skin King Salmon is the Star

Crispy-Skin King Salmon

Crispy-Skin King Salmon
Israeli Couscous with Feta, Herbs, Tomatoes
Smoky Garbanzos

This is king salmon season, and the star of this mouthwatering, vibrant dish is Wild King Salmon from Alaska.

Wild Alaska king salmon are the gourmet’s salmon because of their large luscious flakes and high fat content — sometimes twice that of sockeye and coho. King salmon store this fat for their journey up North America’s longest river systems. When you eat wild Alaska king, you’re tasting the anticipation of this river journey in the fish’s flesh.

Like a well-marbled steak, this fat melts into the salmon, giving king salmon an unrivaled mouth feel. And remember, these are the good fats: the natural, marine-derived omega-3s that heart doctors celebrate. Because of this fat, king salmon is perfect for grilling and searing with just salt and pepper. King salmon needs little else.

In today’s dish, the salmon is first rubbed with an olive oil blend then simply seasoned with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. It is cooked until the skin is perfectly crisp and the flesh is just perfectly cooked through.

King Salmon Recipe

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