Sockeye salmon has less omega-3 fats than King or Silver, and has the darkest red flesh of all. The texture is very firm and is often used for canning, but can still be grilled with excellent results. For grilling purposes, stay away from chum, pink, or humpbacked.

Atlantic —Wild Atlantic salmon are found north of Maine and into northern Europe. They are usually labeled Norwegian, Scottish, or Irish, although several European countries maintain fish hatcheries for the purpose of raising salmon. They usually have a lighter colored flesh and are more mildly flavored. The salmon labeled Atlantic in markets is a farm-raised fish produced everywhere from Chile to British Columbia.

Farm-raised Atlanti c — As noted earlier, Atlantic farm-raised salmon is the most prevalent on the market today. It allows salmon to be eaten year-round for a fraction of the cost of the wild variety. Just as there are differences in wild salmon, different regions farm raise salmon according to different methods.

Scotland is the leader in a naturally raised habitat salmon. The fisheries are ladder-stepped to reproduce the instinctive nature of the salmon to swim upstream from the ocean to the freshwater in which it was born. Other countries are paying closer attention to farming methods since criticisms were made about the red dye in the feed, meant to color the salmon flesh, as well as the breeding conditions and the effects they had on the fish.

Buy your salmon from markets with information on their products; they should be able to at least let you know the country of origin . Fish shipped from farms in Chile in plastic bags have been out of the water for a greater number of days than fresh fillets overnighted from British Columbia.

Salmon can be purchased as whole sides, fillets, or steaks . Salmon steaks fell out of favor when the market for fresh salmon increased. A center-cut fillet of salmon of 6 ounces is a reasonable size per person as an entrée. Restaurants serving salmon salads, tacos, and chowder can make use of the thinner tail portions, and home cooks can do the same. For grilling, the thicker pieces of salmon cook more evenly than tail pieces, which can cook too quickly and dry out.

Serving salmon skin on has gained some popularity, especially with wild fish. The skin gets naturally crispy as the fat is rendered from a slowly cooked piece of salmon. The skin can be easily removed after cooking—it sometimes sticks to the grill and slides right of f— or can be removed before grilling and cooked separately. Thinly sliced salmon skin crisps are a wonderful garnish for soups and salads.