Cooler full of salmon? Here are 13 Alaska recipes, plus tips for maximizing your catch

Lots of Alaskans are headed out fishing this weekend in Southcentral. If your cooler’s full and you’re looking for help with your catch, we have video guides from locals on how to fillet and grill it, plus a step-by-step guide to smoking fish in an electric smoker and a gorgeous recipe for blueberry cured lox.

If you’re looking for a simple way to break out of your routine with grilled salmon, you might try sprinkling it with a different spice mixture like everything bagel seasoning and lemon zest. Or try slathering it with a 50/50 mixture of Kewpie mayo and chili crisp. Kim Sunee also has a guide to quick grilled salmon toppers, or try whipping up some savory compound butter with dill or Mr. Yoshida’s sauce to keep on hand for a quick flavor boost.

Ten out of 10 recommend grilled fresh salmon on a BLT, preferably with farmers market tomatoes and lettuce atop sourdough bread from Fire Island Rustic Bakeshop or your own kitchen. And, whether you smoke it or have leftover grilled fish, we can talk you through how to develop your own signature salmon dip.

If you’re worried about parasites, which are more common than they used to be, you should use a thermometer and pull salmon from the heat when it reaches 135 degrees Fahrenheit. Its temperature should continue to climb to 145, which is the temperature that kills worms. (Many Alaskans like to take their chances with rarer fish, taking it from the heat at about 110 degrees and letting it climb to 120.) If you’re making lox, freezing the fish for a week after curing should take care of any extra guests. You can also make lox with frozen salmon, though some chefs prefer to cure it fresh, because the freeze changes the way the fish absorbs the brine.

Here are 13 excellent recipes for your summer catch:

1. Broiled salmon with birch syrup glaze

2. Chef Beau Schooler’s citrusy gin lox

3. Salmon skin sushi rolls

4. Beet and pomegranate cured salmon

5. Salted crispy-skin salmon

6. Turmeric roasted salmon

7. Sugar-crusted salmon with mango-peach salsa

8. Beau Schooler’s smoky salmon cakes with ranchovy sauce

9. Lazy-beautiful chive blossom salmon

10. Pan-roasted fillets with green herb sauce

11. Fresh salmon stacks

12. Coconut-lime salmon

13. Salmon lettuce wraps