As someone who grew up in a fishing village in Alaska, you would think seafood was always a staple and that I grew surrounded my parents who cooked incredible seafood dishes. Believe it or not I was the farthest thing from that. My family was not a fishing family. Both of my parents worked for the Forest Service. Seafood was definitely part of our diet and we did have crab, salmon, and whitefish on the menu at home fairly often. All of the recipes I grew up around were fairly basic. Breaded or beer battered halibut, classic salmon bakes with lots of dill, and steamed Dungeness crab from our crab pots.
As I got older I was interested in cooking, but never took on big dishes. I stuck with simpler items and never spent the time or was interested in learning the basics of cooking seafood from my family. The exceptions were Halibut Beer Bits and cooking Dungeness Crab. When I began working on fishing boats at the age of 15 I was immersed into a Seafood diet. Salmon and rice were common dinner items. My second year of fishing I was forced into being the cook. I was terrified!! I knew many of the basics when it came to cooking, but I did not know how to cook meals for a crew of 5 or whip of salmon or whitefish dishes. This was the definition of trial by fire. As horrible and embarrassing as this time was I am so thankful I went through it. It forced me learn how to cook large meals and how to get the basics down when it came to cooking seafood.
I cam to understand that most people have the same fear. They did not grow up around seafood and do not have the basic knowledge of how to prepare and cook it. I am not talking about the knowledge of crazy complicated and impressive recipes that you may find in a high end restaurant. I am talking about the ability to pull out a salmon fillet, thaw it, prepare it, and cook it without hesitation or fear. The ability to confidently cook salmon or other seafood at home is not a common trait in most US homes. I share with you our basic at home salmon recipe to show you what we are referring to. You will see how to thaw, quick and easy prep, and cook times. Ensuring you do not end up with overcooked and dry salmon, everyone’s fear!
Because of this we have created a lot of content around teaching you how to cook seafood. This can now be found in our first online cooking course, Seafood for Beginners. Seafood for Beginners is our first course where we walk you through every step to understand seafood in your home kitchen. Cooking seafood is not complicated, and our goal is to give you the basics to help you feel confident cooking seafood so you and your family can enjoy!
