This past month I got the opportunity to go with friends to Sweetheart Creek where there is a terminal hatchery sockeye salmon release. What this means is the fish are released to the wild as babies from this creek and they return to the exact spot. This particular creek ends in a steep waterfall and there is no place to spawn. That means that bears and humans alike come to catch and eat their fills! Per day each household can bring home 25 sockeye. This is a rather good amount of meat! For Dylan and I this is plenty to eat and share through winter. It takes about 3 days for us to process fully - because we were both working full time also. For three days all I did after work was deal with fish. This means gutting, filleting, vacuum sealing, smoking, then pressure cooking all happens to prepare fish for winter. After I fillet, I scrape the carcass was a spoon and collect any and all meat from the bones. We then salt this and keep it for curry. This year Dylan also used it to make lox for the first time! It turned out very tasty.
Guiness (cat) eyeing the fresh lox