Ling Cod is awesome. They’re the staple of CA party boats (fishing). Don’t try to grab them by the mouth; you’ve got to do it by the eyesockets. (Like Muskies, I understand) Or use a gaff. Delicious. Some of my favorite childhood memories have to do with going out unGodly early and fishing for ling cod and rock fish.
I’m envious of you** Randy**. My sister sent me a salmon from Seattle 15 years ago for a get-together, and it’s still a prized memory.
Only if you are going to keep the fish. But if you plan on releasing a pike or other toothy fish, you’re not supposed to grab by the eyes because it can blind them. You’re supposed to hold by the gill flaps instead.
Sounds like its packed in that heavy duty vacuum plastic (kinda like what you find bacon packaged in). Thats how mine was packed and it appears to keep fine. You do want to store it in the freezer in a way that the bags don’t get jostled around every time you go to get something out causing you to wear holes in bags resulting in freezer burn. Put it smaller cardboard boxes or other containers so its not in one big a pile that slides around/falls down. Or throw some cardboard or paper towels between the layers of packages.
Salmon on WASA crackers with cream cheese and dill is always good. As is the cooking on the cedar planking. If you make your own salmon sushi rolls that can be fun and easy and a little salmon goes a long way there. I keep thinking I am going to deep fry some salmon someday.
Halibut is good fried. Try making a large fraction (something like a third) of your flour/cornmeal coating finely grated parmesan cheese. Some other cheeses might work here too. Maybe try some of those cajun mixes in the coating mix to spice it up a bit (don’t use the ones that are mostly salt). I like the halibut fried up as little chunks because to me its a little on the dry side and with the smaller chunks I can counteract the dryness with a dipping sauce. Maybe stuff the halibut and cook it with strips of bacon on top.
Whatever you do, don’t overcook your seafood. Second rate not so fresh seafood generally benifits IMO from being a bit overcooked. But thats a mortal sin with good fresh stuff like salmon and halibut.
You should be able to have one nice fish meal a week for year. Then, next year when you run out, send your woman back up there to get you more 
If you’re making the traditional gravlax with dill (MUST be fresh, the dried variety just can’t fix it, and lots of it), stay off the aquavit. Use cognac or something similar. And just a shot, the fish shouldn’t swim in it.
If you use aquavit, swap the dill with caraway seeds, and perhaps some coriander and fennel.
You can also use gin, then you’ll want to use some crushed juniper berries instead of dill.
Yup. With fresh boiled potatoes and a mustard sauce made from Swedish mustard (the American, French or English varieties are a little bit too sharp), egg yolk, oil and sugar. Kinda slightly mayonnaise-like. And lots of dill.
Here’s the gravlax recipe I use. Basically, just go all the way up until cold smoking part. At that point, you have gravlax. And, yes, it was rum being used as the alcohol. For some reason, I thought it was aquavit, but I may be confusing it with another gravlax recipe I’ve seen.
I use less of the sugar-salt mixture (just a thin layer on each side, otherwise you get cured salmon instead of gravlax, IMO. Those are totally different things.) and lay the fillets against each other, skin side out. I also use a lot more dill and just a little bit of ground pepper (no other spices) and I prefer Cognac or another grape brandy, since rum has just a little bit too much flavor for my tastes.
You can control the texture of the fish by the salt/sugar ratio. My starting point is 1:1. More sugar and it becomes softer, more salt and it becomes firmer.
You can also grill gravlax, it makes for an interesting variety.
On a totally unrelated note, it’s also possible to make grav-meat. Use beef or venison fillet instead of salmon, and use more pepper instead of dill.
Yes, yes, yes on the FRESH dill when it comes to these things. Kill a nun if you must to get fresh dill when a recipe (particularly a salmon one) calls for dill.
Cool. I’ll give it a shot with your method next time I get around to doing it.
I see an aquatic Turducken in someone’s future.
This sounds good. Will have to try that with my salmon supply. Though I don’t think I can go to the trouble of the cold smoking part (I do have some that was professionally cold smoked).
Would using brown sugar rather than regular sugar impart a “smoky” sort of taste to the salmon?
Not unless the sugar is smoked 
I normally use Demerara sugar, I believe it gives a fuller, more rounded flavor to the gravlax. And if you smoke it, it ceases to be gravlax and turns into marinated smoked salmon 
To revisit the recipe that pulykamell linked to, the finished product looks more cured than “grav” to me. Gravlax, as it’s made in Scandinavia, has a smooth, fairly soft texture to it, this looks half cured. Not that there’s anything wrong with that (de gustibus etc.), but it’s not what I’m used to having. I don’t know if the writer uses too much of the salt/sugar mixture, or if the salmon is cured/marinated for too long time (I limit the curing time to some 3-4 days, at somewhere between fridge and cellar temperature).
And don’t forget that the gravlax ought to be frozen for minimum 24 hours before you eat it, either before or after curing. Sometimes the salmon is infedted with a tiny roundworm that may give you stomach trouble, but freezing effectively kills it.
Funny. But thats why I put the “smokey” in quotes. Brown sugar has a distinctly different taste than white sugar. Ever tried that or know anyone who has?
Lingsnapbutt?
Well, to be fair, that’s a recipe for smoked salmon, but I just stop before the smoking part. Perhaps “gravlax” is not the right description for what it is at that point. Maybe “cured” is. (But gravlax is cured, just not as much.) You’re right, though. Done according to that recipe, the cured salmon has a somewhat dense texture to it.
'pends on what you mean by “brown”:
Demerara sugar is natural brown sugar. But I’ve never used the cheap stuff, which is white sugar colored and flavored with molasses.
As I said earlier: De gustibus etc. 
Along with the crabs?
Here is what you do with the salmon. Mix up some dill, butter, garlic, and salt and rub down a salmon fillet with that. Wrap it in tinfoil and cook it about 15 minutes per inch thickness. 5 minutes or so before it is done glaze it with a mixture of brown sugar and Grand Marnier. Unwrap the tinfoil and cook 5 to 10 minutes.
So yummy.
Grilled teriyaki salmon is also quite yummy
Oh man. Living up there in the USA/Canada near the wild sure does have its advantages. My mouth waters at the idea of such prize fish prepared with such care (like in the smoking recepy Lynn linked to.
Here in densely populated Netherlands, the most I can get hunting gathering is blackberry preserve (from beside the train tracks)and soup of stinging nettles (any road side). And giant puffball (any over manured meadow)
Salmon has the high levels of that good vitamin, I think tilapia tastes better (really no taste, but not too fishy) but has almost none of the heart healthy chemical.
Steamed on bread / toast, an acquired taste.