On a vacation to the San Juan Islands with the family, we discovered that we could get incredibly good salmon for incredibly cheap. We quickly gave up attempting to eat anything else. We did basically this every night on the grill - salmon wrapped in foil with some butter, lemon, and whatever else we had laying around. With a crumble of blackberries the size of a small chicken egg for dessert. 15 years later, I still dream of those meals.
From one source the term smolt is defined as “a young salmon at the stage when it migrates from fresh water to the sea”. How do you take this definition and come up with your bullshit definition? Are you on some crusade against salmon (or seafood in general)?
On the topic of the OP, I have resided in Washington now for 8 years and have been the beneficiary of the incredible (and the relatively cheap) salmon coming out of Alaska and being somewhat of a self professed “food snob”, I will repeat the statement that the best salmon is done simply and with little adornment. The OP asked for a good recipe and I answered that in a very simple and straightforward manner!
Another plus of living here is the incredible Halibut that is now in season and this, IMO, is also best prepared simply by grilling with lemon, salt and pepper. The secret comes from knowing your equipment (grill or as mentioned above, your oven) and making appropriate adjustments.
Easiest recipe
Poach salmon in a mixture of half melted butter and half white wine with a healthy squeeze of lemon juice and any herbs you like (I like herbs de Provence). There should be just enough liquid to (almost) cover fish. Cover pot and simmer 5-15 minutes until done to your liking. This gives you great leftovers to use cold with your favorite dressing another day. My family Prefers this to broiled or sauteed and it is virtually impossible to screw up. Also, no stove to worry about.
Oven: Soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon and a bunch of ginger
Fry pan (steaks): Cook it straight from frozen with a little seasoning salt, flip it once. When it has thawed to the center it is done.
Grill: Cedar plank
The very best way to cook salmon is to dry brine it with brown sugar and canning salt, smoke it in alder, and then can it with a little chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. That’s what I do with just about every salmon I get.