Hot smoked peppered sockeye salmon is your meal rotation’s new BFF. Whether you’re looking to jazz up your salads and bowls with instant umami, are craving a smoky punch in your favorite mains, or need flavorful protein in a pinch, hot smoked peppered sockeye might just be your go-to wild-caught catch.
Like cold smoked salmon — the translucent, jewel-toned ribbons of fish that adorn bagels and beyond — hot smoked salmon is also ready to eat, right out of the package.
Hot Smoked Salmon 101
While it might seem like a modern-day convenience to have ready-to-eat protein stocked in our refrigerators, we can thank generations of folks in Alaska for helping us to get salmon preservation right: Hot smoked peppered sockeye is our reinterpretation of an ancient culinary staple that got communities through long winters and lean times. Because much of the moisture has been smoked out of the fillet, it also has a longer shelf life than raw or cooked salmon.
Compared to cold smoked salmon (which is prepared using a significantly colder setup), hot smoked salmon takes on a completely different appearance and texture, opaque throughout and with a drier feel that’s more reminiscent of a cooked fillet. Naturally brined in salt and brown sugar, our hot smoked salmon is simply smoked over a mix of aromatic hardwoods at 180 degrees Fahrenheit until it develops a firm, meaty bite.
Instant Nutrition
Hot smoked sockeye has the same nutrients you’d expect from unpreserved sockeye. It’s rich in an antioxidant compound called astaxanthin, a keto-carotenoid that supports skin health, reducing inflammation and signs of aging so that you’re healthy inside and out. Sockeye is also loaded with heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D.
Did we mention that Wild Alaskan Company’s hot smoked salmon contains absolutely no artificial preservatives or additives? If you read the nutrition label closely, you may note that there are no added sugars - this is because the brown sugar is thoroughly rinsed off before the smoking process begins. Allowing the sugar cure to penetrate the salmon before rinsing it off helps maintain moisture, as well as adding a subtly sweet flavor.
Hot Smoked Peppered Salmon from Wild Alaskan
The only flourish we add to our fish is a generous coating of ground black pepper to give the fillets a pleasantly approachable heat that’s mild enough for everyone to love. Each slice of our hot smoked peppered salmon is a little sweet, a tad spiced, and seasoned with just the right amount of salt so that it’s literally ready to enjoy as soon as you pop it out of the pack.
Our hot smoked peppered sockeye comes in 8-ounce packages containing 8-10 hefty slices of smoked fish, or enough for about 4 servings of salmon.
How to Use Hot Smoked Peppered Salmon
When you’re ready to enjoy our hot smoked peppered salmon, defrost the entire 8-ounce pack in the refrigerator overnight and use it all up within 5 days of opening.
In our opinion, hot smoked salmon’s bold flavor and dense texture is best put to use when paired up with other components, but a slice of it also makes for a delicious, protein-packed snack that’s more tender than a slab of jerky. There’s no need to heat up the smoked salmon, unless you are making a snack or meal that you’d like warmed through.
To integrate hot smoked salmon into your favorite recipes, try flaking or dicing up a couple slices of hot smoked salmon straight into or onto many dishes you might otherwise make with seasoned leftovers: quiches, salads, tarts, noodle and rice bowls. You can even tuck a piece or two into a ball of onigiri or onto a BLT-like sandwich where a hearty sliver of protein completes the meal.
For more ideas, we’ve got you covered with a roundup of recipe ideas that will take you from morning to midnight snacks.
