Cooking For Engineers

[Dilbert]

Artic Char (Salvelinus alpinus) is in the salmon family - although some science indicates it is closer to a trout. similar situation as the steelhead....

appearance is quite the same - the skin is slightly different. taste & aroma are near indistinguishable from the other salmons - however the flesh is noticeable more tender. if salmon is even slightly overcooked the flesh gets firm...even the thin sections of these filets stay very moist and tender. note this is a fall wild catch - which does have more fat&moisture than either farmed or wild harvested at other times of the year.

I got the whole fish - fresh, never frozen. the fishmonger fileted it for me. whole it was about 3 pounds; filets came in at 1.75 pounds (total) - I froze one filet as that's too much for us to finish in one meal.

wild caught have this silvery skin (fall only) and the farmed tend to be reddish.


popped in a hot pan to crisp the skin


on a rack for a 10 minute bake at 350'F

plated:


note how the meat does not flake apart to quite the same degree as other salmon types.
really delicious fish!

[PicnicMaster1]

Seems the last post is over a year old....

Just want to "chime in" and say if you enjoy salmon (my wife and I do...a lot) and trout, then give artic char a try.

As mentioned it is very light...my way is to just drizzle with some fresh lemon juice and a favorite, appropriate spice/rub and roast in oven @ 400* for 8-9 minutes.

[jazwoslp]

You noted that fall wild-caught Arctic Char tends to have more fat and moisture, which can influence its flavor and texture.
This seasonality is typical in many fish species, where the time of year and location of the catch can affect their characteristics.