Our First Alaska Salmon | Jerky, Caviar and Stock

[@betsywoolbright8059]

As I watch Eric fillet this salmon, it reminds me fondly of my years working for a Chinese couple at their restaurant. They'd buy fresh salmon from the Natives on the Clearwater River in Idaho and would presumably eat the steaks at home, but they'd cook "fish head soup" with cabbage and green onions for eating on our lunch break at work. O M G so good. My bosses always complemented me for not being turned off by the fact that the meat was from the fish's head. It would be cooked so soft and we'd just reach onto the bowl with our chopsticks and pull off the fragments of meat for ourselves and spoon broth on top of the fish head meat in our bowls. And yes, we ate our soup with chopsticks. Fun times. I miss working there.

[@JhaeMo777]

That is fine job of using your catch to its fullest potential. Well done, love the very little bit of waste. You honored the animals.

[@dorenenagy564]

That salmon went a long way. Awesome. Even the dogs got to enjoy.

[@30-06]

As a Japanese person who eats more fish than meat I’d say A+++ for you getting the most out of the fish!

[@andreamortimer2610]

I absolutely LOVE how you two are giving your best to use everything and not waste anything! That's what's called respecting your resources! You can use your caviar to make sushi rolls; tastes fantastic!

[@tinge1954]

Nothing goes to waste, soooo nice and efficient. Great job guys!

[@mitzimarquez2410]

I like to watch Eric cook, work in the kitchen. Something strangely peaceful about it.

[@dgr8t1]

Love the fact you folks are living the awesome life!! Harvesting family sustenance by your own hand whether by growing, hunting or fishing is just the ultimate "knowing where your food comes from" ! don't be afraid to dabble into smoking your meat for preservation is another way to handle long term storage without the output against your solar system or look at a solar oven like the ones Doug and stacey use on their channel.- showing people the How to is great!!

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

dgr8t1, thank you :) we are working on a little smoker now and would love a solar oven!

[@susannegalligan8600]

Loved your use of the salmon for all members of your family! Also thanks for recommendation on dehydrator.

[@isnoo1]

I am super impressed with how you two are going this season. So far along already.

[@lenellamaxwell6934]

I am enjoying watching your videos. I love how you explain everything and why you do it. Great job and yes, I believe all your hard work from catching the fish to preserving it was worth all that work. Blessings to you both.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Lenella Maxwell, thank you :)

[@WalkScripture]

Y’all made me give salmon another chance. I made a glaze with brown sugar and a raspberry habanero sauce and it was delicious!

[@shishi7123]

Thats really a very good way of making the most of the fish. Using every part.

[@RonsardMoolman]

You guys have one of the best channels, kind regards from South Africa.

[@crazyredheadart713]

So impressed for your respecting those fish and using every single bit of them. Really great lessons!

[@jeremywright6373]

Your videos are amazing. Keep it up. This is the stuff people dream of.

[@EastMesaUrbanHomestead]

Wow what a resourceful use of the fish!

[@algigirl]

Ginger paste, wasabi and soya sauce. Or sea weed rice wasabe ginger and the roe... Yum yum Or the fish jerky inside the sushi filling. Nice..

[@jcbaily5559]

That is some mighty fine eating....I don't recall ever seeing salmon that red before...I remember we used to coat the salmon roe in Borax and then use it in chunks for fishing as the salmon seem to like to eat their own eggs, sort of messy however but boy did it catch fish!!! Thanks for the memories!!!!

[@lunamaria9883]

Wow, beautiful deep red fish.

[@gregkerr725]

When I worked a seiner out of Kodiak in the 70's, we actually got a pretty good price for Dog Salmon (Chum Salmon). It was because they are big roe producers. Back then at the cannery, they had small wooden boxes and they would layer skeins of eggs in between layers of salt. They sold the Boxes to Japanese buyers for about 150 bucks a pop. So evidently, salt roe is one way to do it. Never ate any though.........from any kind of fish.

[@bohemiangypsy99]

Oh I adore salmon roe and it is damn delicious on sushi. It's like little bursts of seawater. So yum!! The jerky looks really nice guys as do the fresh salmon fillets. Nice fishing. I love salmon with a dill sauce the most lol. Michelle

[@charlenegrady8781]

Hey Eric I’m watching some of your old videos and guess what you filet fish better now👍. We have all been there when it comes to doing fish. Your jerky looked great. Was good to go back and see how far you two have come. Good for you. Wish you the best. Take care from Cape Cod Massachusetts ❤️

[@kevinditzler9661]

I hope to see some fishing videos soon! It must be a blast to pull such big and beautiful fish from the water.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Kevin Ditzler, it was our first experience reeling in such large fish, we both had an awesome time and plan to head back :)

[@sylviafoust9545]

Kitty cat seems to like it to!

[@FishingwithRod]

Fantastic video, love how just about all the ingredients come from the wild and garden. A few suggestions. With the fish, you should bleed them immediately after they are caught. Not only would it be a little less messy, the quality of the meat is also better. With the fish stock, if you remove the gills and wash the carcasses up (the blood can ruin the taste), it makes a fantastic base for a variety of delicious soup recipes. Our favourite is green curry fish soup, miso soup, but you can also make fish chowder, etc... With the roe, if you have access to chum salmon later on (I assume the season is probably right now up there), they make the best caviar out of all the salmon species due to the size of the eggs. Cheers!

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Fishing with Rod thank you 😀👍

[@hannahkayee831]

Yaaaay! Found a new channel to watch. I don't even like seafood but love watching all the videos. ❤ just subscribed!

[@FishingwithRod]

@@hannahkayee831 😄

[@thesounknown]

Oh man. Lemon dill salmon jerky would be so awesome.

[@tyrellco1]

Oh my God- grill the collars- best part!. Great job!

[@timothystrampp3313]

Omg the color of that salmon said it all! I would save some of that roe for ice fishing.

[@bluelilly6124]

You guys are doing awesome things with your food materials👍👌👏👏👏👏, loved the salmon color...

[@greatnorthernadventures570]

Great video! I’d look at building a smoke house, especially a cold smoker. Don’t forget when filleting those fish to save the salmon bellies for smoking and the collars (the area around the pectoral fin left on the carcass after filleting) for grilling and eating. You can also take a spoon and scrape the meat off of the carcass for salmon patties. Most people just keep the filets but there’s so much left on the fish that goes to waste, glad to see you’re putting it to good use!

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Great Northern Adventures we have a smoker planned in our near future 😀 and great tips thank you!

[@AnAlaskaHomestead]

That’s pretty cool, I’d never tried making caviar. I’m going to give it a try this year.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

My Alaska Dream, it was a pain to process but we may do it again. It was super tasty or we would like to try saving it for bait.

[@ORom89]

I find that using a tennis raquette to squeeze salmon eggs out of the sack is the best.

[@chadgreen4056]

Here in Labrador we fry the salmon spones dipped in flower it’s real good that way

[@chaindrivecharlie]

Wow you guys did great, 7 fish, made a lot of food for yall! Never ever thought of making cavier from salmon eggs. You should build you a simple smoker, you can smoke the fish strips. Then can them or finnish in dehydrater if you want. Green alder is a good smoking wood, but you need to strip bark off. The bark will give it a bitter taste that you may not like. Plus smoking requires no electric😁, thanks for sharing your lives with us!

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

chaindrivecharlie we just went fishing again and caught some more so we are going to build a smoker very soon great tip on the alder I will do that!

[@chaindrivecharlie]

I lived in Ketchikan way back in 76 & 77, USCG base.The locals taught us that!

[@anciskold541]

Salmon caviar is delicious! Take Creme Fraiche or sour cream, some dill, finely chopped onion, caviar and season it with a little salt and pepper and lemon juice. Yummy with avocados or a toast or as a sauce to salmon. And with baked potatoes! :D

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Sounds wonderful!

[@dwhite1282]

Great instructional video

[@luisaleon7689]

That looks really yummy. Awesome job kids.

[@susanMarkle]

A lot of people would buy that from you if you wanted to sell some of the things you make. You're good hand at what you do. I never saw that done before. Great job.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

susan Markle, thank you. We are working towards being able to offer goods locally and possibly online in the future? You never know :)

[@sherryllynnjones7077]

@@SimpleLivingAlaska My life philosophy. "You never know!" Love love your channel! So interesting! Your team/love are inspirations for all🙏❤🙏🤗👵67inFL😎

[@thomassmestead6424]

Friends, if you get a chance to catch a few Dog Salmon hens, the eggs make the best red caviar. Have tried other species, but Dog Salmon are the best. Well worth the work. Unfortunately, home made caviar doesn't preserve for very long under refrigeration.

[@chick-a-bee-farm]

I’ve been canning fresh tuna and now I think I’ll can up some salmon when it goes on sale! The jerky looks amazing

[@gaylerobison9518]

I LOVE caviar, but I was too creeped out to try the giant salmon variety until just last year. Turns out I like it best of all. Yummy, salty, fishy bursts of flavor when they pop!

[@vl9322]

to take of fish eggs from membrane use tennis racket , put it on top of the bowl and gently rub eggs on tennis racket, eggs fall down and membrane stays behind, takes me about 30 minutes to do 5~7lb of eggs that way which can last me for months

[@forest1tech]

I have never thought of using balsamic on salmon jerky, it sounds great, thank you for the idea

[@marissaalonzo7997]

I learned from a Russian friend to slice the Salmon thin, salt it and then put it in the freezer. The salt and freezing "cooks" it somehow and then the thin slices can just be eaten like that....

[@kendo2377]

Scrambled eggs with salmon roe are worth a try. They're also a good side dish with Eggs Sardou.

[@SeanInAlaska]

Nice to see how much of that you were able to use! Fishing on the Kenai should be GREAT this year! I sure hope you got some video of the fishing (and catching) to share later ;)

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Sean In Alaska we went back and caught more and did get some video!

[@smithfamilyhomestead1515]

My dogs and I missed seeing big happy dog the last few videos. Cheers from Arkansas!!

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

john smith, they will be in the next video :)

[@NorthForkHollow]

Awesome job guys. I just ate lunch and that jerky looked so delicious. Amazing stuff!

[@sararussell6182]

Another way to use the eggs, pour boiling water over them (in a colander) to dissolve the membrane then sprinkle with salt and pepper. That's how I was told to do it by my friend.

[@saa8458]

Amazing, the caviar looked delicious.

[@JamesCouch777]

Nice fish guys! I've had salmon jerky and it's great...also smoked salmon is delicious.

[@Shilman99676]

Nice job on the caviar! You might want to consider bleeding the fish next time, it will produce a higher quality meat if you do. It also helps if you gut before you fillet if you choose to fillet that way, easier for the knife to work. Silvers will be here soon!

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Adam Shilman, appreciate the tips :)

[@katbrown5084]

I didn't know you could leave the skin on. Great information 👍🙏🏻

[@ChevieBaby]

Yummmmm I’m jealous haha ...I’m in Anchorage & boy would I love too have some of that salmon jerky!!

[@VickiTakacs.]

Very impressed with that recipe for the marinade.

[@MrBiloxifireman]

Great video guys!

[@marktidwell5154]

fish parts makes very good fertilizer

[@sjmsark]

Nice work all around! I'm a new subscriber and going through your videos like a true addict:) Love salmon caviar! I mostly purchase it on special occasions. Costs $50.00 a lbs! Traditional way of eating it is on a thin slice of bread with butter spread on it. Another way is a thin slice of toasted potato where you would top it with the caviar and some thinly chopped chives! Yumm! Enjoy!

[@rexene]

I just discovered your channel! So interesting! One thing with caviar is to not use a metal spoon! It changes the taste.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

rexene thanks that's good info ☺

[@ThomasG_Nikolaj]

Salmon Roe is one of the healthiest foods you can eat actually. It's so much higher in omega 3 docosahexaenoic acid than the actual fish flesh itself and its super high in a lot of vitamins and minerals

[@donnburge9774]

when you us salt brin it removes water from your jerky it will make pectin and it will last longer, great start at the learning pro process though

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Donn Burge, thank you :)

[@TonyT-lo2sz]

If you would have not brought your fish stock up to a boil and just to a simmer it would have come clear. Doesn't change the flavor. We pay big money for Copper river salmon this time of year.

[@greg778123]

You should convert the dehydrator to dc so you can use battery power

[@marthareedy]

Love Salmon, wish we could get that here, we do get Atlantic Salmon but its hard to find not farmed even in the Atlantic they farm it, Just found your Channel today, love what you are doing !!!

[@kimtanner8711]

The guts of the fish can be buried then something planted on top for the fertilizer if thats possible for you . Great job. Enjoy the site.. Blessings !!!

[@haydehabdolahian7691]

You have some lucky dog 😊eat really good 👍

[@LivingMiracleHomestead]

That jerky looked good. I haven't ever eaten caviar before. But it looked like they were nice and clean.

[@PaullaWells]

That was quite the haul! Now, let’s see how can I get y’all to send me some? Hmmm… 🤣 I am gonna try that jerky recipe though. Thanks!

[@bettinah.7429]

Omg!!! I am dying here...I absolutely love salmon! I also have not had my breakfast yet and this video has made me so hungry that I am almost in pain. I think I was salivating a bit too! ;)

[@kathycox7392]

Looks really good

[@richardsabean5781]

yum yum...great job..

[@jeep4ron]

Boy that’s some good looking Salmon.. everyone eats well again.. LOL Your chickens are growing fast. Did you grow any dill? And some sushi... YA. No apology needed I do that too. LOL You two work so well as a team... I’m sure I would love those eggs. The jerky looks like it turned out good. Have a fantastic day you two. Oh you already did. LOL.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

living Off Grid McGarvey style, we do have dill, thanks for the reminder! :)

[@bigh650]

I smoke my salmon when I got some - yum yum

[@mylifemyeverydayroutine]

Woooow yummy🤤

[@alkirby3690]

Hiya, very interesting video, as usual. Couple things I was wondering... if you harvest the roe in the future you might want to try simply expressing the eggs (squeezing the sides of the female)... this will eliminate the need to deal with the 'pouch'. Also (and you may have already encountered this) feeding fish to your chickens may give their eggs a fishy taste. I have experienced this with chickens fed fish meal, and personally I find this very unappealing.

[@AlmostHomestead]

Inconceivable! Man, nice fish and great job using what you could with little waste. I thought you were going to pan to Ariel hacking up some of those fish eggs. LOL! I bet that tasted so good. Awesome video.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Almost Homestead, it took me like 1 hour to clean them!

[@SuperJaXXas]

Good use of resources! Generally speaking the whole purpose of making jerky is to dry and preserve the meat, adding oil to the marinade is not conducive to preservation. YMMV

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Joe Cross, absolutely! I don't know if we will repeat this exact recipe :)

[@timcrusham5758]

Nice color!

[@rick91443]

You guys lead a really tough life, lol...cheers...rr Normandy, Fra.(looks good btw)

[@digarcia1890]

Really interesting. Ty. Not a wasted piece. Would love Alaskan salmon. Only get here in America salmon from other countries- don't get it

[@sksee882002]

Look delicious...👍👍👍

[@williscooper7750]

helpful tip when buying fish. Never buy dead fish that haven't been gutted and bled. The blood will soak into the meat and taint it, you can still see all the standing blood on your filet.. Also always gut your fish before filet them.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Willis Cooper, we enjoyed processing them this way, it was a little different than what we usually do but helped us get the most out of the fish. There was absolutely no fishy taste the fish were barely 12 hours old from when we caught them but we do understand everyone has a different way of doing things.

[@williscooper7750]

@@SimpleLivingAlaska Thats fair to each their own but it is risky to do it that way.

[@haydehabdolahian7691]

I should said your animal eat really good 👍

[@lisajay3470]

Wow great camera quality!!!! Or is my WiFi A1 today?! 😂♥️

[@thomasschauss6429]

If you put a splash of liquid smoke in the eggs it's pretty tasty too

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Thomas Schauss yes that sounds great!

[@iartistdotme]

How do you know that the dehydration and sealed bags will keep the meat safe? Is there a moisture point that can be determined in the jerky or some other way to know for sure? I've made some great jerky before but it never lasts more than a day since I always make it when grand kids are here.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

mary w we will never know....we ate it all very fast 😀

[@bradlimer3429]

@@SimpleLivingAlaska, once sealed, did you store at room temp or freeze? I make venison jerky all the time, but I just keep it in a ziploc bag with a 1 inch gap in the seal for moisture control, and mine also goes really fast.

[@lukascarbeault633]

I don’t know about arms in a family environment. It seems to me incredibly violent. But HEY!!! I am Canadian and we don’t feel, unless we go hunting to have them around. Otherwise I am really interested in your homesteading. Courage and be safe.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Lukas Carbeault totally understandable 😀 we have had some issues with animals here and are generally pretty cautious if we go somewhere with moose and bear around.

[@Washkeeton]

Dang those are red ... man the ones I get aren't so red... Those look more like the copper river reds. Nice job. Suggestion, due to the amount of worms in the salmon, cod, halibut, etc up here... I wouldn't suggest you eat them raw unless you freeze them first ... the eggs soaked in some bright dye make them rubbery and they make great bait for fishing for salmon. I have always made them into bait never thought about eating them. The heads, cheek meat is some of the best and best for you. Lots of folks make fish head soup... don't know what or how they cook it, and have actually never had it but I know it is suppose to taste great and be really good for you.

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

AK Waskeeton, Thank you for the tip on the bait, that's our plan with the newest batch of eggs. We did find some worms...so most likely won't eat raw again.

[@gracebarnes1109]

Omg eat those heads! Some of the best meat in the cheeks ect!

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Grace Barnes we need to try that!

[@hamiltonharper]

It's true. Our chef would always cut the cheeks first when we would get a fish shipment. You know you were in good graces if he offered you one.

[@murriellemgl4479]

No salmon here in our country but we have bangus

[@digarcia1890]

What's bangus?

[@murriellemgl4479]

@@digarcia1890 milkfish :)

[@verawol3111]

Salmon chowder is yummy. Also you should try cold smoke salmon

[@SimpleLivingAlaska]

Vera Wol that sounds great maybe corn chowder when it's ready in the garden 😀

[@4Eyez1988]

Looks delicious Erik! Thanks for the vid. Question: Do you and Arielle (thanks for the rely about her name; I can't hear for poop) have plans for building onto your existing cabin? If so what room type would you add?

[@xbakx4204]

I seen you vacuum seal raw salmon! Where did you store it ?freezer ???? I love all your videos ! Slowly watching them all !

[@thomassmestead6424]

Never lasts for long around here, anyway.😊

[@thomassmestead6424]

Just another thought concerning salmon. Since it tends to come in during the season, pretty rapidly, sometimes too rapidly to process it all at once, I sometimes pickle it. Because it has to be hard salted, it allows time to process fish in other ways, (smoking, canning, freezing, etc. ) and the end product is to my tastes, (since I'm of Norwegian extraction ) delicious. Salmon is ideal for pickling, because it is rather oily, like herring but other kinds of fish can be pickled, as well. I understand that Northern Pike are a mid-western favorite to pickle, as are Whitefish. I'm sure that you'll be able to get instructions online, but I use the recipe brought over from Norway, by my Grandad, for pickled herring. Around here it's known as Poulsbo pickled herring.

[@jaunas27]

Ребята, мне нравятся ваши видео! Они реально классные 😊 Расскажите как поживают у вас пчелы? 😊

[@maceycornell]

i watched a video on caviar and they used a screen to separate the eggs then washed them and then caned them try it see if it works that is something i have thought every time i see you both do that

[@jeeep00]

Hi... i have a cuestian... have you ever do dry meat from reindeere or moose? I do every year.. and i can tell its the best .... Matte from northern sweden below the arctic cirkle... i can help if you have questions...

[@andrewlittlefield3425]

Coconut amino will be great

[@JASerickson]

Just found your channel about a week ago and loving watching your content! 2 questoins: Do you have a recipe book for farm/forage-to-table delisious meals? Everything you guys create and plate up looks amazing! Also, I know you are from the Bay Area, any chance you are from Sonoma County? Notice several shirts Eric wears are from SoCo businesses. Appreciate learning through your experiences!