“White king salmon”

[KP-Skagit]

I cooked him up and found there was less of a "salmon taste" than other kings. It was also very rich, I typically eat a big ole piece of salmon and only had about half as much as normal and felt stuffed.

I wouldn't choose one over the other. I managed to put another one in the freezer so will do a side by side.

[Okanagan]

The Chilliwack/Veddar River just over the border has a run of white fleshed Chinook salmon.  When I lived there I caught several, plus one white king about 20 lbs. at Hein Bank about 25 years ago, and one from I think it was Pillar Point.

The ones from salt water in WA were superb eating, grilled like we do more normal salmon. 

The white salmon in the Chilliwack are not so good on the table in most people’s opinion, including mine.  They are greasy fat, fatter than most salmon I’ve handled, and simply don’t taste as good to me when grilled etc.  They are excellent smoked however.

When friends told me they are only good for smoking, not for regular table fare, I had to make my own test.  I caught a bright fresh one about 22 lbs. and tried chunks of it grilled, skillet baked, etc.  OK eating but not really good by salmon standards.

The last couple of years that I lived there I began to catch kings with a pale pink cast to the meat, not as white as the true white ones but as pale as a washed out pink salmon.  I  don’t know but suspect that the run of white fish is getting genetics mixed up with regular salmon orange fish.

[Special T]

The Chilliwack/Veddar River just over the border has a run of white fleshed Chinook salmon.  When I lived there I caught several, plus one white king about 20 lbs. at Hein Bank about 25 years ago, and one from I think it was Pillar Point.

The ones from salt water in WA were superb eating, grilled like we do more normal salmon. 

The white salmon in the Chilliwack are not so good on the table in most people’s opinion, including mine.  They are greasy fat, fatter than most salmon I’ve handled, and simply don’t taste as good to me when grilled etc.  They are excellent smoked however.

When friends told me they are only good for smoking, not for regular table fare, I had to make my own test.  I caught a bright fresh one about 22 lbs. and tried chunks of it grilled, skillet baked, etc.  OK eating but not really good by salmon standards.

The last couple of years that I lived there I began to catch kings with a pale pink cast to the meat, not as white as the true white ones but as pale as a washed out pink salmon.  I  don’t know but suspect that the run of white fish is getting genetics mixed up with regular salmon orange fish.

Some one please correct me if im wrong... i was told farmed salmon hD white flesh and were either dyed or feed shrim shells in the meal to bring out the pink flavor. Something to donwith salmon eating shrimp.

A related note, my mother has extreamnreactions to shell fish so eats no crab shrimp etc. She started feeling ill after eating salmon so quit... 

[Stein]

There is a difference between pale salmon and white salmon.  Farmed salmon are pale because they don't eat the same thing wild do so they put stuff in the feed - either shrimp industry by product or dye.

White salmon have the same diet as normal wild salmon because they are normal wild salmon, just with a genetic marker difference.

[OutHouse]

I saw a white king up in Kuyoqot BC. The meat was very white like cod etc. To the best of my recollection, there was no pink whatsoever. The guides say they catch them from time to time but they are basically the same as other salmon meat. I really wanna get back to BC to catch some chromers

[7mmfan]

I saw several in my days guiding out of Sitka. They weren't a rarity, but they weren't common either. one factor that was quite common with them was their size. In the near shore fishery up there if you caught a fish over 30# There was probably a 30% chance it was a white king. It was 50/50 on fish over 40#. I believe all the fish over 50# I was involved in were red.

We caught a lot of marbled kings up there as well. There is no way to identify them prior to gutting or fileting them, and they are all spectacular eating. My opinion on white kings is that they are just as good as red kings or marbled kings they just look different and their uniqueness is what draws people. There may be a fat content difference as well but it isn't highly noticeable on fresh ocean kings. Maybe it's more noticeable once they hit the river.

[dilleytech]

Where was this fish caught? It has that two tone tuley meat look to me and a lack of fat. I have tried eating tuley myself and agree it’s hard to each as much.

[WAcoueshunter]

Where was this fish caught? It has that two tone tuley meat look to me and a lack of fat. I have tried eating tuley myself and agree it’s hard to each as much.

The white fish I posted is from the Sound. Here it is, on the left.

[Alchase]

We would catch a couple on almost every trip to Sekiu for kings back in the 70s and 80s.
My Mom who was a gourmet cook, insisted all our Kings be cut into steaks.
All white Kings would be fileted and used for specials occasions. 

[dilleytech]

Where was this fish caught? It has that two tone tuley meat look to me and a lack of fat. I have tried eating tuley myself and agree it’s hard to each as much.

The white fish I posted is from the Sound. Here it is, on the left.

I was referring to the OP. A white king will have all white meat and the usual line of fat. The OP fish looks to be a two tone fillet with no fat.

[metlhead]

All the kings I used to catch in Capital lake were white meated. Grab em by the gills and just shake the meat right off🤤