How to Cook Kokanee - Kokanee Recipes - Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (2024)

Home | Fish | Salmon and Trout | How to Cook Kokanee

By Hank Shaw

August 20, 2018 | Updated June 16, 2020

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How to Cook Kokanee - Kokanee Recipes - Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (2)

In the kitchen, kokanee sit somewhere between the salmon that they are and the trout they live among, so what follows is a guide on how to cook kokanee to get the best out of these pretty little fish.

Kokanee, which is an Okanagan word, are small, land-locked sockeye salmon. There is some debate as to whether they are their own species, or are in the midst of breaking away from their anadromous sockeye brethren.

One thing is certain, and that’s that kokanee occur naturally. It’s not just that some dude tossed a bunch of sockeye fry into some lake at some point. That said, kokes are stocked in a great many places beyond their native range, which is the Pacific Northwest down into California. And they’ve naturalized in the Great Lakes.

One other thing is also true: Anglers go bonkers for kokanee, to the point of obsession rivaling that of steelheaders or Northeastern striped bass anglers. Koke heads we call them.

I suspect I know why: First, they are, objectively, a beautiful fish. Chrome, clean lines, dainty mouths. Second, they are the inland angler’s best chance to experience the vivid orange flesh that salmon anglers swoon over. After all, kokanee are salmon, and, as you may well know, sockeye flesh is the reddest of them all.

How to Cook Kokanee - Kokanee Recipes - Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (3)

And that flesh is richer than most trout, a bit soft like salmon is, and hates being overcooked — although you cannot safely eat kokanee raw unless it has been frozen first for at least a week.

But how to cook kokanee?

Decisions start on the fillet table. Kokes need not be scaled, although if you’re persnickety you might want to, because handing kokanee makes it look like you’ve been covered in glitter. I kinda like that, so I leave the scales on.

How to Cook Kokanee - Kokanee Recipes - Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (4)

Second, do you fillet, just gut-and-gill, or butterfly your fish? It’s all a personal decision, but for me, I do the following:

  • If you’re going to grill or pan-fry your kokanee, just gill and gut. Remove the head if it’s bothering you, or if it will make the fish fit into your pan better.
  • If they’re large, as in longer than about 14 inches, you can get a decent fillet off them. They’re cute little orange slabs. Leave the skin on, as kokanee flesh is soft. Skinless fillets have a habit of falling apart. You can either eat the skin or leave it on the plate. Broil, pan sear, bake or poach them.
  • No matter what size they are, I prefer to butterfly my kokanee if I am going to smoke them. Why? It opens a large surface area up to smoke, allows me to add seasonings or to paint the meat with maple syrup or somesuch, and the kite shape you get from butterflying is easy to handle, comes on and off the smoker grates easier than a tiny fillet, and, well, looks cool.

Those are generally the best ways to cook kokanee. Here are some kokanee recipes to get you started.

Smoked Lake Trout

Use this recipe, designed for larger lake trout, with butterflied kokanee. They’ll only need 2 hours, though.

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Grilled Trout or Kokanee

My favorite summertime way to cook small, whole kokes. Serve with whatever’s in your garden at the time.

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Broiled Trout

Use this technique when you have kokanee fillets that are longer than your frying pan.

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How to Cook Kokanee - Kokanee Recipes - Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (9)

Trout Cakes

A simple trout or kokanee cake recipe for either leftover fish or chopped fresh kokanee.

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Salmon Dip

I originally designed this recipe for king salmon, but it works great with kokanee.

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Pan Fried Trout with Peas

This is a wonderful springtime dish, great with a butterflied kokanee or fillets.

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Trout with Morels

Mostly I do this with trout in the Sierra, but no reason not to use a kokanee!

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Categorized as:
Featured, Fish, Recipe, Salmon and Trout

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About Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet’s largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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How to Cook Kokanee - Kokanee Recipes - Hunter Angler Gardener Cook (2024)

FAQs

Is kokanee good eating? ›

Great fighters and excellent table fare, biologically speaking, Kokanee salmon are also a beautiful, evolutionary wonder.

What is the best way to prepare fish? ›

Frying is probably the most popular method of cooking fish. Shallow frying: The fish should be seasoned and lightly coated with flour or crumb before frying to protect it and seal in the flavour. Use a mixture of oil and butter when frying and turn the fish only once during cooking, to avoid breaking up.

How long does it take to cook fish? ›

Cooking fish for 10 minutes per inch of thickness is an old rule of thumb that works perfectly when roasting fillets or steaks. It's just enough time to cook the flesh through so that it's opaque, but not so much that it flakes.

What is the difference between chinook salmon and kokanee? ›

Distinguishing Kokanee from Chinook Salmon

Kokanee have more, densely spaced gill rakers than Chinook Salmon. This gill raker morphology is why Kokanee are regarded as efficient planktivores.

Can you eat kokanee when they turn red? ›

Kokanee will not eat just prior to or during the spawn. "But, they will strike at something flashy," says Spateholts. "And, even though the fish have changed color, from silver to red, they are still good eating. When they are not edible is after they've spawned."

How much alcohol is in kokanee? ›

Kokanee, the best-selling lager in B.C., gains its particular character from the blend of Pacific Northwest hops. The beer has twice won brewing industry awards for its smooth, clean and lightly hopped flavour. It has an alcohol content of 5% abv.

What is the most common mistake when preparing fish? ›

Overcooking the food is one of the most common mistakes when cooking fish and seafood. Overcooked pan-fried fish, unfortunately, is dry, tasteless, and tough. The range is generally 3 to 5 minutes per side.

Why do you soak fish in milk before cooking? ›

Before cooking, soak the fish in milk for 20 minutes

In this scenario, the protein in the milk binds with the compounds that cause that fishy odor, in essence extracting if from the fish. What's left behind is sweet-smelling, brighter flesh with clean flavor. (Just make sure you pour that milk down the drain.

What do you soak fish in before cooking? ›

In a 3-quart bowl, soak fish in milk for 15-20 minutes. The casein protein in milk binds to the trimethylamine in the fish flesh, reducing the “fishy” odor.

What is the 10 minute rule for fish? ›

The 10 Minute Rule.

Cook your fish at 10 minutes per inch of thickness. And that's it. This works whether you're grilling, broiling, steaming, frying or baking your fish. Add 5 minutes if your fish is being cooked in sauce.

Is it better to cook fish fast or slow? ›

Slow-roasting “is my favorite way to cook salmon, mostly because the gentle heat makes it almost impossible to overcook the fish,” Samin Nosrat says in “Salt Fat Acid Heat.” Moreover, the technique allows fat to render during cooking and keeps the fish moist.

Do Kokanee taste good? ›

Kokanee taste really good and when the fishing is good you can catch a bundle of them. Fishing for kokanee is a bit trickier than using a hook and worm. Catching kokanee takes some knowledge of how these fish live, their life cycle and how they move in the water at different times of year.

How do you eat Kokanee salmon? ›

If the fish is longer than 12 inches, you can fillet it. You can also butterfly it or gut-and-grill it. The latter method is ideal for camping dinners, and you can leave the skin and head on if you're not fussy. Even if you butterfly or fillet your Kokanee, leave the skin on when you grill it.

What is the nickname for Kokanee salmon? ›

The kokanee salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), also known as the kokanee trout, little redfish, silver trout, kikanning, Kennerly's salmon, Kennerly's trout, or Walla, is the non-anadromous form of the sockeye salmon (meaning that they do not migrate to the sea, instead living out their entire lives in freshwater).

What does kokanee taste like? ›

Kokanee is best eaten just before the spawning stage. Their flesh is the dazzling bright orange that many anglers long for, and it is richer in flavor than trout but softer than other salmon. If the fish is longer than 12 inches, you can fillet it. You can also butterfly it or gut-and-grill it.

Is kokanee salmon tasty? ›

Kokanee taste really good and when the fishing is good you can catch a bundle of them. Fishing for kokanee is a bit trickier than using a hook and worm. Catching kokanee takes some knowledge of how these fish live, their life cycle and how they move in the water at different times of year.

What is the difference between kokanee and salmon? ›

Kokanee are the land-locked form of sockeye salmon. Because they never migrate out to the ocean to feed, kokanee are often much smaller than sockeye. However, other than their size, kokanee have very similar identifying characteristics as sockeye.

What is unique about the kokanee salmon? ›

Kokanee are land-locked sockeye salmon. This means that they do not travel to the ocean and return inland to spawn, instead they complete their entire life cycle in Lake Coeur d'Alene. Their life cycle is 4 years long.

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