Fillets of Copper River Salmon are shown, Friday, May 18, 2012, after the annual first air shipment of the prized deeply-colored fish arrived from Alaska early Friday morning in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

While Thierry Rautureau isn’t a huge Copper River Salmon
fan, he
concedes it’s one of the most gorgeous salmon on the
planet when it’s done perfectly.

So if you do plan to throw down the big bucks for the
fish, Tom Douglas says you want to make sure the scales
are clean.
You don’t want bruising because it shows that the fish
wasn’t kept totally pristine in its journey from water to
grill.

You can either buy Copper River Salmon whole or as a
fillet. Tom says he’s not totally sure how he feels about
that, “but at least when it’s in the fillet form, you can
actually see if there’s bruising.”

Thierry says if your finger is pushing into the fish too
much, then it’s been off the boat for awhile.

Talk to the fish monger and they might let you run your
finger along the fish to take a look at the slime. You
want a good slime that’s clear.

As for the actual cooking of Copper River Salmon:

“It’s not a good time to use my salmon rub,” Tom says.
“When you’re spending $50 or $60 on fish, it’s not a good
time to cover the flavor.”

Katie O recommends steaming the fish because you lock in
all of the natural flavors.