Sockeye Salmon

Sockeye salmon is one of the most intensely flavoured Pacific salmon species, recognisable by its striking deep-red flesh — the deepest of any salmon variety. This vivid colour comes from a diet rich in krill and other small crustaceans, which are packed with the pigment astaxanthin.

Sockeye is highly versatile in the kitchen. Its firm, dense flesh holds up well on the barbecue or under a grill, and its pronounced flavour means it needs little more than salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. It’s also excellent cured, smoked, or used in sushi and sashimi preparations. In Australia, sockeye is most commonly available as frozen fillets or canned.

Also known as red salmon or blueback salmon, sockeye is native to the northern Pacific Ocean, with major fisheries in Alaska and British Columbia. Some sockeye is also farmed, though wild-caught remains the more common form.