Best Kokanee Salmon Recipes

A list of best kokanee salmon recipes for the smoker, grill, oven, or frying pan. I’ve been catching and cooking kokanee for years. I’ve had to learn to make the fish in a way that my picky wife and even pickier kids will not only eat, but get excited about. Below is my list of winning recipes.

About Kokanee Salmon

Kokanee salmon are sockeye salmon that are landlocked in fresh water. These fish are native to many lakes in the western United States and Canada including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California and Idaho in the United States and British Columbia and Yukon in Canada. Additionally, kokanee have been introduced to many other lakes in the United States including in those states mentioned above as well as in Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and others. Kokanee salmon are essentially a super food. They’re rich in nutrients, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

There are a lot of these fish, and they’re known for being a delicious eating fish, but there are plenty of people that don’t like the taste. This usually means people either don’t like fish in general, or they’re just using bad recipes. Having the best recipes for kokanee salmon can make believers from people who think they don’t like fish that doesn’t come from a restaurant or supermarket.

Baked Kokanee Salmon Recipes

Smoked Kokanee Salmon Recipes

Smoked kokanee is one of my favorite foods on this planet. Smoking is my favorite preparation for kokanee and really any salmonid. I tell people that its a major flavor improvement going from a frying pan to a grill, and it gets even better when you go from the grill to the smoker. Below are my favorite and most popular kokanee smoking recipes.

Teriyaki Smoked Kokanee Salmon

This is our current favorite kokanee salmon recipe. The teriyaki goes with the smoke, and that just pairs with the salmon really well. This teriyaki recipe uses a marinade that is simple but flavorful. It compliments the salmon and works with all the natural flavors.

Go to Teriyaki Smoked Kokanee Recipe →

Kokanee Candy

This is a sweet smoked kokanee recipe that will rock your world. If you’ve primarily just tried savory recipes, this sweet smoky maple recipe is one of the best options to get into the sweet kokanee salmon dishes.

Go to Kokanee Candy Recipe →

Blackened Saskatchewan Smoked Kokanee Recipe

I first heard about a blackened Saskatchewan salmon, and I was skeptical. It took me a long time to try it, and when I did, I only did a half of a single fillet. I then needed to go catch more kokanee to make more of this. It’s a different and unique flavor profile, and you’ll be upset like me, that you haven’t tried this sooner.

Go to Blackened Saskatchewan Smoked Kokanee Recipe →

Pro Tip for Smoking Kokanee

I strongly recommend getting a cooking thermometer. I guarantee you that you are overcooking your fish more often than you think. It’s a game changer to be able to consistently hit the temps you’re looking for. My go to is a grilling and smoking thermometer. It’s more durable. In fact, I’ve left mine outside in a snow storm. I hadn’t intended to do that test, but it held up. And then it held up when I did it again. I think I’ve left it out in the rain and snow about a dozen times by now, which is stupid of me, but the silly thing just keeps working. We love the Inkbird Wi-Fi thermometer. I can have my probes in watching temperature, and it shows up on the screen, or I can check it from anywhere with my phone.

Inkbird Wi-Fi Thermometer

Grilled Kokanee Salmon Recipes

Grilling kokanee salmon is much quicker and easier than smoking. You don’t get as much of the smoke flavor, but you’re eating your fish a lot faster.

Grilled Salmon Tacos

Some grilled salmon, paired with a mango salsa, and a green and red cabbage. The mango salsa with the salmon really is key. Not only do the colors look amazing together on the plate, but the flavors just work together perfectly.

BBQ Grilled Lemon Pepper Kokanee

This lemon pepper grilled kokanee salmon recipe is simple, clean, and has that zesty citrus flavor that pairs perfectly with fish. This was the very first way I ever grilled any fish, and its one I go back to over and over. Fish were made for the BBQ grill and for the smoker. And Lemon pepper was made for the grill.

Go to Grilled Lemon Pepper Kokanee Salmon Recipe →

Fried Kokanee Salmon Recipes

Pan Fried Kokanee

Pan fried kokanee is probably the most common method of cooking kokanee. This recipe and technique probably accounts for more fish than any other method. The secret is to have your oil hot enough to get a nice sear and form a bit of a crust, but not so hot that you burn the fish, which is easy to do. Perfected, this is the most common way that restaurants cook their fish.

Old Bay Pan Seared Kokanee

A pan sear on a kokanee can also help develop a nice crust, and it seals in the flavors. It’s quick, easy, but requires a bit of technique. It takes less oil than pan frying, which works well for salmon recipes because salmon has a lot of natural oils already.

Go to Old Bay Pan Seare Kokanee Recipe →

Salmon Cakes

This can be made from canned kokanee salmon, from leftover salmon, or you can bake, fry, steam, grill, or smoke up some salmon special for this recipe. It’s a versatile, forgiving recipe, but once mastered, will be one of your all time favorites. My recipe is similar to crab cakes.

Salmon Burgers

I’m not trying to replace beef, but this salmon burger recipe is designed to be eaten like a burger. It pairs great with all the burger fixings.

Canned Kokanee Salmon Recipes

There are places in the US and Canada where there isn’t a limit on kokanee salmon. In states that have a kokanee snagging season as well, canning kokanee is extremely popular. Being able to take 20, 30, or 100 salmon and being able to make that shelf stable, is awesome.

Go to Canned Kokanee Salmon Recipe→

Can I Use Regular Salmon Recipes with Kokanee?

Sometimes. It depends on the recipe. There are two important things to note. 1. Fresh Salmon tastes better than store bought salmon, especially if you buy farm salmon. Because of that you can work more with the fish flavors, rather than against them. Kokanee is a delicacy, and the best recipes treat it like it is. You need to be careful though and not turn your salmon into mush. Kokanee are more delicate than other salmon.

2. Kokanee are a lot smaller than the farm salmon most people buy at the store. Because of that, cook times and temperatures can be different in recipes. The most important think to know with recipes when trying to adapt a recipe to kokanee is that salmon needs to be cooked to 145 degrees Fahrenheit or 62.8 degrees Celsius. Many people trying to adapt recipes overcook their fish, and then they think the fish isn’t as good as store bought. Stop overcooking your fish!