Smoked Salmon Quesadillas - My #7 Favorite Culinary Memory

To duplicate this delicacy, you will need to plan a little ahead so Martha Stewart, take notice!

Begin your preparation in March of a year ending in an odd number such as 2007. Start seedlings of some select green chilies such as "New Mexico 6" or "Big Jims". In May, transplant the small plants in a sandy loam soil in a semi-arid climate such as New Mexico. Take usual care of the plants and harvest some wonderful chilies in August. Roast the chilies over the barbecue grill and remove the skins. Freeze chilies in layers separated with wax paper and wrapped tightly for eleven months or until you can go ishing for pink salmon.


Pink salmon can be easily caught in Alaska on EVEN NUMBERED YEARS! In fact, on a given day one can just about wear themselves out reeling in these feisty creatures. Fishing on the Kenai on these years will harvest many pink salmon. Natives do not like to keep them so if you don't fish, hang around those who do and just ask if you can have their pinks! They will think you are weird but just smile humbly and accept their gift! To Alaskans, they are called "Dog Fish". They do not freeze or keep and can turn to mush rather easily but they do can, smoke and we found frying fresh fillets make a wonderful meal. Pink salmon is very mild in taste.

OK, back to my recipe: Fillet about five pounds of pink salmon and soak it for approximate twelve hours in a brine. There are many recipes of brine one can find on the internet so I won't take time to include the recipe.

After "pickling" the salmon, lay them in your smoker. Of course, Martha wouldn't buy a smoker, she'd make one like the one Pat made for us to use. Leave your salmon on the smoker for 2-3 days. Remove and place them in a dehydrater for an additional day.




This homemade grill was transformed into a smoker using a crockpot hotplate acquired from a garage sale and kept piled with a couple handfuls of woodchips to smolder.

Cut up smoke salmon in to very small pieces before making quesadillas.

Preparing Quesadillas:

On a flour tortilla, spread sauce (see recipe below). Place small amounts of flaked salmon and strips of green chilies on top of sauce. Sprinkle with shredded Monterey Jack cheese. Top with another tortilla and brown in oil.

Sauce: Blend: Equal parts of mayonnaise and plain yogurt, green onion, cilantro and lime juice. This is great for halibut taco sauce, too!



An afternoon at College Hole on the Kenai River can produce a nice day's catch of salmon; a few red, a silver, and an abundance of pink. One afternoon Phil caught about 18 pinks or "humpies" as they are called. The male pinks have a large hump on their back which is full of fat. They are fighters and fun to catch by heavy to carry up the trail.