WELCOME [ Log In · Register ]        SITE [ Search · Page Index · Recent Changes ]    RSS

Chum Salmon
Chum Salmon Flavor Scale
 Flavor              
transparent1px.gif
 Oil              
transparent1px.gif
 Texture              

Back to Salmon Varieties

Wild Chum Salmon

Fresh wild Chum Salmon, also called Keta Salmon, has a milder flavor and is more lean than Coho, Sockeye and King Salmon.  But it still has enough firmness and oil content to lend itself to a wide variety of cooking applications.

Chum (Keta) Salmon Flavor Profile

Chum Salmon have light pink to orange colored flesh which is lighter than Chinook, Sockeye and Coho.  The texture is more firm and coarse than the other salmon and Chum has a milder flavor.

  • Bake
  • Broil
  • Deep-Fry
  • Grill
  • Poach
  • Saute
  • Smoke
  • Steam
  • Sushi

Alternate Names

Keta, Dog Salmon, Calico Salmon, Chub, Fall Salmon, Silverbright, Dark Chum, Qualla, River Chum.

Description Oncorhynchus keta)

Commercial Chum Salmon range from 6 - 12 lbs but can grow to about 20 pounds.  They have a steel-blue color and instead of spots they can have larger black splotches on their body and no spots on the tail. Chum have large scales and a their eyes have large pupil.

Spawning Chum have an olive-green to brown back with vertical red-purple bands on their sides.  Follow the link for a video on how to identify species of salmon.

The highest quality Chums are ocean-run fish and are frequently called "Silverbrights" due to their silvery sheen. The second quality grade of Chum have watermarked skin and are grouped together as "Semibrights". They go by various names including: Calico Chum, Dark Chum, Fall Chum, River Chum and Qualla.

  Chum Salmon
 Image courtesy of BCSalmon.ca

 

Fresh Chum (Keta) Salmon Availability

Fresh seafood availability chart: green areas show peak availability, light green show limited availability, gray indicates not available fresh.  Frozen available all year long.

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
                                                                                               

 

Chum Salmon Butchering Yield %

ItemTo Skin/On FilletsTo Skin/Off FilletsNotes
Whole Head/On gutted
 68% - 70% 63%  
Skin/On Fillets -- 85% If you have additional yield info on this fish please leave a comment below.
Yield % varies according to a number of factors including: size of fish, season, sex, and the skill of your fishmonger.

 

Range & Habitat

Chum Salmn are a very wide ranging Pacific Salmon.  They are commercially caught from southern California and southern Japan to the Mackenzie River in the Arctic Ocean.

Typical Wholesale Products

Head/On Dressed, Head/Off Dressed, Fillets, Steaks

Chum Salmon Range & Location
AquaMaps     Data sources: GBIF OBIS

Chum Salmon Sustainability Info

This window is a link to the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program info on Salmon.

 

Nutritional Information

based upon a 6 oz (171 grams) raw edible serving

 

* Calories/Calories from fat 206
* Protein grams  34.4
* Fat grams  6.5
* Saturated fat grams  1.4
* Sodium milligrams  86
* Cholesterol milligrams  127
* Omega-3 grams  1.2
more Chum Salmon nutrition info
 

 

Additional Resources:
  National Marine Fisheries Service  

 

 

David Buchanan on Google +
Did you find the information about Chum Salmon useful? Or did you notice something which is missing on this page?
If so, please leave a comment.


Comments    [ Add a Comment ]