Sho Spaeth is the lead writer and editor at ChefSteps.com. He is also the author of Homemade Ramen, a James Beard Award–nominated cookbook.

Sho Spaeth

Salmon! We love it, you love it—we all love it every which way: poached, pan-seared, roasted, cooked sous vide, raw (on rice), near-raw (on a bagel), and even straight out of a can plucked from a supermarket shelf, saltines optional. Heck, you could say America loves it, since it’s our nation’s No. 1 beloved finfish: According to the National Fisheries Institute, a nonprofit trade group, Americans consumed 3.38 pounds of salmon per capita in 2021, beating out every other finfish in the ocean. We’re not going to lie; that figure sounds tiny to us because we really love salmon. Less than 4 pounds? A year? Come on! For Pacific Northwesterners, that’s a long lunch. We’ve pooled our collective knowledge about all things salmon so you have all the information you need to buy and eat this delicious and sustainable orange-fleshed fish all the time. Like we do!