Indian Salmon Bake - Cooked around a campfire

Along the north coast of the Olympic Peninsula there are many opportunities to try different cooking techniques used by various Native American Tribes. One of these methods is the use of stakes in the ground with Salmon spread on them and placed around a campfire. Here are some of the photos where we cooked for a large group of people using this ancient system.

The Salmon needed to be split almost through, yet not completely so it could be spread out as one piece. This is called "butterflying".

With a split piece top of a pole, and cedar cross pieces to hold the fish in place, the top of the split pole is then wired tight and the pole is driven into the ground around the fire. They are turned as needed for even cooking.

As you can see, this takes a little bit of practice, but the main thing is to pull the fish before it gets over cooked. This was a bit overdone, but the flavor was outstanding.

You can this was a successful event ... and in case you're wondering, the Ketchup was for the hamburgers ... not the salmon.

This meal also featured a Fish Head soup with muscles and oysters harvested right from the tide flats. NOTE: No Starfish were harmed or added to the pot.

Heads are split to allow meat to blend with stew.

All the ingredients are boiled on the fire and then served right out of the pot.

About 150 people enjoyed camping on the private beach with traditional campfires at nightand, sampling the true Pacific Northwest flavors. With a beautiful vista like this, it doesn't get any better!