Smoked Salmon Head Spectacle
At industry-favorite Café Marie-Jeanne, no “little fishies” platter is complete without a staring-back-at-you salmon head from Chef Mike Simmons.
At Café Marie-Jeanne, Chef Mike Simmons makes food that unapologetically caters to and satisfi es the restaurant industry. Dishes like calf brain toast, duck frites, and goat stew grace his menu, and instead of a traditional charcuterie board, he off ers “smoked, cured, and pickled fishies” with the optional add-on of a gelatinous, smoky, sticky salmon head.
The salmon head was born when, over the course of a few weeks, Simmons saved a dozen salmon heads, enough to run as a special. “They sold out after two days, and people would call the restaurant and ask if they were still available,” he says.
Now, he buys 25 pounds of heads at a time for a whopping $1 per pound. For $15, guests can add the coveted head to their platter. “The heads are ridiculously cheap, affordable, and priced to sell,” says Simmons. “How many restaurants do you know that ask for that many salmon heads per week? I’ll tell you, none! Just me.”
Simmons also is likely the only chef brining salmon heads in maple syrup and tamari for three days before coating them in a coarse spice rub (black pepper, coriander, and Szechuan peppercorns) and sliding them into a hot smoker loaded with maple wood. Simmons chooses Kikkoman tamari in this application for flavor, accessibility, and its lack of fermented wheat. “Tamari has the same punchy umami notes as soy sauce, and, if you leave the bread off [the platter], it’s gluten free—the flavors are just as good, if not better.”
Simmons says the finished heads eat like ribs. “Because there’s the salmon skin and collagen, it goes from fatty, to chewy, to meaty, to crunchy.” He sends a minimum of 15 salmon heads out to Café Marie-Jeanne’s dining room every weekday and up to 75 on an average weekend. What chef doesn’t want more heads in their dining room?
