Smoking them is preferred here, however since the abundance is now here and fresh fresh fresh chum are avail here in whatcom county i have been using blacking season and grilling them to perfection... That or the old stand by of soy, brown sugar and mustard and then plank grill them.... Great flavor this year.....

http://justsmokedsalmon.com/recipes/plank-grilling/

Well dj2loud. I use the same seasoning blackening but I put it in the frying pan so good. You can get it at winco

I would consider those chum past retention phase. I would have released them. However i dont mean this as an insult, but as a recomemdation if your looking for tastier fish.

SNOB ALERT. all chum are past retention phase :) Maybe I should try harder nut either smoked or grilled they are gamey and hard to swallow.

Chrome chum in the smoker are just as good as a chrome pink or trout out of the smoker. While it may not be as good as coho, they are still good when done right.

chum photograph super dark, they look brighter in person, the meat actually looks pretty good though I haven't tasted it. I'm not super psyched to eat it but i like having a Chopped competition with myself, so it will be fun to experiment. The skeins actually burst inside the fish somehow? Going to make brined caviar with the eggs now I guess, I've read that Chum caviar is actually better than other kinds of salmon, so we'll see whatsup.

Chum is not nearly bad to eat as the rumor mill makes them appear..one guy says there bad, a newbie hears that, he never eats them , he shares that same myth around and others dont eat them but still spread the rumor and you have people who have never eaten them saying, "Oh wouldn't touch chum with a 10 ft pole" even though they have never tried them. Millions of households across the country eat kept, or silverbrite salmon bought from chain retailers who typically don't have access to fresh varieties of salmon species. I would imagine most don't complain as it ix still super popular and heavily marketed. Give it a try, smoke it, peel skin off and fry it..

http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/2307

Totally agreed on giving Chums a fair chance in the kitchen (Chrome, or not). I just cooked up a serving of some chum fillets I caught out of Hoodsport earlier this month, and it tasted just fine. The ones I got out of the salt were maybe a touch brighter (barely). With the relative lack of oils, they cook up firm and white, which lends well to absorbing seasonings. The bulk of my catch is destined for the smoker, but I did set aside some cuts for kitchen duty.

I've caught bright chrome coho (with sea lice and all) out of the Duwamish, that tasted far worse (i.e. muddy flavor) than my recent chum experiment in the kitchen.

The meat was very solid actually. Did some salt n pepper fried chum, egg washed and dusted em in rice flour, then put em on a salad of slaw and avocado. Turned out pretty delicious, meat was firm and white. Chum just get dark fast, they're not coho but not bad! Here's a pic of how it turner out. http://imgur.com/2t4BM6a

I've smoked chum for years. Tastes great, and doesn't last long with friends and family. I get a kick out of the "Up turned noses" of some. But I guess everyone has their own tastes. I eat what I keep, and I keep good looking fish. Oh, and it is always a challenge on putting the eggs up for fishing, or for Ikura! Guess I just like eating!

All of the chum I have smoked or otherwise, has turned out to be salmon flavored paste.... Im sure there is a better way to prepare or??? but I have not found it yet. This has been through many attempts. Could one of you fine gentleman that are "in the know" maybe start a forum post for your chum cooking advice?

Advise: put them back.

Advise: put them back.

Way wrong to assume "all" chum are past retention...... Whatcom creek has had the brightest chum I've ever seen! Meat looks just a silver, pink as pink as can be and they are so tasty....