Small independent processors and direct marketing of sockeye is a growing trend among fisherman in Bristol Bay. One such business in Ekuk has a new take on the traditional frozen fillet. The Friedman Family Fishery is one of the few, if not the only, processor bringing a butterfly fillet to market.
Friedman has been fishing in Ekuk since 1989, twenty years ago he bought some property in the summer time fishing village and started a processing operation.
“It’s a really good thing I can realize full value of these fish by selling them to the public,” said Friedman.
Friedman started by taking only 100 pounds of fish back to his home in Baltimore in 1995 as an experiment and with that the Friedman Family Fishery was born. And Friedman says the business has taken off solely by word of mouth since then. This year he plans to send home 8500 pounds. Among the traditional salmon fillets, Friedman is packing up a more usually cut. He calls it the butterfly fillet.
To make a butterfly, take a regular fillet, make two diagonal cuts and then cut underneath those cuts so it comes off as one piece. Open up the flaps and you have a semi-round butterfly shaped chunk of meat.
“Which I think is a cool look when you put it on a plate next to some veggies or any other dish that you’re servicing,” said Devin Darrough, who cuts the butterfly fillet for Friedman. Darrough has been commercial fishing on Ekuk beach with his family since he was a child and introduced the butterfly cut to Avi. Darrough says he learned it from his father.
“Who he learned from his father Bob. And it is claimed that he come up with it but we think he got it from somebody else. But we give grandpa credit for the butterfly fillet,” explained Darrough.
These two master filleters met up when Darrough started dating Friedman’s daughter and now the family tradition of the butterfly cut has made into the list of produces Friedman will be selling to his east coast customers this year.
“I’ve never seen it on the market. I’ve only known about it because our family has done it and now Avi is selling it. So he’s the only one that I know of who actually sells it,” said Darrough.
Darrough says it’s his favorite was to eat salmon.
“I personally like to fry it up. I like to get it crispy. It cooks really (quickly) because it’s a thinner piece of meat,” said Darrough.
Friedman believes the butterfly will be popular with his clients. He says it’s an easy way to just have a single serving, something many of his customers are looking for.
