Fish
White Sturgeon
A tier
White sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) is the great sturgeon of western North America—the largest freshwater fish of the continent—and now a leading farmed meat fish in California and elsewhere. Flesh is firm, white-to-pink, and richly mild, excellent hot-smoked, grilled as steaks, or roasted. Wild Columbia and Fraser populations are carefully managed or protected depending on run; restaurants almost always mean farmed white sturgeon when they list it. Smokehouses prize the clean fat and sliceability; chefs sear thick portions like veal with beurre blanc or brown butter. Roe from farmed white sturgeon appears as domestic caviar programmes. Confirm farm origin for sustainability story accuracy. Keep internal temperature moderate—the meat stays juicy just past translucent and dries if chased to well-done.
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Characteristics
Preparations
Traits
History
Indigenous nations of the Pacific Northwest harvested white sturgeon as a major river food fish.
Commercial Columbia River fisheries intensively targeted white sturgeon for meat and caviar.
California aquaculture developed white sturgeon farming for meat and later caviar.
Farmed white sturgeon became a standard sustainable sturgeon meat on West Coast menus.