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[Danny]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

And I have had very fresh salmon...

The way you said that made me think of you eating it like almost immediately

[Brat]

Ok, ok.* So you want to see a big salmon?* Here is my DH with his catch..

http://ashtonnw.com/Albums/Fishing/Image1.htm

[unclemick]

Don't know about salmon - but the old 'step daughter in spare room' worked on building a seafood plant ?blast freezer? when the prices were low for her crab catch one year - air shipped in special containers out of New Orleans as far as Boston (shrimp and crab meat). Says the new freezing tech keeps the flavor.

BTY - Gary is rebuilding a new plant on Salt Bayou near the same place.

Still plan to 'do MO' for at least one year - maybe two.

She renewed her license - because of talk of 'grandfathering'/limiting commercial fishermen like in other areas. If so - she can sell/transfer the license for $ if that happens.

[ESRBob]

Brat,
I am trying to convince myself that your DH fish picture is real and isn't some mysterious photoshop creation. Do King Salmon actually get that big? That is amazing to me.

[unclemick]

Sure

Back in ancient days - when I was a kid - saw some that big caught locally out of the Colombia River near Kalama, Rainer area.

Not me - though I did fish as a youngster.

[Brat]

I had a consulting gig in Anchorage.* Husband went along, finagling a fishing trip on the Kenai River.* He did catch and land that fish all by himself (although another ran the boat when he had it on line).

[cute fuzzy bunny]

My 2c.

I used to LOVE salmon. Nothing better than a nice grilled slab o' salmon with a glass of pinot noir.

After a while, I just didnt appreciate it anymore. My wife still liked it, but I generally made it to suit her, then nibbled a little and ate more vegetables.

A few months ago we took gabe to visit one of my ex girlfriends and her new beau, and he had grilled up a piece of salmon. Unbellievably good. I ate three portions and was threatened with stick beating if I approached the fish again. I asked where she got it...wild salmon from costco at about 50% more than the farm raised.

Then it occurred to me...I'd been getting wild salmon most of my life, but as farm raised became more prevalent, I started buying it. Hell, it looked and smelled good and it was cheaper than the wild. Next time I was at costco I bought a slab, cooked it, and devoured it. Yummy. The next time I was there I bought a chunk of the farm raised. Yuck.

Bear in mind I grew up on the seashore in new england and bought a fair amount of seafood from the wholesalers on the boston waterfront. I know fresh, quality fish when I see and smell it. There was no obvious quality difference between the wild and farmed to me.

Based on this, I bugged my fisherman neighbor to kick me some trout and catfish the next time he brought home a cooler full. I again found a huge difference. The trout had fine layers of tasty fat on it that I wasnt seeing in the farm raised trout. The catfish was sweeter by far than the farm raised from the store.

The trout experience made me wonder if it isnt simply the colder waters of the ocean, lakes and streams results in a fattier fish than the warmer farm ponds. Certainly fat tastes good.

All that having been said, I have to disagree that farm raised is as good or better. Absolutely the opposite in my experience.

As far as freezing vs fresh...unless you live within a few hours drive of the water and you're buying from the guy who caught it, or a VERY reputable wholesaler who is buying direct...you're probably better off with frozen. Fish and shellfish that have been flash frozen on the boat and havent been frozen for a long time are probably of higher quality than a lot of the 'fresh' you find in stores.

And never buy 'on sale' previously frozen fish from your supermarket counter...its the stuff thats been defrosted and sat in the case until they're a day or two from tossing it.

Anybody ask to smell the fish at the store? I know it's the best thing to do, but I can't bring myself to ask them to let me take a sniff.

[uncledrz]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

Anybody ask to smell the fish at the store?* I know it's the best thing to do, but I can't bring myself to ask them to let me take a sniff.

Al
I do it all the time. If they have any problem, since the people at the fish market wear the disposable gloves, I ask them to rub the fish a few times and then asked to smell the glove. It gives a good enough indication of whether the fish is fresh or not.
As others on this thread have stated, fresh just tastes better. The look and texture of the fish, the clarity of the eye are good indicators, but IMO the best is the smell. If it has a clear odor, great, but any "fishy" smell at all and its old and will taste old.
Uncledrz

[Brat]

Originally Posted by ()

The trout experience made me wonder if it isnt simply the colder waters of the ocean, lakes and streams results in a fattier fish than the warmer farm ponds.* Certainly fat tastes good.

Salmon are farmed in the same coastal waters as wild salmon live, except for those raised in Chile where the salmon farm is in a lake.

The difference (other than variety) between wild and farm salmon is what they eat. *

Absolutely fat tastes good! *They fatten up for their trip upstream.* A salmon ready to spawn stops eating, that is why they are their best in the lower reaches of a fresh water estuary as they head upstream. *

Frankly the salmon in the photo of my husband was too lean. *

[brewer12345]

Dad worked in the Fulton Fish Market for 30 years (ya knowadda mean?), so I have a pretty good idea of what good quality seafood is. *Personally, I depend on the merchant. *There are very few fish stores I will patronize because I know I can't exect quality from most of them. *There is an excellent place near work, a decent place on the shore, and I will occasionally buy from the local Whole Foods (fish is decent, but not up to the standards of the place near work).

[Martha]

I presented CTs positions on fresh vs. frozen to the lawyer in the next office (kind of like the step daughter in the spare room). This lawyer was on the cover of Field and Stream once. Before law, he was a guide in the Boundary Waters. He also regularly fishes in Alaska. So I think he is of similar fishing status as CT. For all I know, they might be acquainted with each other.

His opinion is that lean fish, like Halibut, Cod, walleye, etc. freeze well and if they are quick frozen and slowly thawed they taste as good as fresh. His opinion is that fatty fish, like salmon, are better fresh and sometimes don't freeze well at all.

When he goes fishing in Alaska he will bring back flash frozen/vacuum packed halibut.

FWISW

[Jarhead*]

Originally Posted by ()

My 2c.

I used to LOVE salmon.* Nothing better than a nice grilled slab o' salmon with a glass of pinot noir.

After a while, I just didnt appreciate it anymore.* My wife still liked it, but I generally made it to suit her, then nibbled a little and ate more vegetables.

A few months ago we took gabe to visit one of my ex girlfriends and her new beau, and he had grilled up a piece of salmon.* Unbellievably good.* I ate three portions and was threatened with stick beating if I approached the fish again.* I asked where she got it...wild salmon from costco at about 50% more than the farm raised.

Then it occurred to me...I'd been getting wild salmon most of my life, but as farm raised became more prevalent, I started buying it.* Hell, it looked and smelled good and it was cheaper than the wild.* Next time I was at costco I bought a slab, cooked it, and devoured it.* Yummy.* The next time I was there I bought a chunk of the farm raised.* Yuck

TH: *I have about 175 lbs. of game in my freezer.
About 30 lbs. of Kohoe Salmon, 50 lbs. of Venison, 40 or 50 lbs. of trout, 15 or 20 lbs. of Steelhead, a couple of Pheasants. *All shot or caught within the last year and a half. *My wife uses that little gadget that compresses the air and seals them.

We've never had a bad meal from any of them, and I (regardless of what Cutthroat claims), would rather eat the cardboard that they come with than "farmed game".

[Sheryl]

There are some who contend that the farming of salmon in BC has had tremendous negative effects on the Orca whale population.* I read the book by Alexandra Morton referenced in this article and was convinced by it.* She was/is a whale researcher who watched the whales' environment degrade as the farms moved into their areas. *Eventually the whales just stopped coming back.

http://tinyurl.com/8jd5x

[lazyday]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

Anybody ask to smell the fish at the store? I know it's the best thing to do, but I can't bring myself to ask them to let me take a sniff.

I have. When I moved to the city I live in now, the fish I bought was terrible, even at expensive grocery stores. Sometimes smelled so bad, I thew it out without bothering to cook it. Getting a bag of ice with the fish for ride home didn't help.
Started asking to smell, and they almost never smelled good enough to buy, so I gave up on "fresh" fish.
Maybe fresh fish is better in the boutique/gourmet stores, but I won't pay that much.

Walmart has frozen fish at good prices.
Right now, they have both wild "product of China" and farmed salmon frozen, and the wild is cheaper. I find the farmed to be pretty good, and the wild to be disgusting.
I recall the farmed to be from Latin or South America (Chile?) glad to read they're supposedly less toxic.
A few years ago, IIRC, they only had wild, probably from another part of the world, and it tasted good.

[Nords]

So, anyone up for a discussion of wild turkeys or free-range chickens?

[haha]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

Anybody ask to smell the fish at the store?* I know it's the best thing to do, but I can't bring myself to ask them to let me take a sniff.

I do it.

It's my money, and usually quite a bit of it.

Ha

[ESRBob]

Originally Posted by DanTien

The way you said that made me think of you eating it like almost immediately

My son showed me this picture in a different context today and we had a good laugh -- I highly recommend checking out these posters at thinkgeek.com -- the perfect holiday gift for anyone still stuck in cubicle land, or those of us trying to remember why we left.

I think my favorites are "Mistakes", "Mediocrity", "Incompetence" and "Consulting"


http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/posters/65bf/

[Brat]

Originally Posted by Sheryl

There are some who contend that the farming of salmon in BC has had tremendous negative effects on the Orca whale population.* ... She was/is a whale researcher who watched the whales' environment degrade as the farms moved into their areas. *Eventually the whales just stopped coming back. ...

No one can say if it was fish farming, or other sea conditions, that caused the change. Frankly I think it is a mixed bag.