I recently discovered for myself–really for the first time–just how good salmon is! I had been eating tuna (white albacore) for the longest time, but also knew that it wasn’t the best idea to have it too often because of the high mercury content.
I did a little research and found that of all fish, salmon has one of the very least amounts of mercury; 35 times LESS than albacore tuna! So I started buying salmon at the grocery store in the fresh meat department, but they only had the “farmed” type, which I was told is much fattier, and has added color and other chemicals added! Not good.
So I went to Trader Joe’s and tried their canned “wild caught” Alaskan pink salmon, and it’s fantastic! Comes boneless, skinless and salt free. Same price at the canned albacore I had been buying, but the salmon is much healthier, tastier, and with loads of omega 3 and other heart-healthy stuff. Highly recommended. Also a good substitute for red meat.
Hey, the “brand” isn’t important, it’s the salmon. There are lots of brands to choose from, and I was simply giving my mini review of one of them. Where and what you buy is up to you.
Eeek! After all the horrors I’ve read about worms and other nasty little parasites in uncooked fish, I’ll stick with cooked! Still far better for you than red meat. :o
Some facts about mercury levels. (haha, look what brand they used as an example! Must be more of that “propaganda!” )
I like all fish, particularly raw fish. Yes, there is a risk of parasites form some raw, but less risk of getting seriously ill than than living on junk food, i’d guess.
Don’t discount farmed salmon; just do a little research on where the farm salmon you’re getting comes from. My favorite source is Whole foods:
which has sustainable farmed salmon, as do many other places, probably including trader Joes. While it isn’t quite as healthy as wild salmon it is much easier to cook at home - the fat (which is “good” omega 3 stuff) makes the fish far less susceptible to overcooking, particularly on the grill, which might be the perfect way to cook it. It’s hard to screw up a piece of farmed salmon, not so hard to make a 17.00/lb piece of King Salmon into a dry slab. I prefer wild, but my 10YO definitely likes the farmed stuff more.
We have tonnes of it here, both farmed and wild. Smoked wild salmon is to die for!!! but fishing here can be over $800 per rod per day on the best rivers so I resort to poaching
That way you get a good meal and an adrenaline rush when you get chased by an angry game keeper with a gun!!!
I’ve eaten plenty of sushi, and it was delicious, but I don’t eat raw fish anymore. Me and my buddies used to fish on the rocks at Redondo Beach when we were kids, and there was this old Asian guy who was always there, and he would slice up the raw fish he’d caught and eat it right there and then! Every once in a while he’d look our way and gesture like he was offering us to try it. We passed!
My favorite raw fish would have to be Ahi tuna. But my favorite cooked fish is definitely wild salmon grilled with some sesame oil and some large flake salt and a little pepper. YUM YUM!!!
I was into fishing, but knew almost nothing about salt water. My friend Tom took me out on his 40 ft commercial boat to catch snapper. He would not let me bring my “tourist pole” , sneering at the idea and saying I would learn to hand line.
Hand lines are thick mono, with a ball bearing swivel before a 3 ft 30 lb leader and the hook-bait. No pole, You tape your fingers and feed the line out off of a 2 $ round spool. All professional fisherman in the Keys are contemptible of “tourist poles” . None of them use them.
We chummed (throw ground fish crap in the water slowly) and caught 200 lbs of snapper that night ( this is always done at night).
The first snapper I caught like a real Keys fisherman, with a hand line, Tom chopped, gutted, filleted and skinned in 10 seconds. Then he pulled out a tub of sauce, dipped in a chunk and ate it. He of course offered me some, but I was a pussy like Terry. It was a special moment, but I was a pussy like Terry. I am sorry Terry, but really, we should have tried it.
I eat a lot of salmon and love it. Lately I’ve gotten mine from Target, which has frozen wild alaska salmon for a pretty cheap price compared to the salmon they (and others) have in the fresh area (which in many cases is unthawed frozen salmon anyways). Their frozen salmon comes in nice sized portions for one person, so I can just cook one for me, or one each for whatever number I am cooking for.
Oh, and I love sashimi sushi, though I only have that when I go to a sushi place.
Salmon is wonderful stuff. Had I really nice grilled “Cajun” salad the other day in downtown Long Beach. Cute little French crepe restaurant on elm and 1st. Delicate flavor with a too die for salad beneath it’s salmony goodness.
Had a really nice seared ahi salad on Catalina Island last week at Luah Larry’s. Soooo good. Light and delicate and while I’m not prone to eat Shushi, this verged on raw but I’d hoped it would never end.
Salmon is, however, my favorite fish. Though, Rainbow Trout is tasty too.
After all the horrors I’ve read about worms and other nasty little parasites in uncooked fish, I’ll stick with cooked! Still far better for you than red meat. :o
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