Tuna, Salmon, general seafood help

ksmyrl

I'm a geographical bachelor without kids this week. SWMBO is at the outlaws house with the kids before school starts. So I'm cooking all of my favorites...so far it's been a nice rare filet on Saturday. Last night was a piece of salmon so big @SGH would have been impressed that I ate it all. Tonight I seared a lovely tuna steak to rare on the CI skillet. The steak was good, but the salmon and the tuna were off the charts. Which brings me to my question. I'm buying wild caught tuna and salmon (when I can) from the local Publix. What are my options for good seafood not being on the coast? I went today looking for Sea Bass...but no dice. Is there the equivalent of Snake River Farms for seafood on the interwebs? If grocery store fish can be prepared this well, imagine a really good quality product. How do the fancy seafood restaurants inland do it? Any advice?

And I don't want to hear folks like @NPHuskerFL say "I just go down to the dock for my seafood"... you coastal dwellers can kiss my inland A$$. Kidding....

BTW...I'm in the ATL, so catfish is plentiful, and pretty good.

travisstrick

Look at what's in the case. Google images what you want. If the fish in the case looks like the stuff on Google then it should be good. Also, ask to smell before you buy. It shouldn't smell like fish. 

Danny Noonan

Don't know where you are in ATL but Kathleen's Catch is a good option if you are in the Johns Creek area or reasonably close. Dekalb Farmers Market and Whole Foods are also good options. I have had good luck at Costco with Ahi Tuna, Mahi, Copper River Salmon, and Halibut when they have it. 

theyolksonyou

It's a bit of a drive up 400 for you, but Jolly Roger up in Ellijay flies stuff in on the regular. Maybe take a cooler and let the wife go antiqueing. Also lots of wineries up there to tour/taste 

mahenryak

FWIW my favorite way to eat fresh salmon is fried on the stove with a little oil and S&P.  Served with a slice of lemon and some rice pilaf and I am good to go.  Sometimes if I  want some variety I'll use a very simple, yet tasty marinade--Italian Dressing.  A couple of hours is all that is really needed.  If I am doing the marinade thing then I will cook on the BGE.

NPHuskerFL

 always get the freshest possible. @travisstrick advise is spot on. 

SGH

I wish that I could offer more than Im about to. With that said, the only seafood that I mail order is Alaskan King Crab legs and lobsters. I honestly get everything else right off the boats and docks.  However you can get some pretty good stuff from Sams club. I can't speak for all of them, but the ones down here actually have decent stuff. Good luck in your search my friend.  

ksmyrl

So in my quest to find the best quality inland seafood available I've discovered a few things in the last 24 hrs. One, I need to take a trip to the Dekalb Farmers Market. Can't believe I didn't think of that...thanks @Danny Noonan  . Two, I work for a major university and am pretty good friends with the manager of the food services. He said he can order me anything I want from their vendor at wholesale prices, but warns the quality can be hit or miss. He suggested...the DeKalb farmers market if quality was my priority. Finally, he told me about the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch. It's an app (google play or appstore). It tells all about sustainable seafood, when to buy, what type, how it's harvested etc. etc. Really cool app and website. I've never been accused of being a tree-hugger, but I do believe I can make informed choices that have a positive impact on the environment. Link below just in case you are interested.

http://www.seafoodwatch.org/

Thanks for looking.

blind99

SGH said:

I wish that I could offer more than Im about to. With that said, the only seafood that I mail order is Alaskan King Crab legs and lobsters. I honestly get everything else right off the boats and docks.  However you can get some pretty good stuff from Sams club. I can't speak for all of them, but the ones down here actually have decent stuff. Good luck in your search my friend.  

@sgh or anyone else ever tried frozen Alaskan king crab legs from restaurant depot?  mine sells a box of about 10lbs for about $100, which is about half what Costco's go for.

fishlessman

just make sure it looks and smells fresh,grey and fishy smelling is no good, not much you can do with the big chains as its usually flash frozen at sea anyways. im only seeing real fresh fish with the little shops in their house or barn lately and stay away from the docks as the prices are higher, the little shops have live fresh caught lobster, haddock, cod,pollock, mussels, sometimes the occassional atlantic halibut,, after catching theres a two day window before quality goes down with most of these fish unless flash frozen. i guess up here we can get snobby about it, lobster and haddock caught that day. cod can go 2, nobody wants the pollock but i like it and it can go 3 days on ice. wild caught alaskan salmon kills me sometimes looking closely on the bag it sometimes says processed in china, pays to research supppliers

Big_Green_Craig

Living in your location, you have several options. You could head up to Atlanta Hwy Seafood Market in Gainesville, Buford Hwy Farmers Market in Doraville or the Dekalb Farmers Market in Decatur. They are all fresh.

The two farmers markets will have a better selection due to their size. You can buy the whole fish or have them filet/steak anything you want. The variety of seafood is unreal. From oysters, live catfish, scallops in the shell, snails, eel, etc. The two markets will also have seasonal items such as crawfish, sea bass and salmon. 

If you are buying the whole fish, the scales should be very slick and the eyes should be clear. If you buy a steak of a filet and it smells like fish, no bueno. 

IMO-
If you plan to go to one of the farmers markets, allow several hours because it is definitely an experience. Also, bring a large cooler with ice. You'll thank me later.    

nolaegghead

fishlessman said:

just make sure it looks and smells fresh,grey and fishy smelling is no good, not much you can do with the big chains as its usually flash frozen at sea anyways. im only seeing real fresh fish with the little shops in their house or barn lately and stay away from the docks as the prices are higher, the little shops have live fresh caught lobster, haddock, cod,pollock, mussels, sometimes the occassional atlantic halibut,, after catching theres a two day window before quality goes down with most of these fish unless flash frozen. i guess up here we can get snobby about it, lobster and haddock caught that day. cod can go 2, nobody wants the pollock but i like it and it can go 3 days on ice. wild caught alaskan salmon kills me sometimes looking closely on the bag it sometimes says processed in china, pays to research supppliers

@fishlessman - Yep, very observant.  We used to catch, freeze and ship salmon to China for processing, and they would re-freeze it and send it back.  Now most of it stays over there, and we just import inferior stuff from overseas.

Americans don't like fish with bones.   I'll pull the pin bones out if I cold smoke, but otherwise I just eat around them.

fishlessman

nolaegghead said:

fishlessman said:

just make sure it looks and smells fresh,grey and fishy smelling is no good, not much you can do with the big chains as its usually flash frozen at sea anyways. im only seeing real fresh fish with the little shops in their house or barn lately and stay away from the docks as the prices are higher, the little shops have live fresh caught lobster, haddock, cod,pollock, mussels, sometimes the occassional atlantic halibut,, after catching theres a two day window before quality goes down with most of these fish unless flash frozen. i guess up here we can get snobby about it, lobster and haddock caught that day. cod can go 2, nobody wants the pollock but i like it and it can go 3 days on ice. wild caught alaskan salmon kills me sometimes looking closely on the bag it sometimes says processed in china, pays to research supppliers

@fishlessman - Yep, very observant.  We used to catch, freeze and ship salmon to China for processing, and they would re-freeze it and send it back.  Now most of it stays over there, and we just import inferior stuff from overseas.

Americans don't like fish with bones.   I'll pull the pin bones out if I cold smoke, but otherwise I just eat around them.

its to the point i dont see much bluefin steaks up here, its caught, frozen, and sent overseas, ill kill for a good maine bluefin steak, not the biggest fan of warmer water tuna