Where to Buy Fresh Fish?

[pappag]

Historically I've gone to whole foods (Colorado) for fish and it has been ok (although over-priced). Lately it seems the quality has gone downhill. Maybe it's the day of the week/time of day I make the purchase, but it has been so bad lately I feel like I need to look elsewhere. Any recommendations in the Denver/Boulder area?

Seafood Landing
3457 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80211
http://www.seafoodlandingmarket.com/


Also, we need to grab beers soon!

[old goat]

Goat, yer still overpowering the scallops IMHO.

You would think but you'd be surprised. Still, nothing wrong with simple sauteed scallops.

My ceviche resipe--1 # any firm fish, 1 cup key lime juice, 1/2 c lemon juice, 1/2 c orange juice, 1 tbs sea salt, 2 sliced jalapenos, 1 medium onion halved and sliced thin, 4 tbs cilantro. Dice fish 1 in square, place in bottom of glass dish, cover with everything except the cilantro. Refrigerate overnight (a lot of people go shorter). Serve the fish on top of the onions and peppers with cilantro sprinkled on top. Serve with corn or potatoes and . . .

. . . pisco sour: 3 oz pisco, 2 oz key lime juice, 1 1/2 oz simple sugar, 1 tbs egg white, 1/4 cup crushed ice, 2-3 drops Angostura bitters, blend.

The reason you flour the scallops is to thicken the sauce. By the time they're cooked there's no breading left on the scallops.

[stuckathuntermtn]

Costco. No, really.
Maybe the volume makes it work for them? Otherwise you gotta go with frozen.

[BCMtnHound]

Directly contradictory statements. Which is it?

I stand by my recommendation for a quick cool thaw, but concede that halibut and ling cod do absorb water, whether it is frozen in freshwater, or thawed and left to sit in the waterbath too long. This does destroy its texture.
Never had an issue either freezing salmon or rainbow in water, or delayed thawing in a waterbath. These days though I just double wrap all the fish and freeze, and even the salmon don’t get freezer burn if used within a year.

[old goat]

If the fish isn't in a waterproof package I thaw it in salt water
I dont know if it's the best way, because it's the only way I do it. It's how I was trained, by my wife.

[bagtagley]

Alton Brown did an episode on thawing and said that a slow fridge thaw is ideal, but if you have to thaw quickly, the cold water drip method is the way to go, and works well. What I recall is that the slower the thaw, the less cellular damage (from sharp ice crystals I think) which limits the loss of delicious juices.

[skifishbum]

id pm captain akpm aboard the ss sportsman outta cordova





or cyo

[neckdeep]

http://www.pacificoceanmarket.com/

IMHO, the best place to buy seafood in most major American cities is the local Asian supermarket. By "best", I include selection, quality and price. Here's the thing: seafood is a staple of many Asian food cultures and, as a result, at most Asian supermarkets, the seafood department is the star attraction. In addition to fresh and frozen, you will also typically find tanks for live fish and shellfish. You can frequently find live lobster, dungeness crab, eels, tilapia plus a variety of clams and oysters.

Another key thing is that, in Asian cultures, especially Japan, the housewives and grandmas that do the bulk of the shopping are accustomed to shopping daily. Freshness is all important. This is reflected in a good Asian supermarket. Trust me, this is where you go for sashimi grade fish. Like the seafood, the fruit and veg is also the highest quality you can find in any given city and there is a lot of very interesting stuff you will never find at Whole Foods or Safeway. Ever had fresh bamboo shoots? You'll never eat the canned schwag again. Plus, they are traditionally frugal people as well! Unlike rich white people stores like Whole Paycheck, the prices are reasonable.

When in Seattle or Portland, I always make a pilgrimage to Uwajimaya. I load up on sauces, curry pastes, vinegars, sake, mirin, shaoxing wine, dashi, kombu, noodles, etc. For about $350 I can buy what would cost me $700-800 if I tried to buy it at the Albertsons in J-Hole, which I can't anyhow because the Asian food selection is a joke.

[alpinevibes]

Whole Foods has also slipped a bit up here in the RFV as well. We bought all our seafood from WF when we lived in Denver (never Sprouts) and they're by far the best up here now. Marczyk in Denver was probably the best quality (and $$$) for a special occasion; doable if you're a dentist.

My rec is to find someone locally who fishes AK as part of a small operation and see about buying bulk amount from them for your year. We buy 25lbs of fileted, frozen vaccumed sockeye from friends on the Kenai and pick it up when were up in Seattle each Fall. High quality, good price and helping a small person instead of Trident, Peter Pan, Icicle, etc. My family has fished Bristol Bay commercially for almost 70 years and it's sad to see the decline of livlihoods over the last 25 years as the big companies have taken over control of the industry.

[Danno]

i also grew up with the directive,
if you can’t see the sea order the beef. but when i visited Bozo Montucky with Norseman, there was a Japanese restaurant that served fabulous fresh seafood. obviously this is the exception not the rule but with the advent of modern air delivery there are exceptions to the rule.

I'm no expert, but I read somewhere on the internet (so it must be true) that most types of fish caught by large scale commercial fishing operations are frozen at sea. So that, generally speaking, there isn't much difference between fish on the coast versus inland with respect to those fish. Obviously, for truly always-fresh fish, it could make a hudge difference. (but I don't know how to tell the difference)

[mcski]

I think the flash frozen thing is particularly true w sushi. Blue Fin is always flash frozen before it gets to wholesale at the market. Which is good because it kills the worms. WORMS!

[stuckathuntermtn]

yes

[rideit]

http://www.pacificoceanmarket.com/

IMHO, the best place to buy seafood in most major American cities is the local Asian supermarket. By "best", I include selection, quality and price. Here's the thing: seafood is a staple of many Asian food cultures and, as a result, at most Asian supermarkets, the seafood department is the star attraction. In addition to fresh and frozen, you will also typically find tanks for live fish and shellfish. You can frequently find live lobster, dungeness crab, eels, tilapia plus a variety of clams and oysters.

Another key thing is that, in Asian cultures, especially Japan, the housewives and grandmas that do the bulk of the shopping are accustomed to shopping daily. Freshness is all important. This is reflected in a good Asian supermarket. Trust me, this is where you go for sashimi grade fish. Like the seafood, the fruit and veg is also the highest quality you can find in any given city and there is a lot of very interesting stuff you will never find at Whole Foods or Safeway. Ever had fresh bamboo shoots? You'll never eat the canned schwag again. Plus, they are traditionally frugal people as well! Unlike rich white people stores like Whole Paycheck, the prices are reasonable.

When in Seattle or Portland, I always make a pilgrimage to Uwajimaya. I load up on sauces, curry pastes, vinegars, sake, mirin, shaoxing wine, dashi, kombu, noodles, etc. For about $350 I can buy what would cost me $700-800 if I tried to buy it at the Albertsons in J-Hole, which I can't anyhow because the Asian food selection is a joke.

I recommend the Asian Market in Drummond.

[Benny Profane]

Best ski country sushi I have ever had was at Whistler.

Whenever I hear the word sushi in Colorado, I think, no, that's like expecting good Mexican in Boston.

[oftpiste]

if you can’t see the sea order the beef.

When I traveled a lot through the less aquatic parts of the nation in the early 80's (and obviously before that) this was religiously followed. But yeah, the frozen-at-sea thing has re-written those directives.

Now I ask what's local as opposed to 'fresh', even near the sea (like at fish markets on fishing piers!), and I'm often surprised by how little of what's available comes off a boat or out of the water within 100 miles.

[Name Redacted]

Best ski country sushi I have ever had was at Whistler.

Whenever I hear the word sushi in Colorado, I think, no, that's like expecting good Mexican in Boston.

Did you know that all US sushi (except tuna) is required to be frozen to kill parasites? Many restaurants get seafood flown in that was fresh frozen on the boat so it doesn't entirely matter where you are, you can get the same quality, it more depends on the chef. There's a few very good sushi restaurants in CO. Also had great sushi in Jackson.

I remember a Bourdain episode where the best sushi guy in the world (in Japan where it isn't required to freeze) told him that he deep freezes all his sushi because it makes it better, breaks down cell walls or something. -70ºF seems to be the mark, so "super-freezing" and they can store it for up to two years.

We had some amazing wild salmon from WF last night. Cooked 3 lbs of it on the grill. It didn't seem to have been frozen before. You can kinda tell by the crystalizing of the meat when it has been frozen.

Lastly, my FIL is going fishing in AK next week and plans to bring back ~90 lbs of salmon. I'm ok with eating that even if it is frozen.

[XXX-er]

Did you know that all US sushi (except tuna) is required to be frozen to kill parasites? Many restaurants get seafood flown in that was fresh frozen on the boat so it doesn't entirely matter where you are, you can get the same quality, it more depends on the chef. There's a few very good sushi restaurants in CO. Also had great sushi in Jackson.

I remember a Bourdain episode where the best sushi guy in the world (in Japan where it isn't required to freeze) told him that he deep freezes all his sushi because it makes it better, breaks down cell walls or something. -70ºF seems to be the mark, so "super-freezing" and they can store it for up to two years. .

I remember that episode ^^ the chef uses a medical grade freezer to get that cold, i also remember he said the rice was the most important ingredient for the best sushi

[Cruiser]

Fwiw Colorado's got sushi den and it's sister restaurant izakaya den, both of which make pretty well regarded sushi, and there are 2 locations of Matsuhisa as well.

That's said, Tom's Seafood is still the right place to buy seafood in the Denver metro. If they don't regularly carry what you want they're happy to order it in for you. It's all they do.