Chicago Seafood Update

By -

 

 

Chicago Seafood Update                     May 31, 2011

 

 

 

Specials:

The Copper River Sockeye Salmon have reached epic catch levels, but with the holiday weekend we won’t be resupplied until mid-week. Prices then should be quite reasonable for fillet and whole fish.

Weather has put a damper on most other fisheries across the United States and Canada so selection has been limited. Stock items should be readily available, but special catches are scarce.

That being said we will have something new here in the form of Golden Tilefish, from Florida. Tilefish are found right at the continental shelf and are a deepwater predator with a voracious diet of small fish as well as crab, lobster and even squid. The filets will be large being cut from 5-10 lb fish should average 3-5 lbs each. Tilefish is similar to snapper and grouper and the beautiful skin is perfect to serve crispy.

 

Soft shelled crabs, dressed. This is the way to buy them! Why bother with all the hassle of live.  We will have all sizes of Handy, fresh dressed crabs. Go ahead give ‘em a try.

We still hope to see Wreckfish and Cobia by Thursday next week.

 

 

Fresh Shrimp:

Fresh shrimp are a treat many only get to experience close to the shore. Well over 90% of all shrimp are frozen and processed in some way. You owe it to yourself and your customers to try our delicious “Blue Foot” fresh cleaned 51/50 ct shrimp. Personally I like to eat these sweet creatures raw, but I guess you could cook it too.

 

Wild Pacific:

Rough weather between Anchorage and Seattle has delayed our Halibut this week. We will have new fish arriving but limited from other sources. Wild salmon is available in both king and sockeye varieties.

Scientist have predicted that 2011 may be a record year for the west coast wild salmon season, and so far it looks like they might be right. They are not saying the same thing about Halibut as it is decidedly very poor.

 

Wild Atlantic:

Northern ground fish catches are stable if not stellar. Very little change in this category.

 

Wild Southern:

Fishermen are complaining about a bad year in the gulf – a recent article just highlighted some troubles with Octopus and the now closed stoned crab fishery. And another group of traders face additional charges of mislabeled fish (just for the record pangasius is not grouper). Remember if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

 

Salmon Farmed:

Prices are down on farmed Canadian salmon this week, and there is hope that wild salmon prices may tend to drive these down even more as the season gets under way. Chilean Fillet is also available, and prices remain unchanged.

 

If you experienced any problems sourcing Scottish or Norwegian salmon you might think to give our premium Jail Island line of salmon a go. Sourced from the Bay of Fundy in Maritime Atlantic Canada these fish are superior. 

Jail Island fillet is a good buy with pricing just slightly higher than others.

 

Sword and Tuna:

More in over the weekend: the moon cycle favors strong landings next week.

 

Frozen:

Snow Crab is readily available in all sizes with pricing stable. If you have been waiting to buy now might be the time.

 

Lake Fish:

Fresh whitefish prices are down on smaller sizes. Catching has been a bit erratic, with oversupply late in the weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

"The best fishermen I know try not to make the same mistakes over and over again;

 Instead they strive to make new and interesting mistakes and to remember what they learned from them."

~ John Gierach

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fish Yields - or - How Much Does This Really Cost Me?

By -
Image
I often find it necessary to explain the yield (amount of usable flesh) off of various fish. By knowing what percentage of meat will be available when a whole fish is filleted one can make an accurate analysis of; A. how much whole fish must be purchased and B. what is the true fillet cost. Knowing how to correctly perform these calculations will benefit not only seafood suppliers, restaurant chefs, but also the casual cook. Below is a list of some common fish and the net yield percentages. Actual percentages may vary depending on skill of the butcher. Salmon (head-on gutted) yields 75% skin-on fillet Snapper (head-on gutted) yields 40% skin-on fillet Mahi (headed and gutted) yields 65% skin-on fillet Monkfish (tail) yields 70% skinless fillet Cod (headed and gutted) yields 60% skin-on fillet Grouper (head-on gutted) yields 35% skinless fillet Halibut (headed and gutted) yields 66% skin-on fillet Tuna (headless bullets) yields 75% untrimmed loins Sword (headless bullets) yields 80% cen...
Read more

Flounder and Sole: or A Fish By Any Other Name Would Still Taste as Sweet.

By -
Image
Ever wonder what the differences are between Sole and Flounder? Some customers recently asked me the question so I thought I would take a moment to shed a bit of light on the subject. Here in North America we have no true sole only flounders. When Europeans came to the Americas they called flounders soles because they looked like the fish they knew in the "old world". This has led understandably to much confusion over the years. The only true sole would be Dover Sole, Solea solea . Lemon sole is one of the names given to winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus , (also known as black back). Usually at the retail level when multiple flounder sku's are sold; flounder is the name given to the refreshed less expensive product, and sole (or lemon sole) is the name given to the more expensive fresh cut product. Fluke, Paralichthys dentatus also called summer flounder can also be sold as sole fillet. Sometimes there is a distinction ...
Read more

Sugar Toads, What? : Blowfish Tails Check

By -
Image
So Friday morning I am on the phone with one of the good old boy fish sellers in Maryland, and after hearing about how the Maryland DNC might be the ones "poaching" all those rock fish (wild striped bass) in ghost driftnets he finally gives me his catch list, and he just says it 'sugar toads'. So I had to look at the calendar and make sure it wasn't April 1st, because I hate to admit it but I have no idea what this is. He says "..you know theses little puffer tails". The lights go on in my head: BLOWFISH TAILS.....send me 50 lbs to sell and a couple for testing. I have to say these are one of this Fishmonger's favorite appetizing seafood specialties, and no they are not poisonous that is a different fish. I cannot wait until these jewels arrive Monday. I did a little research and it looks like they are a 'micro-trend' according to a recent article in Grubstreet declares this, who knew. So if you get the chance try some at the next chance you...
Read more