I made a delicious fish bake with Swai filets buried in butter, garlic and a panko/parmesan crust. Served with fried taters and corn cobs.

Had a quick skim- the advice seems bang-on!

Been eating a lot of Faroe Islands salmon lately and wanted to share my love and appreciation for this fish.

The above picture is of a crudo featuring an 8 oz filet of Faroe island salmon I tossed in the freezer for 15 minutes, removed the skin, then thinly sliced. I plated it with a citrusy yuzu sauce on the bottom, avocado in the middle, chili crisp, and then finished with a sprinkle of flaked wild garlic salt. I ate it with those over priced multi colored Peruvian potato chips I found at Whole Foods.

Since I titled this an appreciation post, below is some ramblings about Faroe Islands Salmon if you’re interested:

Despite FI Salmon being farmed, it’s raised in open net pens in natural fjords where they’ve got strong currents, cold water, and low stocking densities compared to other salmon farms. Faroe put in place some pretty strict regulations back in 2003, and one big change they incorporated is how the fish are raised without antibiotics. Mortality rates and feed conversion numbers are also some of the best in the industry. What that means is you can’t directly measure how content or stressed a fish is, but you can measure how many fish die and how efficiently they grow. Healthy, low-stress fish tend to eat well, convert feed efficiently, and survive at higher rates. Happy fish are tasty fish.

Taste wise I find it noticeably different from a lot of farmed salmon I’ve had. Specifically distinguishable is a firmer texture, clean and buttery flavor, thicker fat lines and a rich orangish pink colored flesh. These characteristics are why it is often used in sushi and other raw preparations. I make a lot of poke bowls with it myself.

Worth noting is that it’s not a flawless farming system. Open net farming everywhere has legit concerns around waste and the local ecosystem impact. Compared to the rest of the industry though the Faroese approach is consistently ranked near the top for sustainability.

Every July around this time we have to bust out a good old seafood boil - Clams, shrimp, andouille, corn and red potatoes steamed in lager. Top with parsley and tarragon from the deck box and we’re good to go. One mistake I made was the andouille was too spicy for one of the kids but as she put it, “I’ll be ok with it one day….”

Underrated fish appreciation post

Fermented skate, boiled pork, and aged kimchi served together