Review: Sam’s Choice Wild Caught Alaskan Halibut

Ive mentioned before that Walmart’s frozen fish line is worthy of more inspection than you might casually think. Sure there are some duds (avoid the salmon) but there’s more than one highlight. Case in point is this frozen halibut from Alaska – which in itself is almost a seal of quality in itself.

Indeed, Larry Olmsted in his book Real Food Fake Food (affiliate link) touches on this very point (a great buy for any curious foodie!); the Alaskan state constitution has sustainability enshrined in its text. Hundred of thousands of acres of land and sea are protected at the state level to ensure wild farming and sustainable fishing/farming can be achieved.

Suffices to say, if you see “Alaska” on a reputable product, it’s a sure fire bet that the product is going to be great. And that’s what this product is, and it’s priced commensurately too – see below.

By the way, if you’re worried about frozen fish in general being low quality, don’t! Here’s a story I wrote about modern day fishing and freezing practices.

Sam’s Choice Wild Caught Alaskan Halibut – what’s in the bag?

Two pieces of fish come inside the bigger plastic packaging. They’re separately shrink-wrapped as below. Each portion is a hearty serving for one person.

Sam’s Choice Wild Caught Alaskan Halibut

I immediate turn to fish tacos when I have firm meaty white fish. This halibut works admirably in this dish. It takes no more than ten minutes to pan fry this once properly defrosted. Halibut can withstand cooking at quite high temperatures so I tend to briskly fry this with a little taco seasoning.

Sam’s Choice Wild Caught Alaskan Halibut cooking instructions

You’ll need to thaw the fish before you get to cooking. So how do you defrost frozen halibut? This is my method:

• I remove the fish from the plastic shrink-wrap
• Transfer the fish to a gallon storage bag
• Place the gallon bag in a bowl and place in refreigerator
• The fish will take about 24 hours to defrost
• I check the fish about 75% of the way through and give it a little shake to dislodge any ice crystals that might be slowing things down

Once you’ve defrosted the halibut, its meaty texture affords a number of ways to prepare:

How much are Sam’s Choice Wild Caught Alaskan Halibut

As of May 2019 I paid $19.99 for this package of two frozen pieces of halibut. That price tallies well with local grocers where Alaskan halibut is often retailed around $20-$30 for a similar portion size.

Other Walmart products

• Great Value Breaded Okra
• Great Value Breaded Chicken Nuggets – a solid buy
• Three chile eggs and steak fries
• Great Value Regular Cut French Fried Potatoes
• Breakfast for dinner – Southwestern style
• Mahi-mahi fish tacos
• Great Value Steak Cut French Fried Potatoes review
• Hatch Chile fries with egg
• Great Value Korean Inspired Beef Street Taco Kit
• Sam’s Club 100% Angus Beef Burgers
• Walmart grocery delivery – is it any good?
• Review: Sam’s Choice Wild Caught Alaskan Halibut
• Review: Great Value BBQ Pork Rib Sandwiches
• Review: Great Value Chicken Dipping Sauce
• Review: Sam’s Choice Burrito Bowls Pork Carnitas
• Review: Sam’s Choice Beef Barbacoa Burrito Bowl
• Review: Walmart Premium Ahi Tuna Steaks
• Review: Walmart Premium Mahi-Mahi Fillets

Stuart Melling

Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you!  I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC – Utah’s biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune.  I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.

I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years.   I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand.   I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen.  Follow along on Instagram too!