If you’re a foodie, you’ve probably seen ads for several Alaskan seafood providers in your social media feeds. There’s a handful of businesses out there which provide a service similar to Catch Sitka Seafood, which is to say, tremendous quality Alaskan seafood, shipped right to you door.
Full disclosure up front – the folks from Catch Sitka Seafood sent me a box gratis to test and rate their product. Due to this site I get all manner of products landing on the doorstep, and lets just say I typically only write about the really good ones…
With that in mind, this is one of those brands. As you can see from these pictures, the product arrives absolutely pristine, frozen perfectly with lots of re-assuring dry ice. Take note, be careful when opening:
If you didn’t know – Alaskan seafood is some of the best on the planet. Alaskan state law basically makes farmed fishing illegal. Everything out of Alaska is wild and sustainable – and in most cases better than anything you will find locally. I also find that the pricing works out the same (or sometimes even cheaper) than buying at the local grocery store, when you work out the per pound cost. And then of course there’s the quality.
The fish is blast frozen which means those dreaded ice crystals don’t form, which means when defrosted, its nigh imperceptible from fresh fish. Just switch your fish from freezer to fridge and the next day, you’ll have defrosted fish with no mush and no fishy smell. Frozen seafood gets a really bad rep from it’s storied past, when incorrect freezing techniques were used. That’s not the case with these high end providers, read this story I wrote a couple years back that really dives into the details.
Here are a couple of dishes I quickly made with my Catch Sitka Seafood box:
The smoked Alaskan coho made for a fun change of pace over the thinly sliced stuff you find at the store – a big fillet of salmon, with a gentle smoke and sweet brown sugar finish. It made for a great canapé plate over our last Christmas holiday, topping a cracker with some cream cheese, capers and onion.
One of my goto dishes for salmon is Thai cuisine. I love it particularly in yellow, pananag and massaman curries. The fish holds up particularly well to the strong flavors of Thai cuisine. More often than not I’ll part bake the fish, remove the skin and any errant bones, before finishing it directly simmering in they curry. Not pictured is the buttery halibut that went into some top quality fish tacos with plenty of crunchy cabbage, zesty lime crema, chipotle sauce, avocado and cilantro.
All in all, Catch Sitka Seafood are up there with the very best online seafood providers I’ve tried. And again I ain’t saying that just because of the freebie, I plan to be a repeat customer for many years. Speaking of which if you use code STUART15 over on their site here you’ll get $15 off orders over $125 for first time customers – we get a referral fee too on all orders placed.
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!