How did I miss first shipments of wild salmon to my Costco Wholesale?

In my basket at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack today, organic quinoa, reduced-fat Jarlsberg Swiss Cheese, fresh blueberries and sweet peppers -- but no fresh wild salmon.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

My wife is sticking to her story.

She shopped at Costco Wholesale twice last week, and couldn't find any fresh wild salmon from Alaska.

This afternoon, however, I spoke to an employee stocking the refrigerated fish case, and he said the Hackensack store received wild salmon fillets on three days last week.

He said some might come in tomorrow.

My Costco usually receives salmon from the Copper River in Alaska in late May or early June, and then wild-caught fillets from other U.S. rivers through early October.

I've seen wild-caught king, sockeye and coho salmon available at my Costco.

Skin-on wild salmon fillets from Costco Wholesale on my stove-top grill last September, above and below.

Great seafood and going organic to avoid GMOs

Two organic brown eggs served over organic quinoa prepared in an electric cooker with organic diced tomatoes and organic chicken stock, all from Costco Wholesale. In the absence of a labeling law in the United States, going organic is the only sure way to avoid genetically modified foods and the safety issues they raise.

Wild-caught Pacific halibut is the most expensive fresh fish sold at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, but it's a breeze to prepare and the taste is worth every penny.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

I've seen fresh, wild-caught halibut in the cold case at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack for at least a couple of years, but the price has always stopped me -- until last week.

At $16.99 a pound, the fillets are only $2 or $3 more a pound than the Copper River sockeye salmon that I enjoyed this year.

When I got it home, I didn't have to do much more than slice the 1.16-pound skinless fillet into four serving pieces, place them on parchment paper in a large pan, squeeze lime juice over them and add a few pinches of Aleppo pepper.

Then, I put them in a 375-degree oven for about 10 minutes, took out the pan and spooned refrigerated Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto on each fillet.

My snowy fillet flaked beautifully and tasted wonderful. I served the fish with boiled sweet potatoes mashed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoning.

A halibut snack reheated in the microwave for 1 minute.

Here is more about halibut from the Environmental Defense Fund:

"Halibut are flatfish (like flounders and soles) and can grow up to 7 feet long and weigh 800 pounds. They have both eyes on the same side of their head, which enables them to better see predators and prey as they lay camouflaged on the sea bottom."

EDF gives its "Best-eco" rating to Pacific halibut (sold at Costco), notes it contains a "moderate" amount of mercury and advises adults to limit their consumption to about 4 times a month.

A takeout dinner of calamari stuffed with shrimp and crab meat; spaghetti with red-clam sauce and whole shrimp; crab cake, broccoli and beets was only $5.99 after 4 p.m. at Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood.

A serving of jumbo shrimp with vegetables; dry sauteed string beans and brown rice delivered by Zen Kitchen, 1443 Teaneck Road, Teaneck.

Avoiding GMOs

The European Union has a law calling for labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but the United States doesn't.

Going organic is the only sure way to avoid GMOs, but in the United States there are some organic and non-organic foods that carry a label from the NON GMO Project.

The NON GMO Project Verified label appears on Tru Roots Organic Quinoa, right, and  non-organic Lundberg Wild Blend Rice.

Click on the following link: nongmoproject.org

The European Union's Web site is: GMO Compass

Related articles

• Costco: Shifting More and More to Organic
• Costco return policy is only as good as employees
• Target Introduces GMO-Free Food Line

Fresh wild salmon swims into view

Image by Travis S. via Flickr

There it is. 

In the fresh-fish case at Costco in Hackensack, the first fresh, wild salmon from Alaska appeared Saturday, neatly shrink-wrapped in a foam tray.


The fish has the deep, red-orange color that farmed salmon never achieves, because it is artificially colored.


This wild sockeye salmon comes from the famed Copper River, and carries a price to match: $14.99 a pound. I found a tray for about $20, and plan to serve it for Sunday dinner, along with Black Tiger prawns  I picked up at Costco on Friday (U-8 or eight to a pound).

Last year, Costco in Hackensack had fresh Copper River sockeye salmon starting on June 2 for $9.99 a pound.

Costco has the Copper River salmon for a couple of weeks, if last year is any guide. Then, other wild Alaskan salmon is available at least until September, usually for $8.99 a pound. The fish cooks quickly in the oven with just a little seasoning and chopped, fresh herbs.

(Photo: Copper River in Alaska)

Welcome, Holly

Image by kantokuruza via Flickr

I tried to publish a comment from Holly on whether Costco farmed salmon contains growth hormones, but can't seem to locate the post she commented on. But she is right, if Costco fish didn't contain additives such as antibiotics, the store would say so. The label does say farmed salmon has added color.


Whole Foods Market provides far more information about its farmed fish than does Costco. As a result, I almost always buy wild-caught seafood at Costco.


The good news is that wild salmon from Alaska should start appearing at Costco in a couple of weeks and be available until the fall.

(Photo: Sushi at Costco.)