Costco again slices price of fresh Copper River salmon

Fresh wild Copper River sockeye salmon from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack with a reduction of organic diced tomatoes, red wine, garlic, lime juice and fresh herbs, served with Tru Roots Organic Quinoa, also from Costco, prepared in an electric rice cooker with more Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes and extra-virgin olive oil.

Editor's note: We continue to enjoy fresh Copper River salmon from Costco Wholesale, which has trimmed the price for the second time in a month. Today, I also discuss organic quinoa as a substitute for brown rice and whole-wheat pasta, and shopping at Whole Foods Market, Trader Joe's and ShopRite.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Wonderful fresh wild salmon from Alaska's Copper River has become a weekly treat thanks to Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

The price of skin-on sockeye fillets dropped to $11.99 a pound on Sunday, the second downward adjustment in about a month.

When the Copper River salmon run ends, Costco will begin selling fresh wild sockeye or coho salmon from other rivers at an even lower price.

The Copper River fillets cook through in 12 minutes in a 375-degree oven, but remain moist.

I cook the organic-diced-tomato reduction on top of the stove and spoon it over the fish after I remove the roasting pan from the oven.

Garnish with plenty of chopped mint and oregano or any other fresh herb you have. 

The next day, I had a second dinner of Copper River sockeye with mashed yams/sweet potatoes and organic mixed vegetables.

The quinoa is a great substitute for brown rice or whole-wheat pasta, both of which have more carbohydrates. Here, the whole grain stands in for bread at breakfast. A wedge of leftover pesto-and-cheese frittata and choy sum, one of the many greens available at H Mart in Little Ferry, complete the meal.

Sunny side up organic eggs from Costco seasoned with two great spices from the Middle Eastern kitchen, mildly spicy Aleppo pepper and za'atar, top, a pleasantly sour thyme mixture. I also added small pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese as the eggs were cooking, and ate them with organic quinoa.

Shopping for naturally raised meat

At Trader Joe's in Paramus, I shopped for W-brand antibiotic- and nitrite-free bacon ($5.49), and Trader Joe's Uncured Beef Hot Dogs, also antibiotic and hormone free ($4.99).

I also picked up a kitchen basil plant for $3.99.

At Whole Foods Market, also in Paramus, I picked up fully cooked Niman Ranch St. Louis-style Pork Ribs from animals raised on vegetarian feed without antibiotics and hormones ($7.99 a pound). 

An incredible array of salads at Whole Foods Market in Paramus. At $8.49 a pound, it is easy to spend $12 to $15 on salad for lunch.

These Mini Cucumbers were on sale for $1.99 a pound on Friday at the ShopRite in Paramus, and I refrigerated them as soon as I got home. But they spoiled in less than three days, and I returned them for a refund. 

Out of stock at Costco

I'm still puzzled why I can't find everything I need at Costco when I go back for a product I enjoyed.

On Monday, I couldn't track down two Kirkland Signature items in the Hackensack warehouse store, men's briefs and parchment paper.

Still, I was able to cash a $190 rebate check from Costco, representing 2% of my purchases in the last year with my Executive Membership, which costs $110 a year.

That's in addition to two credit-card rebate checks totaling a few hundred dollars I received a couple of months ago from American Express.

One item that seems to be always in stock is Kirkland Signature Organic Diced Tomatoes, and it's one of the most versatile for preparing meals at home.

I used them again tonight when making a sauce for organic whole wheat capellini with extra-virgin olive oil, white wine, chopped garlic, capers, anchovies and three fresh herbs, mint, oregano and basil (photo below).

Who doesn't love tomatoes? 

We were out of organic chicken stock for the pasta sauce, and I used a half-cup of hot pasta water and more extra-virgin olive oil to add liquid.

Last wild salmon of the week

After our first dinner of Copper River wild salmon on Tuesday, I put the five leftover cooked pieces in the refrigerator. My son had one in a sandwich the next day. I finished the last one today.

In late morning, I put a fistful of pre-washed organic spring mix on a dinner plate, the bed for the last fillet and some tuna fish salad (extra virgin olive oil, scallions and cumin). I added slices of tomato and cucumber, showered the plate in fresh lemon juice and added more cumin and some za'atar, a spice mixture containing thyme, wild sumac, oregano, marjoram, salt and sesame seeds. 

Two slices of toast and hot tea completed the meal.

Delicious but controversial

You wouldn't think something as delicious as fresh wild Alaskan salmon would be controversial, but when it comes to Copper River salmon, there seems to be as many opinions as there are fish trying to swim upstream to spawn.

When the Seattle (Wash.) Times speculated May 14 that prices for Copper River salmon were expected to be $15 to $35 a pound this year, compared to a maximum of $50 a pound last year, readers let loose. One, who said he is a native Alaskan, claimed there is absolutely no difference between salmon from the Copper River and other rivers. Others say Copper River fish have superior fat content, referring to beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids.

Costco's price of $9.99 a pound for Copper River sockeye salmon is even more amazing when you look at mail order prices -- $20.95 to $24.95 a pound, plus shipping, higher for fillets from the much larger king salmon. SeaBear, one of the mail order places, says the "raging, 300-mile" river is fed by Copper Glacier and is "one of the most pristine places on earth."