For many, fall may be the busiest season of the year.  As we return home to seize the reigns of responsibility, work and  familial commitments or grow our businesses, the 2014 wild summer salmon harvest is here to remind us why we appreciate of our lives, family, friends, culture and work.  Freshly harvested summer salmon tastes as good as it looks.  It is packed with essential omega 3’s that we have come to know and value.  Its color is a vivid reminder of the the complexity and beauty of the natural world.  And we once again begin return to the weekly ritual of deliciously prepared wild salmon that has been sourced for you by Otolith Sustainable Seafood.  If you haven’t tried Otolith’s 2014 recent harvest wild salmon yet, you may want to do it now.

Let’s take time to treat ourselves to the superior flavor of wild king salmon and the natural beauty and flavor of nature’s wildly abundant coho salmon!

This fall is all about exceptional flavor and minimal effort.  Wild salmon can be seasoned with just a light dusting of dry mustard before cooking.  Dry mustard is an easy way to enhance the rich goodness of wild salmon because it adds a bit of spicy flavor with a tangy finish that contrasts the sweet flavors of wild salmon balanced by its healthful omega-3 fats.

Barbeque sauce provides another way to add tang and spice to wild salmon. It can be used on the grill or on the stove top.  Salmon fillets may be basted with barbeque sauce during the last 3 minutes of cooking to avoid burning any sugars in the sauce.

Of course for bigger flavor, you may add both!

…as laughter is to life!

The following recipe was created for your summer enjoyment. At Otolith, we know all good seasons must come to an end but before they do, we make it our priority to savor all the goodness each season has to offer and always look forward to the sustainable and renewable return of Otolith’s sweet and delicate, uncommonly good Side Stripe Shrimp. While supplies last, purchase Side Stripes at any participating farmers’ market or retail store and within 30 minutes you can enjoy them yourself!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

6 pre-soaked in salt water bamboo skewars

1 lb. frozen Side Stripe Shrimp

Juice of 1 Lime

1 cup fresh Cilantro – medium to fine chopped

Directions:

Thaw Shrimp according to thawing directions and peel. Add lime juice and cilantro to peeled Shrimp and let set for ten minutes.

Skewer and cook 4 minutes on each side at 300 degrees with the grill covered.

Serve immediately.

Summer Dungeness Crab has just arrived at Otolith Sustainable Seafood! For a mere 14 dollars a pound, you can celebrate the weekend (or any day, for that matter)  in scrumptious style.  Make sure you place your orders in advance to assure availability at a Farmers Market near you OR request FREE Home Delivery in Philadelphia for orders over $40 [Outside Philly FREE Delivery is Available on all orders over $80]. Give us a call at 215-426-4266 to place your order! What a great addition to your  barbeques – a pot of Dungeness Crab!

Otolith’s  hook and line Halibut, harvested May ^4th is available now, a mere 20 days since its harvest by way of conventional longliner fishing vessel, “Sarah Dawn”.

Halibut is managed across the North Pacific by the IPHC. Nonetheless, Otolith takes special care to purchase 40-60 lb. fish that are less likely to carry higher levels of heavy metals which can accumulate in older, larger fish over time as they age. Additionally, the 40-60 lb. Halibut are more likely to be reproductively mature and more likely to have reproduced successfully.

It’s time to begin enjoying the mild, sweet taste and firm texture of wild-caught Pacific Halibut.  The largest flatfish, Halibut adapts to various cooking methods and because of strong management of Halibut fisheries, Otolith’s delicious fish is an excellent and versatile, sustainable seafood selection.

Some of the preferred methods of cooking Halibut include Grilling, Baking, Broiling, Deep Frying and Pan Searing. In the coming weeks, check out our blog for some of our favorite Halibut recipes to help you to enjoy your catch throughout the spring and summer!

Otolith Sustainable Seafood is proud to offer an all natural, hickory smoked Coho for your eating pleasure. This Coho is locally smoked with organic sugar and sea salt at Sugartown Smoked Specialties out of West Chester PA. This ready to eat, savory delicacy is made with 100% Otolith Wild Coho Salmon and is as healthful as it is nutritious.

One of Otolith’s favorite ways to enjoy Wild Smoked Coho Salmon is straight out of the pack! Let’s face it, some nights you just don’t feel like cooking, and on those nights there is nothing better than some savory smoked salmon.  It’s also an excellent choice to bring to friends and family – no preparation or work necessary.  It makes delicious appetizers or is awesome on a bagel with cream cheese.  You can order smoked Coho directly from Otolith or pick some up at any of the farmers’ markets where we participate.

The red meat of a wild Alaska king salmon is truly a site to behold. This vivid red color is a result of the salmon’s diet of crustaceans. However, some king salmon – about one in every 20 – have a white color due to their inability to visibly express these pigments present in their food. Although extremely popular in Alaska, these white king salmon would command lower price from fish buyers and was considered generally less desirable.  However, recently that trend has changed.

King salmon, both white and red are exactly the same species, Onchorhynchus tshawytscha. Furthermore, nutritional research has proven both the white kings and the red kings identical in the amount of lipids, moisture, protein and omega -3 fatty acids. Both fish even travel together! However, due to the white king’s color, it can be served with a variety of different vegetables in this transition period between Winter and Spring. It would go just as well with Fall harvest vegetables – squashes, carrots, etc. and also the various green vegetables that are currently popping up at your local farmers’ market. Also, due to it’s color, we see it as an acceptable substitute for Halibut, which is only now open for harvest and will be arriving withing the three weeks.

Although genetically identical, many people who eat the white king salmon describe it as having a milder flavor than it’s red king salmon counterpart. It has a softer texture and is buttery and sweet. Additionally, there are various ways to cook white king, the preferred method is grilling. With the weather warming up, what would be better than grilling up some of this fine fish cuisine and pairing it with some high quality orange fall vegetables AND some greens from the Spring harvest?