Lomi Lomi Salmon Recipe & Web Updates

Recipe of the Week - March 28th 2008

In the days before refrigeration, Salmon was either canned or salt cured as a preservation method. Salted Salmon arrived in Hawaii on sailing ships in the mid 1800's. Lomi Lomi Salmon was originally made with Salted Salmon from the Pacific Northwest in the days before refrigeration. Most recipes of the day required re-hydrating the salmon by soaking in cold water overnight to reduce the salt content before preparing the recipe. Our Lomi Lomi Salmon recipe uses Wild Ocean Seafoods® Alaska Sockeye Salmon. The purpose of salting the salmon is to draw moisture out of the fillet. For best results, the Salmon skin should be removed prior to salting.

Ingredients:
1 pound of Sockeye Salmon fillets, skin removed, sliced into 1-inch thick portions vertically from the back to the belly
Kosher or Coarse Sea Salt
5 small tomatoes, chopped
1 Maui Onion, chopped (You can substitute with a Walla Walla Sweet Onion)
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 red Hawaiian chiles, chopped (You can Substitute any dried red chile)
1 pineapple diced into chunks
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Prep:
Salt the Salmon by putting a layer of Coarse Sea Salt or Kosher salt in the bottom of a glass dish. Lay a Salmon in it and gently press into the salt.
Flip the Salmon over in the salt and gently press again.
Sprinkle more salt on top and rub it all over the salmon.
Top with even more salt, cover, and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours to pull out the water. Table (iodized) salt is not recommended for this process.
Rinse the salmon thoroughly in cold water to wash away most of the salt then pat dry with a paper towel.
Cut the salmon in cubes and place in a bowl.
Add tomatoes, Maui onion, green onion and chiles & pineapple.
Squeeze in the lime juice, add oil and black pepper, then toss the mixture to combine all the ingredients.
Cover and chill for 1 hour.

Plating:
To eat, spoon the salmon salad into a lettuce cup or bowl.

Enjoy!

Web Updates

We have added a new section to our Online Store that was previously on our WildOceanFisheries.com informational site call Partner Offers. In this section, you can find links to some of the best in Cutlery & Cookware from Cooking.com, Chefs.com, Sur La Table as well as internet only offerings from the Tabasco Country Store & party supplies from Oriental Trading. Our Coffees & Teas section features Adiago Teas, Boca Java Fresh Roasted Coffee and Illy Coffees of Italy. In our Wines & Accessories category, we are featuring the highest rated wine shops on the Web with Morrell Wines, Wine Enthusiast, My Wines Direct, Wine Messenger, and Wine.com. We have also teamed with Kegworks to offer a wide selection of beverage accessories. In our Gourmet Meats category, we are featuring Le Cense Beef, Omaha Steaks & Pfaelzer Brothers of Chicago for those "non fish" days on your menu. In our Cookbooks section, we have identified some of the best cookbooks for Northwest & Hawaiian Seafood. They are up to date and offer a broad array of seafood preparations at great prices!

April Seafood Update & Coupon Codes

Spring is threatening now, some sunny days and torrential rains in Ferndale! We are trying a slightly different format with the Coupon Codes with the Products and a Summary of the Coupon Codes at the bottom of the newsletter. Hopefully this will make them easier to find.

It’s Halibut Season!
We expect Halibut prices to trend a little lower in the next couple weeks as the initial demand has subsided. As a result, we are offering our existing customers 10% off Halibut from now thru whenever the price starts creeping up! Hopefully, we can run this special thru April. Use Coupon Code HALIBUT10 at checkout.

Crab
Dungeness Crab season ends everywhere in Washington April 3rd. Demand was unusually strong for Easter and many folks are ordering Crab for Final Four Parties. Many of you regularly purchase Dungeness Crab for Mothers Day. It would be a good idea to order early as we sold out a week before Mothers Day last year.

King Crab – We have posted a diagram on the main Alaska King Crab Page that identifies the parts of the King Crab graphically. Our Snap N Eat Leg Portions are a great idea for a casual get together as a side or appetizer. Save 10% on your next Snap N Eat Order! Use Coupon Code SNAP10 at checkout.

Wild Salmon
Salmon Burgers – We begin with the highest quality ingredients. Each patty contains 98% premium Wild Alaska Sockeye Salmon or Wild Pacific Steelhead, with the remaining 2% consisting Tom Douglas Famous “Rub with Love” Salmon Rub, an organic mixture of Brown Sugar, Smoked Paprika, Kosher Salt, Black Pepper & Thyme. No artificial colorings, additives, fillers or preservatives! Each Burger contains more Omega 3 Oils than a daily dose of Omega 3 supplements! Each patty is a ¼ lb; ideal for a healthy lunch, they are also perfect for fish tacos or appetizer wedges on crackers! We sell this in 1lb packages, so think about ordering some with your next frozen fish or crab order! Most other Salmon Burgers on the market are made from Pink Salmon, a fish very low in natural oils and require binders to set up.

King (Chinook) Salmon – This has been our most popular salmon for the past 2 months. It seems that the bad news about the California Salmon runs have sent many out on the web in search of the King of Salmon! We have good supplies as we process King Salmon most of the year. Don’t forget, we have a 10% off special on Fish Combos – Use Coupon Code COMBO10

Sockeye Salmon – Wild Alaska Sockeye Salmon has certainly been a signature item at Wild Ocean Seafoods for many years. Each year, we put up more & more and still run out a couple months early! If you are thinking Sockeye Salmon, it would be a good idea to order before the end of April! Don’t forget, we have a 10% off special on Fish Combos – Use Coupon Code COMBO10

Smoked Salmon – As any Northwest or Alaska transplant will tell you, Hot Smoked Salmon is the best! We have re-introduced Hot Smoked Salmon Strips to our web site! Made from the rich bellies of King Salmon, they are packaged in 10/11oz portions. The King Salmon Belly is ultra rich in Omega 3 Oils and has been a Northwest favorite for over 100 years. Frankly, we could sell all of them locally!

Hawaiian Fish
Opakapaka – The Hawaiian ground fish season is ending right about now. We put up twice as much Opakapaka as last year, but barring additional supplies from Tahiti, we will likely run out by mid summer.

Ono (Wahoo) – We have had just a fantastic year with Ono! More & more people are discovering the flavor & versatility of this fish. We have adjusted the cut to be more of a fillet-steak as the Ono we are getting are trending to the larger fish.

Opah (Moonfish) – This is a fish you must try! Since we introduced Opah last year, it has been a very popular item to be re-ordered. Many have discovered this fish in one of our Hawaiian Fish Samplers and the re-ordered just the Opah! Don’t forget, we have a 10% off special on Hawaiian Fish Combos – Use Coupon Code COMBO10

Shutome (Swordfish) – We originally processed our sword loins & Steaks “skin on, blood line in”. While this has been the “custom” for most swordfish products, many people do not care for the stronger taste of the skin rind or blood line. As a result, we have changed our processing to improve the uniformity of flavor in our Swordfish. Our Swordfish is now processed “Skin off, blood line out”. We feel that the added effort produces a much more uniformly flavorful steak. If you prefer the skin on, let us know and we will accommodate you in 3 to 5 working days.

Final Four Party Snacks – We have some great appetizer & snack ideas in our Recipe of the Week section for a Final Four Party!

Wild Ocean Seafoods Recipe Contest – Send in your recipes! We have not had a lot of submissions over the past few weeks, making winning easier than ever! We want to know how you prepare Wild Seafood!

Coupon Code Summary – Effective from NOW to April 30th:

Save 10% on Halibut Fillets & Steaks – Use Coupon Code HALIBUT10 at Checkout

Save 10% on Alaska King Crab Snap n Eat Leg Portions – Use Coupon Code SNAP10 at Checkout

Save 10% on Seafood Combos – Use Coupon Code COMBO10 at Checkout

Save 15% on Tom Douglas Spices, Rubs & Marinades when you purchase 3 items – Use Coupon Code TOM10 at Checkout

Save 10% on BBQ & Seafood Accessories – Use Coupon Code GIZMO10 at Checkout

Crab Cakes Asiago with Garlic Aioli Dip

Recipe of the Week - March 16th 2008 by William McCabe

There isn’t a seafood cookbook that does not have a crab cake recipe. Entire books have been devoted to crab cakes. (I Love Crab Cakes! by Tom Douglas comes to mind) (Those who read to the bottom can get a special offer).

Originally, Crab Cakes were a predominantly eastern seaboard phenomenon. Over the past 20-30 years, the Crab Cake’s appeal has really broadened to become a truly an American national dish with regional accents.

We have focused on Pacific Crab Species as the base for our crab cakes as we know them well and because there are some nuances to each species of crab we would like to share with you to get the most flavor out of your next crab cake experiment!

Wild Ocean Seafoods® Crab Options:
Dungeness Crab Meat

Dungeness Crab Sections
Antarctic Crab Meat

King Crab Snap n Eat Legs
King Crab Tail Meat*
King Crab Super Jumbo Legs

Let’s start by looking at the characteristics of our favorite Pacific Crab:

Dungeness Crab (Cancer Magister) has, generally speaking, the most meat to whole crab ratio of all the Pacific Crab. About 25% to 27% of the Dungeness Crab is edible meat. The meat is sweet and very succulent. This has become the West Coast version of a traditional crab cake.

Antarctic Crab (Cancer Edwardii) is very similar to Dungeness Crab, and found in similar latitudes in South America. The Antarctic Crab has substantially larger claws than is cousin the Dungeness Crab and tends to be a little less sweet. The crab meat tends to be more claw than body meat, so the texture will be a little different as well.

King Crab Tail Meat is recovered from the King Crab during processing. A semi circle of crab meat weighing up to 2oz is removed from the tail of the crab after cooking. The King Crab Tail Meat is then formed into blocks and frozen. This crab meat is very firm, but quite salty* as a result of the crab processing. Some care in thawing, rinsing & the use of the Potato Trick is required to prepare this meat for crab cakes or fritters. (The tail meat makes exceptional fritters!)

King Crab Leg & Body Meat is the more traditional King Crab meat. Many people use the leftovers from our Super Jumbo Whole Legs in their crab cake recipes. We have found that our King Crab Snap n Eat Leg Portions are ideal for this as they are already pre-scored. Once again, rinse the brine off the outside before thawing & shucking.

The Garlic Aioli Dip: (make this first)

Ingredients:
2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled & minced
1 tsp Lemon Juice
¼ tsp Salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 Egg Yokes
1 tbsp Fresh Parsley or ½ tbsp of Dried Parsley
Olive Oil

Combine Garlic, Egg Yokes, Lemon Juice, Parsley, Salt & Black Pepper in a Food Processor or Blender & puree.
Slowly add the Olive Oil until the mixture has formed a thick emulsion.
Refrigerate until use

Crab Cake Asiago Recipe

Ingredients:
1lb Shucked Crab Meat
6oz Asiago Cheese, Grated
2 Cloves Garlic, Minced
¼ tsp Dried Oregano
¼ tsp Dried Parsley
½ tsp Red Pepper Flakes
Sea Salt or Kosher Salt (Non Iodized)
3 tbsp Olive Oil
2 Large Eggs
2/3 Cup of Unseasoned Bread Crumbs
Unsalted Butter

Prep:
Thaw & open or shuck the meat from your King or Dungeness Crab, drain & place in mixing bowl.
In a Separate Bowl add Parmesan Cheese, Garlic, Seasonings, Salt to taste, Eggs, & Bread Crumbs; mix well
Fold in Crab Meat into the other ingredients with a rubber spatula
Form into 4-6 patties and place on a plate or baking pan.
Cover & refrigerate for 30 minutes minimum to allow them to set up

Cooking:
Heat 3tbsp Olive Oil & ¼ Stick of Unsalted Butter in Sauté’ Pan over medium/high heat, cook patties until golden brown on each side. The Crab Cakes are done when the internal temperature reaches 155 F.

Don't forget to enter the Wild Ocean Seafoods Recipe Contest! We would like to publish your favorite seafood recipe!

Purchase any size Wild Ocean Seafoods King or Dungeness Crab & receive a free copy of “I Love Crab Cakes!” by Tom Douglas with 50 Recipes for this American Classic. Use Coupon Code CRABCAKE

Enjoy!

Final Four Party Ideas

The NCAA Tournement is upon us and we have some suggestions for a Party! We decided to break this down by the number of guests and re-print some popular appetizer recipes.

Dungeness Crab:

Dungeness Crab Sections - We did most of the work for you! Cooked, Cleaned & Brine Frozen Clusters. Recommended Order Sizes:
4 Persons - 5lbs Crab Sections; 6 Persons - 10lbs Crab Sections; 10 Persons - 15lbs Crab Sections; More than 10 Persons - 25lb Crab Sections

Whole Dungeness Crab - Cooked & Brine Frozen Whole Crab are a party favorite! The crab shells make a unique ramekin for a Crab & Articoke Dip or other Baked Appetizer! Plan on 1-1.5 Crabs Per Person. Recommended Order Sizes:
4-6 Persons - 6 Whole Cooked Crab; 10 & Up The 30lb Party Pack!

Don't forget that the Crab Bibs, Mallets, Crackers, Seafood Forks & Butter Warmers are all on sale! Use Coupon Code GIZMO10 at Checkout!

Alaska King Crab:

Snap N Eat Leg Portions - This is an ideal choice for a low mess quick to get to party alternative! Just steam, then Snap n Eat! Our Snap n Eat Legs are the 2nd thru 4th leg sections of our Super Jumbo Crab. Quantities if the product are limited. Recommended Order Sizes:
2-4 Persons 5lbs; 5-8 Persons 10lbs

Super Jumbo King Crab Legs - These legs average between 6 and 9 Legs per 10 pounds! Super Jumbo Claws are optional and average 1lb per Claw! One or two Legs Per Person.

King Crab Large Select Portions - These monsters are trimmed from our Super Jumbo Alaska King Crab using the body knuckle & 1st Leg section only. They range in size from 9 to 12 ounces each! One or two per person.

Check out our Super Bowl Appetizers Recipe of the Week! There are four different appetizers featurning Smoked Salmon & Cracked Crab Meat in Quesadillas, Pinwheels, Dips & a Smoked Salmon Loaf . Easy to make & fan tested!

Don't forget to enter the Wild Ocean Seafoods Recipe Contest! A party is the perfect occasion to prepare & photograph your recipe!

Dungeness Crab Season officially closed to non-native commercial fishing last Wednesday. About half our boats are going out for Herring and the other half are Rigging for Halibut.

Halibut Season opens in Alaska next week and in Washington towards the end of the month.

Preparing Baked Lobster

Lobster Tail General Handling Directions:

Wild Ocean Seafoods Lobster Tails are shipped to you frozen, usually overnight. Immediately put the tails in your freezer if you do not plan to use them right away.

If you plan to use them a day or so after arrival, you can order them 2 Day Air. They will arrive in a semi frozen state, and will thaw in the refrigerator overnight. If we ship on Wednesday, you will have them on Friday and can eat them that night or Saturday.

Do NOT run tap water over the thawed tail directly. It will break down the outside of the tail meat.

Preparing the Lobster Tail for “Steam Baking”
Tools you will need to prepare your Lobster Tails for cooking:
A good, non slip cutting board.
A Sharp Chefs Knife, preferably a FORGED knife for better control. We recommend an 7-8” blade for all around use.
A foil lined baking pan, or Pyrex® casserole dish (my favorite)
A Basting Brush
Butter (Unsalted is best), Olive Oil and Smoked Paprika or Ancho Chile Powder.

Splitting the Lobster Tail
Make sure that the Lobster Tail is mostly thawed before proceeding.
Place the Lobster Tail on the cutting board sideways. (I am right handed, so the tail fin is on my LEFT). Place it the other way around if you are left handed.
Press the tip of you SHARP, FORGED, chef’s knife into the tail approximately ¼ inch above the tail fin, with the sharp end of the blade towards the rest of the lobster tail.
Assuming you have your right hand on the knife handle, place you left palm, with FINGERS extended away from the knife blade. Slowly push down and to the right in a rocking motion, cracking the shell a little more with each push. Remember to keep the knife blade point in the tail where you started in step 2.
After splitting the shell completely along the top, make a slicing motion thru the lobster meat about half the thickness thru the front of the tail.
Repeat steps 2 thru 4 with the other Lobster Tails.

Placing the Tail Meat on Top of the Shell:
1. Put the knife out of reach. (I have dropped it on the floor off the cutting board, but so far have avoided any major injury)
2. With your left hand on the tail near the tail fin, insert your right hand inside the shell and slowly separate the Lobster tail from the shell.
3. Lift the Lobster Meat out of the shell from the front, hopefully leaving the small portion of Lobster Meat still connected to the tail.

The Olive Oil & Butter:
In a small pan or microwaveable dish, place 1 tbsp of olive oil, and ¼ cup of butter. Heat, remove the foam with a spoon, and then stir the butter. The purpose of the olive oil is to keep the butter from burning. Save the remaining butter and add additional butter for the table dips.

Prep Time is Almost Over!
Place the Lobster Tails in your Baking Pan or Pyrex® Dish, alternating the heads & tails. If you have more than 2 tails, placing them at a 45 degree angle in the pan works well.
Using the Basting Brush, coat the exposed lobster tails with the butter & olive oil mixture.
Sprinkle the tops of the lobster tails with either Smoked Paprika or Ancho Chile powder. This is mostly for presentation, so don’t overdo it!
Pour one or two cups of water into the bottom of the pan with the lobsters. Do not put the water ON the lobsters. Make sure the water level in the pan does not come up to the lobster meat. A good guide is about 3/8th inch of water in the bottom of the pan.
Cover the pan with an aluminum foil tent.

Directions:
Pre-Heat Oven or Barbeque to 400F
Place Covered Lobster Pan on a center rack in Oven, or to one side on the Barbeque.
Cooking Times:
8-9oz tails will take 10-12 minutes
10-12oz tails 12-14 minutes
12-14oz tails 14-16 minutes
What we want to see when we peek.
Look for the tail meat to turn white with red accents
The center of the lobster will have a small opaque line about 1/8th inch wide when they are ready.
The lobster tails should be removed at that point and the cover removed. They will still be cooking so they will be perfectly done when they reach the plate!

Enjoy!