Week of January 6, 2025 - Small World Seafood Update

Hello everybody!!

Well, isn't it lovely out there? A pain in the ass to get around but, boy, is it pretty. I love a nice snowfall. Secretly, I've always had a certain love for watching dudes riding in plow trucks removing snow and the spraying salt on the roads. Since I was a little kid, it just felt like people working toy trucks but reaaaally big ones. I still feel that way. Don't tell anyone...Shhhh....

Anyway, with this storm comes, as you know by now, lots of idle boats up and down the coast. A little nasty for fishing, yeah? So, as we often do, we will go to where the nastiness is not for good fish to eat. The first item on the list this week comes from our friends in Idaho..Rainbow trout!!! Beautiful butterflied rainbow trout and gorgeous red meat whole trout scaled and gutted. We blast freeze both to preserve the freshness and it really works. I posted a great recipe on our site for preparing butterflied trout and even stuffing it with a fish cake. So good! Also, you can check out my vid for preparing branzino four different ways. Same techniques..You can't beat it for an affordable meal that is such great comfort. But, hey, if you want to go French bistro, check out the vid on the site for trout Meuniere..an absolute classic!

Speaking of classics, more Greenland turbot from Newfoundland! This fresh turbot fillet iis boneless and skinless. Bone white and will just melt in your mouth! In fact, for those who have never tried it, it is the northern smaller cousin of halibut. I always refer to this fish as elegant which suits it perfectly. It just is. Great for a pan sear but roasts up beautifully and is out of this world steamed, poached (more on that later) or baked in parchment..

Back is season after a long hiatus, wild rock shrimp from Alabama!!! These little gems are firm, sweet and delish in as ceviche, risotto or pasta dish. They are most famously prepared in many an Asian resto as Bang Bang shrimp. We have a recipe for that. Fun and awesome! 

We have more cod cheeks this week which so many of you love. So cool to bring interesting things to you guys and you can ber receptive to trying them. You know, the beauty of trying things that you've never had comes out of the risk of trying it. Now, you may simply confirm to yourself that you knew you didn't like it. No harm, no loss. But the magic happens when you try something you think you may not like only to discover that, actually, you love it! A whole new world..

One thing many of you guys have been enjoying based on our sales of stocks, is making chowders, soups and stews. We love that. Stocks have so much versatility. You can use them to make risottos, for example. Cioppinos are popular. Bouillabaisses are popular. Chowders probably the most popular if I had to guess. A nice fisherman's pie (a shephards pie but using seafood). 

Now, we make the single stocks available to you. Clam, shrimp, fish and crab. But we thought it would be cool to make a batch of aromatic seafood stock using fish, mussels and clams all in one. A nice broth that you can use for a simple soup, so really flavor some risotto or to turn into a chowder, red or white.

And another thing that you can use it for is to poach fish. So, the way you can do this with a thin fillet such as the turbot fillet this week is to saute whichever veggies you like, add some white wine to deglaze and then add the seafood stock to the mix. Use a smaller pan or pot if you want. You want to get some volume vertically. Bring the stock to a boil. Add you turbot, turn off the heat immediately, cover the pan or pot and let the fish slowly cook in the broth...Voila! Simple, elegant and the best broth ever!! Not to mention a fish that will dissolve on your tongue...

More lobster ravioli this week. They've been quite the hit. Also, more albacore/halibut meatballs in arrabiata sauce! Good stuff for a pasta or sandwich...

PEI mussels are the shellfish of the week...Not sure about oysters yet... We lonsa and smoked fish...So many good things...Herring is back as well as kippered salmon..yum! Oh, and babka kits too..breath, everyone..

Plenty of crab meat, shrimp, etc....

I know, I know..Lots of words...

Anyway, as usual, I have to thank all of you guys for being in our lives. What an incredible community we live in...

Robert Amar

Small World Seafood

Owner