If you have been following along for a while, then you know how much I like to host giveaways and make someone’s day. I suppose I earned enough giveaway karma that I was recently a winner! Kvaroy Arctic and Fulton Fish Market recently picked me on Instagram to receive a 4-5 pound filet of fresh salmon, salmon burgers and salmon hotdogs.
Papa Bird has never been the most enthusiastic of food blogger husbands. He would MUCH rather dig in versus wait for our food to be photographed. But he is also the more talented photographer in the family. (Let’s be honest, he’s a professional photographer and I don’t even know how to use a “real camera.”) Another of his (many) talents: he has the most amazing salmon smoking process. You can see the step by step recipe here. Wait a sec… I suppose rather than say “I won” this fish, really he did… the contest was to share a salmon recipe, and I entered his smoked salmon. So, when he took this beauty (that he won) off of our PK grill [affiliate link to the smoker/grill but it’s legit worth it] and asked, “Do you have to blog about this fish?” I said, “I don’t have to, but what a great idea!”
So, for what it’s worth, I was not obligated in any way to review the fish and do not receive any kind of kick back for you buying or clicking through the seafood links, but I thought it was very much worth sharing. True, I did not pay for this shipment, but I will give my honest reactions.
Kvaroy Arctic
I was not familiar with this company before the promotion. They sustainably farm salmon in the Arctic Circle. As I learned in the past from the fishmonger at Whole Foods, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, and the Marine Stewardship Council, some farmed salmon is better for the environment than wild-caught. Through chatting with them on social media (gotta love the IG DMs), I learned their unique place on the planet allows for sustainable aquaculture and fresh, never frozen fish to be shipped year round.
Fulton Fish Market
I’ve been following Fulton on social media, often getting inspiration for meals (or just hungry.) I think of them as the “New York version of Catalina Offshore” (my local seafood spot in San Diego). They often post recipes I want to try. Although it may seem weird to receive fresh (not frozen) seafood in the mail, everything arrived cold, super fresh and very well packed on ice.
Fresh Salmon
Highly recommend! This was probably the best salmon we have ever had, in part because it was never frozen. For context, we are picky about sources and have bought salmon direct from fishermen in the Pacific Northwest. As you can see in our photo, we couldn’t wait to flake off the super buttery pieces and pop in them in our mouths. Kvaroy states their fish has double the amount of Omega-3’s as other salmon, and I believe it.
If a 4-5 pound filet or whole fish is too much for you (it barely fit in my fridge), you can also order fresh salmon portions or steaks. (Fulton sells frozen, but go for the fresh!) Oh! The filet in the photos above was not the whole filet we received! That’s a little over half of it. Part of the remainder I baked with an Asian-inspired marinade, and a portion we froze and then smoked on a later occasion.
Salmon Burgers
We received a package of the original recipe burgers and a package of salmon burgers with cheese. We liked both, but would select the plain when re-ordering. Perhaps it was just a personal palette preference, as we don’t usually do cheese with salmon. The version with cheese also stuck in the frying pan a little more. Both kids and adults approved of these burgers and asked for them again!
Salmon Hotdogs
Similarly, we all liked the original recipe hotdogs more than the hotdogs with cheese. Still, both made an awesome and affordable dinner in a pinch. I served them in brioche hot dog buns from Trader Joe’s. Tip: the salmon hotdogs are actually quite large, and one cut in half was more than enough for kids for dinner, as well as me, served with a salad. Second tip: I ended up freezing the hotdogs upon receipt and thought they were great quality defrosted and lightly warmed in a pan.
You can see the salmon hotdogs and photos/videos of us unboxing the seafood in this Instagram highlight reel.
