Thinking outside the box is a beautiful thing, no doubt — but to think beyond the fillet is what this week’s letter is all about. To joyfully expand our sense of what cooking and enjoying seafood is all about.
Maybe I’ll start with a metaphor to make my point: up until our oldest kid was three, he used to exclusively ride the swings when we took him to the playground. Perhaps his very understanding of “playground” was defined by the joy he experienced at the swings. In time, though, he began to explore other stations on the playground such as the tilt-a-whirl, the swirly slides, the music-making poles, the drums and even the mini zip-line. He began to understand that the playground could offer him a dynamic array of merriment and possibilities, entire worlds of recreation that went well beyond the to-and-fro of his beloved swing. All he had to do was open his mind.
It is this spirit of dynamism and possibility with which I would like to inspire you, dear members, when it comes to cooking and enjoying wild Alaskan fish. To go beyond the fillet — as our son did with the swing — and begin to explore and discover the endless possibilities that come with preparing wild-caught seafood.
With this exploration also comes creativity, resourcefulness, maximization, expansion and potentiality, a culinary mindset that transforms the mundane into the memorable, the uneventful to the unforgettable, the boring into the bold.
Now, don’t misunderstand me: I absolutely love to sear up a fillet of sockeye salmon at least once, if not twice, per week. However, since my husband Arron (WAC founder + CEO) is a pescetarian, I find myself consistently tasked with cultivating seafood menus that go beyond the fillet. For example:
- It’s no mystery around here that one of the favorite meals in our household is a hearty fish chowder, which is made effortlessly possible by “Quick Cuts” of both Wild Alaska Pollock and Pacific halibut.
- Quick Cuts are also perfect for stir-fries, tacos, and skewers, which feature fish, but appear dolled up as a whole other experience.
- Adjacent to quick cuts are our captain cuts, which are typically smaller cuts of salmon that are packaged together into a generous 6 oz. pack. As we think beyond the fillet, these petite pieces of salmon make for great meals such as salmon benedicts, gyros, sliders, breakfast sandos, katsu bites, crostini and so much more.
- I’d be remiss to not mention our salmon burgers in the beyond-fillet conversation, yet another way that we take pride in making full utilization of the fish to craft a different type of seafood product — which happens to be perfect for all the forthcoming spring and summer BBQ extravaganzas!
But it’s just not a culinary benefit to be able to cook beyond the fillet. For us as a company, it’s a welcome challenge to consider innovative ways to utilize more parts of the fish, celebrating this incredible resource from tip to tail. What’s more, the inclusion of more fish in a Wild Alaskan Company membership directly and indirectly cultivates stronger markets for fisherpeople and supports the long-term health of our shared planet. All of this serves to support our mission: to accelerate humanity’s transition to sustainable food systems by fostering meaningful, interconnected relationships between human beings, wild seafood and the planet.
I hope all of the above serves to swing you — pun fully intended! — toward new and delicious ways to cook wild Alaskan seafood, and to take even more joy in the role you play in building a more sustainable food system.
Live Wild!
Monica
Pictured above: from upper left corner, clockwise — A delectable fish taco featuring halibut quick cuts; a tray of salmon skewers ready to hit the grill; a vibrant bowl of cod stew done with tropical flavors; a salmon melt on nice sourdough bread; an arepa in the making, featuring scallions and salmon flakes; a savory bowl of oats porridge topped a jammy egg and flaked salmon captain cuts.
