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Olympia Seafood Co. Chehalis River White Sturgeon |
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Hello Everyone!
It's rainy blustery days like these that I'm especially glad to have a strong roof over my head and a job that doesn't require me to work on a boat. This dab of fresh water might inspire a few more Spring Kings to head to the river, but it will be a day or two before it will be any sort of fun to catch them. Fortunately, we've got a shop full of amazing fish so the breaks here and there in the weather seem to be keeping the fresh fish pipeline rolling.
This week we're featuring fresh wild Chehalis River white sturgeon - a special treat for locavores and foodies alike! We had 7 fish come in today, caught just a few hours prior to arrival, and we're always happy when we can get a dab of local superfresh deliciousness.
And speaking of deliciousness... we were also able to get our hot little hands on not one, but FOUR Spring Kings. Eureka! They're just as pricy, (still no official "opening" of the season - these are test fish), but after sampling a (very $mall) portion I can assure you that it's a good investment and seriously amazing salmon.
We also have some really nice fresh ground fish that just came in - true cod, rock cod, sole, and a wee bit of sablefish. You'll also find fresh Quinault steelhead, some Hawaiian fish freshly flown in and a solid stack of local clams, mussels and oysters. My brother Gabe just brought a new batch of Dungeness crab (and he's making noises about coming back just before the weekend) so we should have plenty of crab despite the weather - come take a look at our fish and visit with us!
~Kira |
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The Sturgeon | |
The white sturgeon is one of the most strange, mysterious and delicious local fishes. I often put a sign out when sturgeon are available that reads "Have dinner with a dinosaur!" and that statement is fairly accurate. Sturgeon have remained relatively unchanged for literally millions of years and are often referred to as "river monsters" and "living fossils". They can grow incredibly large (up to 1800 pounds!) and can live a very lengthy life (over 100 years). They have internal cartilage instead of bones, a bizarre ancient notochord instead of a backbone, and bony plates on the outside called "scutes" instead of scales. Their mouth is also quite interesting: it's toothless with taste buds on the outside, and folds out sort of like a large vacuum hose. All the better for sucking up lots of fish and clams!
Management of sturgeon populations is quite important and very well done these days. In the late 1800's over 5.5 million pounds of sturgeon were harvested from the Columbia and it took many years for the population to recover, which it now has thank goodness! It is one of the only fisheries that have a minimum *and* a maximum size requirement with the maximum size at 6 feet from tip to tail. This size restriction prevents any sturgeon caviar from being harvested, (a 6 foot sturgeon is not sexually mature), and keeps the valuable eggs in the water where they can develop into more sturgeon! Yay!
We love sturgeon for their strange beauty and for their delicious meat. Sturgeon meat is quite unique... stays firm but cooks very tender (great for the grill!) and has less of a fishy taste than most fish - it's very mild. It's hard *not* to like sturgeon, so if you haven't tried it before or you know someone who just doesn't like fish... it's a good one to try out! I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating: we are quite fortunate to live in the Pacific Northwest where there is such plentiful and amazing fish to eat!
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Seared Sturgeon with Red Wine Sauce |
Cooking sturgeon is a fairly simple process - it makes great fish and chips, can be baked, grilled, fried, broiled AND boiled. (Check out this recipe involving boiling sturgeon meat in 7-up to create 'poor man's lobster'!) It's so easy and delicious that we rarely venture out past the "season and pan sear" method, only changing up the sauce to go with it based on the season and what's in the fridge. Feel free to get creative - sturgeon is solid, cooks tender and holds together very well. |
Red Wine Sauce
Okay, fair warning... this sauce looks a little odd. It's rather purple, thanks to the red wine. It's so delicious though, you won't mind the color and the idea of licking your plate might cross your mind!
1/3 cup chopped shallots (one bulb)
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 T olive oil
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 cup heavy cream
handful chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Sautee the garlic and shallots in the olive oil until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine and cook over medium heat to reduce while your sturgeon is cooking.
Seared Sturgeon
5 to 8oz sturgeon per person, skinned and cut into about 1/2" thick slices (we can do this for you!)
blackening seasoning
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs
olive oil
Season the sturgeon with the blackening, salt and pepper, and then roll in the breadcrumbs. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, lay the sturgeon chunks in the pan and pop on a lid. Cook for about 3 minutes, then turn over and give them about 2 minutes more. Take the pan off the heat and let rest for another minute and you're done.
Serve the sturgeon on a plate topped with the sauce, a chunk of bread from The Peddler, salad and some more of that red wine tipped in a glass. Enjoy! :) |
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Tony and Kira DeRito
360 570 8816 The Olympia Seafood Company, Inc. 411 Columbia St NW Tues 12-6 Wed thru Sat 10-6 Sun 11-4 www.olympiaseafood.com "We don't think much about food because we have so much of it. But we should. There is no more essential commodity than food. Without food, people perish, social and political organizations disintegrate, and civilizations collapse." - Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug | |
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Special Pricing on Sturgeon this Week! $12.99/lb. |
Regular pricing on fresh sturgeon filet is $16.99 per pound, so you're saving around $4 on a nice chunk of fish for dinner for two! | Offer Expires: Sunday, March 13th or until the fish are gone! |
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