****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This will probably be world's longest Smoked Salmon review that nobody will read but the description left too many questions when I was reading so I am hoping this will be helpful to others as they decide to buy or not to buy.1. For anyone wondering, this is NOT wild caught... GASP... BUT - THERE IS NO WILD CAUGHT Atlantic Salmon. Google it - commercial or recreational fishing for Atlantic Salmon is prohibited in the US, so you will not be able to buy wild-caught atlantic salmon products it in the US since they are illegal. The manufacturer does not really say that it is not wild caught and I think it would have been better if they did and explained it rather than being vague. This is the first question I had.2. This is NOT sliced (I saw someone mentioning in another review that the product images showed sliced fish). The images are inaccurate and really do not help with the buying decision. Second and Third images are confusing. So, while this is NOT sliced, I would recommend that you get the unsliced version (more on that later), that is assuming you got over the fact that it is not wild-caught. My wife is staying away because it is not wild which is all good with me). Of course, I have not bought the sliced one and perhaps sliced salmon is the next best thing after sliced bread but I enjoy the freedom of cutting whatever the heck piece I want from a 1-3 LBS chunk of fish. I can cut a chunk or a slice. I can cut from the thick part or the thin part (thinner is tougher, saltier and smokier and thicker is more meaty and less intense; also I can scrape the skin to get the nice thin layer of blubber if you are into that type of thing). To me, if you are buying a whole Filet, may as well get the benefit of the filet rather than getting an equivalent of10 packages of lox at the store.3. FLAVOR/TEXTURE/ETCIt is nice and fat. It tastes a lot better if you let it sit around for a bit at room temperature. The fat is more liquid and more enjoyable. It has nice fat content, though surprisingly the collars and the bellies do not appear to be included, as you can see on the first image. If you bought store lox and felt they smelt like diesel or were too salty or too smoky, this product does not have that problem and this smocked salmon is definitely a different class. I feel if it were pre-sliced, it would probably be on par with the higher end lox you can get at a nicer grocery store but the fact that it comes on the skin and as a whole fish and I can get extra fat off the skin, I feel that makes a big difference for the taste (not sure if my logic here makes sense but one more reason to get the one with the skin in my opinion as it enhances the flavor).4. SHIPPING AND PACKAGING. I ordered this on Sunday night and it shipped out from east coast to Seattle on Monday evening. Expected delivery was Thur but it was late and arrived on Friday. I was very surprised that it was shipped ground. I was very annoyed it was not 2nd day air. I am used to getting meat, crawfish, and other things overnight or 2nd day air at the latest. It turned out fine at the end, but I was annoyed it was Ground. So just FYI to set your expectations - it may be shipped ground which frankly not a problem in October and with the packaging it came in. The package was 33 LBS even though it was only 10 LBS of fish. It is a huge box 3ft x1x1. There is a cooler with a whole bunch of freezer packs that were still frozen on Friday when I opened it. The cooler was cracked by the UPS but it did not really matter - there is nothing to leak (Styrofoam cooler is in a cardboard box). The package had about 10 freezer gel packs which are reusable and you can load up your freezer with them but I don't need them so I had to toss them. It would be better if they shipped water-soluble disposable packs and not use styrofoam - not great for environment or disposal. If the manufacturer reads this - PLEASE change your packaging. I am not taking stars off for this because I don't want to bad-mouth the fish, but packaging should be earth-friendlier in 2022 when you are selling high-end fish...5. WHAT YOU GET: The product looks exactly like on the picture. You will get a huge fish filet that is vacuum sealed. I bought 10 LBS and I got 3 filets (each technically is a half of a fish). The weight was exactly down to an ounce. I think it was like 9.97 Lbs with each fish having its own weight label. They did include a nice additional package of sliced lox of a diff brand, my guess to get over the advertised weight or just to be nice. Anyway, I was expecting a bit over the limit but I got what I paid for. All of the fish were between 3.1 and 3.7 lbs. They are big and long. Would have been nice to catch one of these.6. FREEZING IS OK. So when the fish arrived, it appeared stiff (meaning they were frozen). It is OK. Ever since touring the high end fish market in Tokyo and seeing very expensive tuna frozen, I have no issues freezing fish and I don't judge if it was. I have no plans to have a Salmon party like another reviewer, so cut one into thirds and re-froze 2 and 2/3 of the fish. 2 days later, I already unfroze a 1/3 and it tastes just like the first 1/3. No problems or issues in texture or flavor or fat content. I have frozen caviar, salmon roe, lox and fish before when bringing as presents for friends overseas - to surprise it all comes out great so you don't have to eat it up in a week and can make it last. My next order will probably be for 18 LBS to save $$$, assuming that I actually still can eat smoked salmon as 10 Lbs is a sizeable undertaking esp with my wife leaving it all to me. I may have my fill with this one... and it may be years until i reorder. I am sure someone smarter than I will disagree, but I freeze fish freely - freezing even works with dill! Just make sure it is not wet when you freeze it.7. This vs. PNW Wild-Caught Salmon. Yes, I live in Seattle and ordered this lox. Yes, I even make my own lox using a NYT recipe from a few years ago, all you need is salt, sugar, and lots of dill and i will use Chinook or copper river, or at rare occasions king salmon. The challenge is that King salmon even in Seattle is $35/lb and once I "lox" it, I lose about a third of the weight. King Salmon is also available only for a few weeks in a year and I don't see it often and most of the time, I see it dry-smoked or "candied" which is nice but I prefer Nova Lox style and sometimes I don't feel really good after certain "smocking" treatments. It could be just me but this was my big concern about this particular lox - would it cause issues and so far about 2 lbs in, it has not, which would be a terrible waste if it did. Back to King Salmon - I have not seen King done Nova style. Not sure why but I think it would an awesome product if it exists. Also, most of the seafood we get here is actually from Alaska so even the Pike Place market gets most of their stuff from there, and not so much local and hardly matters if you fly it to Seattle or SF or LA or Dallas for what its worth. The other wild-caught salmon (other than King) are actually pretty meaty and don't have much fat so I imagine they would not work well for lox. They also tend to be smaller.Anyway, most important - eat it at room temp. Just leave it out for 5-10 mins and it is good to go. Don't gobble it up while it is cold or frozen. You will lose out on flavor and texture. (my own discovery, which I am sure is not unique but no one told me this tip).Good luck! Hope this answered your questions.P.S. I found this while searching for Norwegian-style herring by the way on Amazon. Still have not found it here but this was a worthwhile purchase/investment.
