Wild Alaskan Fish CSA (Sitka Salmon Shares)

the most exciting shopping news i've had in a while is the arrival of SITKA SALMON SHARES to the logan square sunday farmer's market. SITKA SALMON SHARES is a group of fisher/owners who are fishing sustainably up in alaska and selling their flash frozen salmons, cods, spot prawns, halibut here at the sunday market. they are also offering monthly home delivery of their CSA's. having just bought a large quantity of spot prawns and a fillet of pacific cod this morning, totalling over $50, i qualified for a $50 off coupon to use when i sign up for their CSA, which i plan to do. the prawns are individually frozen, and the fish is vacuum packed in 1 pound packages, so it's easy to access a small quantity if you order the 5 pound CSA share, which is the box i'll receive. many options (3 months, 6 months, etc.) are offered, and what one receives depends on fishing season. i met Marsh, this morning, one of the fishermen. he says october is prawn season, so i'm already looking forward to receiving that box.
i don't know if small, but growing, companies like Sitka Salmon can do anything in the long term to save the oceans from the large fishing corporations which are destroying many fish species and the environment to boot, but supporting them and not buying fish that aren't regarded as sustainably fished is what i can do....so i'm doing it. and eating phenomenally fresh tasting fish is my reward!

SITKASALMONSHARES.COM

Wow, this looks wonderful, thank you for sharing! I might give this CSA a go!

I get to sit next to these guys at the market, and they are awesome. Very dedicated to what they do, and they have awesome product.

justjoan, thanks for your post on Sitka Salmon Shares, and drshoebocks for your comment! We are friends of SSS (me and my Sitka-raised dog, Kiba Chu).

We recently had co-founder Nic Mink on Chewing the Fat, talking about their CSF (Community Supported Fishery):
https://soundcloud.com/chewingthefat/ct ... ts#t=11:55

Food & Wine magazine named SSS one of America's 20 best food artisans:
http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/a ... artisans/5

Nic told us about their upcoming smoked salmon collaboration with Smoking Goose in Indianapolis, fellow F&W 20 best artisan:
https://www.facebook.com/SitkaSalmonSha ... =1&theater

I highly recommend meeting Marsh this winter at the Logan Square Farmers Market, before he goes back to fish. Plus join us this summer in Alaska for the Sitka Seafood Festival:
http://sitkaseafoodfestival.org/

And go down to Galesburg for their annual Wild Alaskan Salmon Bake in September. Cathy2, Kiba, and I went for their inaugural bake!
https://flic.kr/s/aHsjSTK351

Louisa Chu wrote:We recently had co-founder Nic Mink on Chewing the Fat, talking about their CSF (Community Supported Fishery):
https://soundcloud.com/chewingthefat/ct ... ts#t=11:55

I remember hearing that interview and thinking what a great idea this was. I'm definitely signing up.

My spouse and I have been talking forever about how we would love a seafood CSA; we'll sign up. Thanks!

Edit: Are there discount codes for this company? Saw the 'discount code' box, but wasn't sure. Thanks.

Hi,

Nic Mink spoke to Chicago Foodways Roundtable last year on the history of fast food prior to McDonald's.

Nic has literally written a book on Salmon, which he will lecture on sometime.

He has also been a judge at the Indiana State Fair on behalf of Greater Midwest Foodways Alliance.

That Nic, he sure does get around.

Regards,

justjoan -

Thanks for the post about these folks - they had come up in my food searches for that part of the state and I had not yet gotten around to getting in touch with them.

Nic was really quick to reply to a question re: Dungeness crab and bairdi crabs they offer - Hoping to get in on some either this month or next if the price is right. Ill probably take the short drive over to Galesburg to pick up.

jimswside wrote:justjoan -

Thanks for the post about these folks - they had come up in my food searches for that part of the state and I had not yet gotten around to getting in touch with them.

Nic was really quick to reply to a question re: Dungeness crab and bairdi crabs they offer - Hoping to get in on some either this month or next if the price is right. Ill probably take the short drive over to Galesburg to pick up.

jim, please post after you try their crabs, will you? i read about the bairdi crabs on their website, but haven't eaten them. thanks, joan

justjoan wrote:

jimswside wrote:justjoan -

Thanks for the post about these folks - they had come up in my food searches for that part of the state and I had not yet gotten around to getting in touch with them.

Nic was really quick to reply to a question re: Dungeness crab and bairdi crabs they offer - Hoping to get in on some either this month or next if the price is right. Ill probably take the short drive over to Galesburg to pick up.

jim, please post after you try their crabs, will you? i read about the bairdi crabs on their website, but haven't eaten them. thanks, joan

definitely - probably 1st week of March - I can get dungeness or bairdi - even got a food destination from Nic a pizza spot that uses their ingredients..

Baked Pizza.

rtb178 wrote:My spouse and I have been talking forever about how we would love a seafood CSA; we'll sign up. Thanks!

Edit: Are there discount codes for this company? Saw the 'discount code' box, but wasn't sure. Thanks.

i only know of the discount they offer people shopping at the farmers' markets: spend $50 there, and you'll get a $50 off coupon for a CSA. if the logan square market isn't convenient- they are also at the glenwood sunday market in rogers park from 9-2pm.

Just a follow up on the crabs -

they are offering a crab share for $219 delivered.


you get:

(3) whole dungeness crabs (2.2-2.5lbs each) in February

&

(6.5-7lbs) of Bairdi snow crab clusters in March

I am not going to do the full share - I am working out the whole driving down & just getting some Dungeness crab that they have left over from their shares @ $12/lb. -

Thanks for the tip justjoan! Just signed up for the full-share today. Looking forward to it.

Long time lurker, infrequent poster here. Just wanted to thank you for the post. I had no idea such a service existed, but I have learned so much from this site and this post is a great example. I researched this further and signed up for the 1/2 share for this year and might expand in future years. Very much looking forward to my first delivery!

hi neighbor mike; thanks for writing. i hope you'll come back and share your experience with Sitka Shares when you CSA gets going.

Got my share last night-- felt sorry for the poor driver fighting Chicago traffic all day, but the fish was still nicely frozen. What's everyone cooking?

My first recipe will be this:
Pan-Seared Halibut with Salmoriglio (may require subscription).
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/pan- ... iglio.aspx

Looking forward to hearing others' reports.

Cheers, Jen

Pie-love wrote:Pan-Seared Halibut with Salmoriglio (may require subscription).
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/pan- ... iglio.aspx

Made it, we all loved it. This fish is amazing-- thanks for tipping me off to this great opportunity!

We had our first piece of this month's Black Cod (aka Sable) and it was melt in your mouth wonderful. Just grilled with a little teriyaki sauce and it was perfect.

We quickly finished the shipment of King salmon. My wife's favorite was the tartare I made with some avocado and an asian dressing. The most recent shipment is Sockeye, which is actually from the Taku River, rather than Sitka. They have an agreement with some fishermen in that region.

They also offered some supplemental items, including ling cod (some cheeks) and line caught tuna from a fishery in Oregon or Washington. We ordered some of the tuna.

We received our last of three shipments from Sitka Salmon. We ordered the introductory sampler, receiving cod, rockfish, and a few types of salmon (Sockeye, Coho, Keta, King, and Salmon Burger). We actually haven't had a chance to eat everything, but overall, we're happy with the quality and the flavor of the fish. We've especially enjoyed the Rockfish and the Sockeye.

One note: we wish they would vacuum seal the fish in smaller amounts. Oftentimes the frozen portions are *big* (12oz+), which makes eating for two very difficult (I like fish salad for lunch and all, but...). The only exception to this was the single portion of King Salmon we received last month, which looks to be four ounces at the very most. (We were bummed by this one, and had hoped for at least two dinner portions. Oh well, guess we'll have to order it next year.)

We received out last shipment (cod). Overall, we've been very pleased with everything we've gotten and resubscribed for next year. We ate a lot more fish this year (which is a good thing) Here is my overall assessment:
Pros:
Excellent quality fish
It is from sustainable fisheries.
You are supporting family businesses, rather than some massive fishing operation.
Good variety, although you do have to really like wild salmon.
They send a newsletter with each shipment that gives you a feel for how the harvest was and other information about what it took to get your fish to your door.
They throw in a few nice extras like a hunk of smoked fish or Alaskan sea salt.
The delivery service is nice and flawless.

Cons:
You don't get to shop for fish, as this will be nearly all of your years supply. No buying something on a whim.
While $20 per pound is a reasonable price of fish delivered to your door, there are no sales. You pay $20 per pound for everything.
We got 5 pounds per month, so while there was some variety of fish, you do end up eating a good amount of the same kind of fish each month.

There was a sale where you got a discount for resubscribing early. I'm not sure if this is still available.

Do they ship?

I don't think so (you'd have to check their web site to be sure), as the whole system is based on delivery in the selected markets they serve. They only serve about 20 cites/towns in the Midwest; they do not sell anywhere else. They are not a mail order business. Why do you ask?

Jonah wrote:I don't think so (you'd have to check their web site to be sure), as the whole system is based on delivery in the selected markets they serve. They only serve about 20 cites/towns in the Midwest; they do not sell anywhere else. They are not a mail order business. Why do you ask?

It would be a perfect gift.

Understood. I think you have to live in one of the markets listed on their website.

Heads-up, they have a discount running on ordering before midnight today (12/1/2015).

I never posted my reviews, but I signed up for the half share again this year. Fantastic product and just overall unbeatable quality.

This year they have changed up the fish lineup somewhat. They explained why in the newsletter. If you want the black cod but do not do the full share, you can email them and ask for a substitution of, for example, black cod in place of lingcod. This year was my first exposure to black cod (far as I know) and wow! I asked for it on 2016 with my half share order.

The king salmon that they deliver is not to be missed. If you just do the salmon share and nothing else you will be very happy.

Again, without this site, I would never have discovered this so thank you justjoan!!!

Nevermind, the post below negates my issue

Here is a link to the pay-in-full site for the shares. At the top of the page you will find a link to the pay-monthly shares. I think the link at the home page is taking you to 2015 shares.

http://sitkasalmonshares.com/pages/2016-members-pre-sale-pay-in-full

My newsletter did say "if you or your friends would like to enroll at the lowest prices of the season" so I am sure I am OK sharing this with my LTH friends.

During a trip to Alaska we visited Prime Select Seafoods (Cordova, Alaska) and bought a variety of fish to bring home. King and sockeye salmon, black cod, rock fish, halibut and cod cheeks. Beautifully packaged and made the trip home still frozen. We ordered from them a few times more and were always happy. Just got a postcard from them (it has been years since our last order) and they are advertising 5 pounds of Copper River salmon, (2.5 pounds each of coho and sockeye) for $122; 2.5 pounds of smoked salmon (variety of flavors lemon garlic pepper, cracked pepper, cajun, brown sugar and natural) for $115; and 5 pounds of alaskan combo pack- one pound each of halibut, black cod, rock fish, pacific cod and Copper River sockeye for $141. Shipping included overnight Fed Ex. Their website is northernfishstore.com- phone is 252-592-6300.

Elfin wrote:During a trip to Alaska we visited Prime Select Seafoods (Cordova, Alaska) and bought a variety of fish to bring home. King and sockeye salmon, black cod, rock fish, halibut and cod cheeks. Beautifully packaged and made the trip home still frozen. We ordered from them a few times more and were always happy. Just got a postcard from them (it has been years since our last order) and they are advertising 5 pounds of Copper River salmon, (2.5 pounds each of coho and sockeye) for $122; 2.5 pounds of smoked salmon (variety of flavors lemon garlic pepper, cracked pepper, cajun, brown sugar and natural) for $115; and 5 pounds of alaskan combo pack- one pound each of halibut, black cod, rock fish, pacific cod and Copper River sockeye for $141. Shipping included overnight Fed Ex. Their website is northernfishstore.com- phone is 252-592-6300.

Thanks.