R&J Seafoods Kenai Select Salmon
R & J Seafoods is a new addition to the mail-order kosher marketplace this year. Their Kenai Select Wild Alaskan Salmon as well as wild halibut now have OK certification, after two years of inquiries about going kosher. R & J, a small family company, has been in business almost twenty-five years in Kasilof, Alaska, just a few miles south of the Kenai River — famous for its salmon sportfishing.
We were sent a full order of R&J’s sockeye salmon, which was shipped FedEx Priority Overnight and arrived by 10:30AM. The thorough packaging kept the fish in excellent frozen condition through its trip and until it reached the kitchen. The three beautiful filets which emerged from the box weighed approximately five pounds total.
After a quick thaw, it was ready to cook. Even in its raw state, the fish had a fresh, clean smell, the flesh was firm and deep red — a distinctive characteristic of sockeye — and the skin shiny and smooth. Their local salmon season runs from late June to mid-August, but attentive and prompt cleaning, packing, and freezing of the fish ensures high quality in the off-season.
We prepared the salmon two ways, on the grill and served with a garlic-lime sauce, and pan-seared with a lemon-balsamic reduction. In both cases, we cooked the fish medium-rare, leaving the interior abundantly moist. The sockeye had a very rich flavor, with none of the off-putting qualities of lesser products that tend to keep people away from salmon, clinging ignorantly to “safe” pale-fleshed fish. The skin crisped up nicely, providing a fine contrast to the salmon’s smooth texture.
As is the tradition with our mail-order reviews, a word about shipping costs is in order. R & J’s overnight shipping costs — a surcharge of about $9/lb. — are in line with other online purveyors of fresh Alaskan salmon. Additonally, their price for sockeye, at about $13/lb., is very competitive.
In short, R & J’s salmon has made me a believer: a high quality ingredient, cooked gently in an appropriate manner, can’t help becoming good eats.
great post, but i’m alarmed by how few tznius women are pictured with the sockeye salmon.
LMAO @ ACR
That’s a really good looking piece of fish…
ACR- Clearly, the tznius women are modestly hiding behind the camera and saying their tehillim for a good piece of fish thanks to the providence of the Almighty. ;-)
Jabbett- You’ve got me interested in the fish. Thanks.
A separate query… for those who are embarking upon travel in the next month or so, do you have recommendations for packable foodstuffs? e.g. meals-ready-to eat … if so, please give me the low-down of which brands are –the good, the bad, and the undigestable. Thanks.
I’ve found the Meal Mart shelf-stable “Amazing Meals” pretty good, especially the salmon meal. If you’ll have access to a microwave I recommend them. At lower-end hotels there’s often a microwave in a public area, if not in the rooms themselves. At high-end hotels you can ask at the front desk or at a lobby restaurant to take it back and heat it up for you.
The Labriute self-heating meals aren’t bad, but not that great. I wouldn’t eat them if I had anything better, but if you have no access to a microwave or other way of heating a meal, they’re a good option.
Also, the pouches of tuna are a good idea - no need for a can opener, and there’s no liquid inside to drain, so they don’t make a mess.
I recently tried an easy to transport item - Beef Jerky. Recently recommended in the Kosher Today newsletter as a new product (”RJ’s Kosher Beef Jerky”) being featured at the Kosher Food Expo this year. They have beef, turkey and salmon jerky, and a variety of sausages. The jerkies were all tasty, decently seasoned, and with good jerky consistency. I haven’t tried the sausages. They are Glatt, with a local hashgocha. Can order online at http://www.kosherbeefjerky.com.
In the previous post, I listed an incorrect website address for RJ’s Kosher Beef Jerky.
The correct address is http://www.kosherbeefjerky.net
Hello there -
I found your blog looking for online resources about kosher laws. Is there anything you can point me to? I would like as thorough an understanding as I can get. I’d appreciate any help you can give. Thanks so much!
Annie Kruse
Minnesota