Fishpeople Seafood

I ... don't really cook.

Sure, I exercise creativity in the kitchen, and have a lot of fun waffling all sorts of things, and I make some brilliantly composed salads if I do say so myself, but real, legit cooking ... gulp.  It just isn't something I need to do often, as I have the luxury of having my meals during the week provided at my office.  Before that, I was in grad school, had very little free time, and certainly no money to get decent ingredients, so let's just say I lived on a lot of bagel melts.

But Fishpeople changed that.

Garlic Parmesan Potato Wild Alaskan Cod Adventure.

You see this, I prepared.  Yes, me.  A real looking meal.

A lovely garlic parmesan potato crusted wild alaskan cod, which I paired with mashed sweet potatoes and roasted brussels sprouts.  I made a meal for for two, in under 40 minutes.  And we loved it.

It was my first time preparing raw seafood.  At age 37, and as someone who eats a lot of seafood.  Gulp.

I did it using a kit for the cod, made by Fishpeople.

Fishpeople makes a variety of seafood cooking kits, in addition to ready-made soups, chowders, and salmon jerky.  The impressive thing about Fishpeople is the commitment they put into not only sustainability, but also connections with their suppliers.  Every product comes with a code you can use to track your seafood to its origin.  They provide full transparency on nearly every ingredient that goes in, even naming their cream supplier (Andersen Dairy).  Of course it is non-GMO and rBST-free.

I was eager to try these products, as a shortcut to quality seafood at home.

Seafood Kits

"Sustainably-caught fish meets its match with the simple ingredients in our chef-crafted toppers. Restaurant-worthy seafood at home is within reach. You'll be hooked!"

The kits are minimal, providing only the raw seafood, and toppings.  You provide your own sides.  They have salmon, cod, and rockfish kits, ranging from simple meyer lemon and herb, to zesty chipotle & lime or cajun.  I went for the fanciest sounding version though: garlic parmesan potato.

Garlic Parmesan Potato Wild Alaskan Cod Kit.

"Our Kits take the guesswork out of cooking incredible seafood: Pure American-caught fish, Simple ingredients you can pronounce, Wildly delicious results every time. Take 2 sustainable & traceable Wild Alaskan Cod fillets, top & bake with Garlic Parmesan potatoes and garnish with Uncured Bacon for a wow-worthy fish dish at home. Be a kitchen hero in under 20 minutes! Serves 2."

The packaging showed me easily what was inside, the fish filets (2 portions), the topping I was to bake on it, and the additional topping to add once finished.

It looked simple enough?

Well Illustrated Packaging.

"Our cod's mild, flaky texture pairs perfectly with crisp toppings: diced potatoes, shredded parmesan, and crumbled uncured bacon. It's like the world's best hash browns on the world's best white fish... Eat it for breakfast, we won't tell."
The back of the package made it even more simple, the 4 simple steps down the right hand side, the a beautiful finished product on display.

Instruction Card.

Inside I found a step by step instruction card, fully illustrated, and really, dead simple.  I never had any doubt as to what I was doing, or what to do next.

I thawed my product the night before in the fridge, as instructed, although they provide quick thaw instructions as well.  I preheated my oven.

Raw Filets.

The packaging contains literally everything you need, the fish already comes in a tray that you put in the oven.  The first step is just removing the film that covers it, and draining off any liquid.  Oh, and spacing the filets out in the pan.

So far, easy!  The filets were each a generous portion.

Topped.

The next step is to open the little container of topping - a mix of cubed potatoes, crispy onions, parmesan cheese, and spices (garlic, celery powder, rosemary, thyme, chives), and fluff it.  Easy!

Then I was to spoon it on top, or use my hands, to top the fish.  Not quite so easy, as much of it fell off, but, I decided this must not  matter?

Ready to Bake.

Then, cover with foil, and bake.  And yes, they provide the foil, perfectly sized for the tray.

While the fish baked, I prepared my sides.  No attending to it was necessary.

Broiled and Complete!

The next step was to put it under the broiler for a minute or two to crisp up the top.  And then sprinkle with the provided bacon bits.

And ... that was that.  Very easy, 20 minutes later, and I was ... ready to "plate pretty", as instructed.  And then, dive in.

Garlic Parmesan Potato Wild Alaskan Cod + Roasted Brussels Sprouts + Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

At this point, I'll admit, I did overcook the cod.  The cooking time was specified clearly, but it seemed not done to me (like I really had any clue), so I actually let it cook longer, and got distracted while doing so, so the 1-2 additional minutes I planned turned into ... more like 4.  The fish didn't flake easily at this point, but I think this was my own fault.  I'm pretty sure the cod was in fact really good cod.

I adored the toppings.  I was shocked by how much I liked the toppings, actually.  It was just a little potato hash, not something that sounds that remarkable, but, it was.  Perfectly crispy, great flavors.  I completely understand their own description now "It's like the world's best hash browns on the world's best white fish... Eat it for breakfast, we won't tell!"  I didn't want the fish for breakfast, but I'd gladly take a huge serving of that hash.

I did find it a bit dry with just the fish and hash on top though.  My dining companion choose to put a little gravy on it (lol), but I opted for a lemon caper butter sauce I just happened to have on hand, and that was perfect.  I think any kind of cream sauce would work equally well, or perhaps just a simple drizzle of lemon.  It needed something, but perhaps that is only because I over cooked it?

Overall though, really quite tasty, and beyond easy to make.

Soups & Chowders

"Sustainably-caught seafood and farm-fresh veggies are the stars in our creamy bisques and hearty chowders. Delicious and ready to heat and eat! Grab a spoon and dive in!"

Fishpeople makes a large variety of seafood based soups, including two varieties of salmon chowder (wild salmon corn chowder or alder smoked wild salmon chowder), a crab bisque, a razor clam chowder (!), a mixed seafood bouillabaisse, and even an incredible sounding smoked oyster and bourbon chowder.

The novel thing about these products, besides that they are made with quality seafood is ... the packaging.  They come in bags.  Ok, pouches.  Ready to consume, once you heat them.  Which, you don't do in a microwave ...

Boiling My Soup ...

So ... the heating process.  You just submerge the entire bag in boiling water for 5 minutes.

I'll be honest, this felt ... wrong.  The last bag I boiled in a pot was Minute Rice, the style of rice I grew up with, and haven't ever, ever had again since.  Shutter.

That said, how do most prepared soups get heated up?  In the microwave.  How that seems better to me, I have no idea.  And if you really prefer, it is also an option to cut a slit in this package and pop it in the microwave too.

Anyway, the heating process is super simple, boil water, submerge bag, come back in 5 minutes, rip open the top.  Yes, the bag is weird.  But, it worked really well, the soup was evenly heated, so much better than what you get in a microwave.

Creamy Razor Clam and Bacon Chowder.

"Enjoy a fresh update on savory chowder.  The enduring appeal of Surf and Turf goes beyond steak and lobster. Here, it shows up as a hearty chowder that combines succulent West Coast razor clams, hand harvested by the Quinault Indian Nation on the beaches of Washington state, paired with scrumptious bacon nibbles, fresh cream and fragrant thyme."

I had all the Fishpeople varieties to try out, but, it was very easy to make a decision on which to go for.  Razor Clam Bacon Chowder!  I actually really like razor clams, duh bacon, and of course I like rich chowder.  Plus, the bag boasted that it was 3% bacon!

The razor clams are hand-harvested.  And the bacon comes from a family owned supplier, around since the 1930's (Hempler’s meats in Ferndale, WA). 

This was a classic chowder, cream based, with onions, potatoes, carrots, and celery.  The chunks of veggies were all an easy size to eat, small cubes, and were well cooked, not mushy.

The chowder base was super creamy, which I discovered is because it not only was made from heavy cream, but they also add neafchatel cheese!  It was the ideal thickness, and well seasoned with thyme, paprika, bay leaf, and cayenne.  There was a depth of flavor provided by the clam juice and anchovy as well, not fishy, but, it did make it more complex than just seasoned cream.

As for the star ingredients ... I only found a few tiny chunks of razor clam in my serving, so that was disappointing.  Same with the bacon.  I would have gladly taken more of those, and less carrots and potatoes.

Still, overall, I was impressed.  Complex flavor, very creamy, easy to make, and far better than any canned soup I've ever had.

Wild Crab Bisque.

"Experience a smooth and sophisticated crab and shrimp bisque.  This popular seafood soup serves up the Best of the West. Delectable crab and Pacific Pink shrimp, harvested from the depths of our local waters, are combined in a light cream sauce with sherry, sweet onions and hints of orange and cayenne."

I failed to get a photo of my next choice, the wild crab bisque, once I made it, whoops!

That may be because I quickly gave it away to my partner.

I didn't care for this at all.  The bisque was really, really fishy tasting.  It was creamy and the broth almost had a good flavor, but, it was just too fishy for me overall.  Fishy is not the flavor I want with crab.