Cold Country Salmon new to DC

[Salmon & Sable]

Greetings DC foodies,

My wife and I (Traveler Terpening and Nicole Ziegler) are commercial fisherfolks from Alaska and are new to the area. We now spend our winters here in the DC area (we live in Arlington, VA) and love the vibrant culture of food we have found here! Although locals seem to take their food seriously, there is no fisherman direct wild Alaska salmon connection here that I have found. We are thrilled to be here and to introduce this vibrant area to our wonderful sustainable, healthy and wild Alaskan salmon.

We fish for king (chinook) and red (sockeye) salmon on the Ugashik River in Western Alaska's Bristol Bay. This is a pristine and very remote area with totally wild salmon that spend their lives in the Bering sea and North Pacific. We love fishing were we do. Far from the fray of other Bristol Bay fisheries, we live and fish in the wilderness. The smoking, glacier enshrouded spine of the volcanic Aleutian Range stretches from horizon to horizon and bear and wolves walk the beach in front of our cabin. During the summer, the tundra is ablaze in wind-stunted wild flowers.

Although we have been fisherfolks most of our lives, we have recently started offering our salmon directly to the public. Over the years, we have been excited to see folks start to take sustainable, healthy and producer direct food more seriously. It goes without saying that buying sustainable and healthy food it better for people and the planet, but we think buying direct from the producer is just as important. We love to learn all about where our food is coming from, not just for the personal empowerment it provides but also because of the wonderful stories we hear and the friendships we make. We love sharing our experiences and stories with folks and telling them all about how we catch salmon in the Alaskan wilderness. We maintain a blog throughout the year so our friends, family and customers can follow our fishing season and other news.

Most salmon are caught in Alaska during the summer. We fish from June through July. Our salmon are flash frozen and vacuum sealed so they will keep with almost no loss of texture or flavor for 6-8 months. We then start selling starting September 1. Right now we are accepting preorders which customers will pick up September 1, 2011. Since we believe great food and great community go hand in hand, we encourage our customers to come together with their friends, family and neighbors to place larger orders. This saves them money and hopefully brings their community closer together. We sell our salmon 10 kg lots (22.05 lbs), with price breaks every 20 kg, 30 kg, 40 kg and so on. Customers should not be afraid of 10 kg of wild Alaskan salmon. This amount will last for a few months in many families and takes up less than 25% of most top freezers, leaving room for all your other frozen foods. For those who do want a smaller amount for a week or so, they can come together with a friend or two and share 10 kgs.

I am also somewhat of an expert on Alaska, having just written a travel guide to the state for UK travel guide publisher, Bradt Travel Guides. I have also been a commercial fisherman most my life. I enjoy sharing stories about Alaska and fishing with the public in the form of presentations (slide talk, lectures, etc).

We look forward to being involved in the community here and sharing our wonderful salmon.

Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/coldcntrySALMON

Follow our blog: http://coldcountrysalmon.com/?page_id=618

[Soup]

Can you share the price? I'm interested. BTW, Do we get the whole fish for is it fileted?

Soup

[TheMatt]

Can you share the price? I'm interested. BTW, Do we get the whole fish for is it fileted?

Soup

I'm interested, too, with both questions. While I'd love to be able to store whole salmon, I know I can't with my setup.

Moreover, if it is filleted, I probably wouldn't want to do 20 lbs. As that looks to be the minimum order, I'd have to go in with others as 5-6 lbs of fillets is probably closer to what I could store.

[Tweaked]

Per their website:

Our salmon comes vacuum sealed and flash frozen in 8oz. packages, which are ideal for a meal for two people. After 30 years of living in Alaska and eating off the land, we have learned that this process for storing salmon is the very best–fish taste all but straight out of the water even after 6 months. Your salmon will come frozen in boxes and it can be stored in your freezer with your other frozen food. To eat, simply allow it to thaw in the fridge overnight.

[Salmon & Sable]

Can you share the price? I'm interested. BTW, Do we get the whole fish for is it fileted?

Soup

Hello,

Each summer I head to Alaska to fish, returning in the fall with my catch filleted, flash frozen and vacuum sealed. This amazing process keeps salmon all but right-out-of-the-water fresh for 6 months or more. My salmon comes in portions or in whole fillets. Portion sizes are generally 8oz. I generally do not sell whole (headed and gutted) salmon though it can be arranged. Some folks, when entertaining, like to start with a lovely whole 12 pound Ugashik River sockeye and fillet it themselves. It can be a fun performance. I also sometimes offer the service of doing this myself (filleting is a practiced art) and share stories about commercial fishing and details about sustainability, salmon life history, Alaska, etc.

I encourage all my customers to buy salmon co-op style where you get together with your friend, family and neighbors and share an order of salmon. This allows you to get a great price and, ideally, builds great community around great food. These are my prices:

*One Shares (22.05 lbs. (10 kg.)) $13.99/lb.

*Two Shares or more (44.10 lbs. (20 Kg.)) $12.99/lb.

For perspective, 22 pounds of salmon does not take up as much space in your freezer as one might think. With few exceptions, this amount of salmon takes up less than 25% of a standard top freezer, allowing plenty of room for your other frozen foods. Those who eat a lot of fish and/or have larger families often have chest freezers that would accommodate an order of 44 pounds or more.

Growing up in Alaska, my family and I always filled our freezer with wild fish and game for the long, dark winter. This was before the days of flash-freezing and vacuum sealing (or maybe we just didn't know about it!) so we froze our salmon whole (headed and gutted). Although these tasted well enough for a month or two, freezer burn set in quickly and before long we would have to smoke or can (jar) the rest. When we discovered flash freezing and vacuum sealing, it changed our lives! Now I do all my fish this way and they taste amazing for 6 or more months. Amazing.

[Salmon & Sable]

I'm interested, too, with both questions. While I'd love to be able to store whole salmon, I know I can't with my setup.

Moreover, if it is filleted, I probably wouldn't want to do 20 lbs. As that looks to be the minimum order, I'd have to go in with others as 5-6 lbs of fillets is probably closer to what I could store.

I appreciate your enthusiasm about my salmon! I would be happy to talk with you in more detail about your freezer space, your salmon needs and in general about our salmon and Alaska.

22 pounds of salmon is not as large as you might think. Fillet weights vary, but assuming sizes between 1.75-3 or even 4 pounds per fillet, that's between 6 and 12 filletsor it can be portions if you prefer. But of course you can also find one friend who also loves Wild Alaskan salmon and share the 22 pounds with; each taking home 3-6 fillets (11 pounds). As I'm sure you know, salmon fillets or portions are a magical shape that seem to fit everywhere even in an already full freezer. This last fall I carried one box of salmon on the plane with me (check on actually) and all 40 pounds of it neatly fit in a standard side by side freezer/fridge that was ostensibly already full.

In some cases we can pair customers who want smaller amounts with each other. When customers pick up their salmon, they simply have to meet up on site and divide the amount.

Hope this helps. Please email or call anytime to order or ask questions.