how do I judge the quality of salmon (or other fish) in the supermarket?

December 10, 2009 5:04 AM

how do I judge the quality of salmon (or other fish) in the supermarket?

I just bought some terrible smoked salmon. it wasn't even cheap and the packaging informed me it was "wild alaska salmon, certified to the standards of the marine stewardship council" (I translated that from german). so I thought it wasn't farmed and that I'd in fact be getting some premium wild salmon to garnish my slice of bread with but I was wrong. this salmon has no texture, the color is awfully orangy-looking now that I've been able to closer inspect it and it's just one solid color without any shift at all. I also can't taste anything thanks to some bitter smell.

please help me not make this mistake again. please tell me how to look at fish in a market and understand if it's good or bad or new or old or quality or cheap. please recommend how to judge packaged salmon as well.

oh ... us seals don't help me much ... they rarely have them in german supermarkets.

posted by krautland to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

Always buy it fresh. It shouldn't smell like fish, it should smell like the sea.
posted by fire&wings at 5:12 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

I also can't taste anything thanks to some bitter smell.

Sounds like you bought some bad/old lox.

With prepackaged smoked salmon, you're automatically getting a bit of a crap-shoot, but always smell first. In my experience, it tastes best when it just smells kind of salty and maybe just a teensy hint fishy. Anything else, and it's turned.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 5:16 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

With smoked salmon in particular, you want to make sure it's noot too fatty, there should be very little white-ish streaks and the flesh should be a deep pink color, not a light pink color. Packaged Salmon is kind of crapshoot, but the previous posters are right: Fish should smell like the sea, not like fish.

(and good smoked salmon needs only a bit of pepper and lemon. You shouldn't have to try to mask the fishy odor cause it shouldn't be there)
posted by The Whelk at 5:28 AM on December 10, 2009

1) choose fish that are in season (you will have to research this on your own)
2) choose that are firm-fleshed and meaty, with not too much visible fat -- fat goes rancid quickly
3) choose fish that don't smell like anything but seawater
4) ask your fishmonger for advice
posted by mr. remy at 5:39 AM on December 10, 2009

And if your fishmonger won't let you get close and smell the fish? Get a new fishmonger.
posted by GenjiandProust at 5:48 AM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]

Not for packaged fish, but for whole fish, the eyes shouldn't be dull, and the scales should still have that certain luster too them. If the eyes are milky, and the scales don't shine, don't buy that fish.
posted by Ghidorah at 5:49 AM on December 10, 2009

It is hard with something cryovaced but if you are looking at something like fillets or steaks of fish see if the muscles are starting to separate from each other. Also, if it looks too wet, that could be a sign as well.

After some bad experiences, I have gone to a fish monger for my fish needs. There are very few sea items that I would buy from a supermarket and I am very choosy even in stores that have decent seafood like Costco.
posted by jadepearl at 6:17 AM on December 10, 2009

Best not to get supermarket fish. But when I rarely do, I pay for it and open the wrapping after checkout. I haven't had to return anything yet, but it beats getting home, searching for the receipt, and having to schlep back with it.
posted by Elsie at 6:42 AM on December 10, 2009

for good smoked salmon find a very busy deli that preferably smokes their own. If you have any Jewish friends ask them if they or anyone in their family knows the best Jewish deli in your town. They will most likely have the best smoked salmon. For regular salmon find a fish monger who refuses to sell farmed salmon - that's the first sign that it's a reputable dealer. Mine gets his salmon flown in daily - again, he has that kind of demand - when it comes to fish stores you need to find the busiest one in town because turnover of inventory is the best way to insure you are getting fresh fish daily. The best, freshest salmon has absolutely no smell. Any good fish monger will gladly let you smell the fish - but be careful I've read that sometimes tuna is sprayed with an ammonia solution to disguise the smell.
posted by any major dude at 6:42 AM on December 10, 2009

For fresh fish, push on it with a finger. It should spring back immediately. If it stays depressed, move along. For packaged smoked salmon, I try to look in the little window as best I can - and unlike the Whelk, I look for streaks. I think if it's all one exact same color, it's probably been dyed. There should be subtle differences in the coloring.
posted by mygothlaundry at 8:39 AM on December 10, 2009

Oh you need to look at the streaks, but the white-fatty streaks should be fairly thin and well spread out. A rich pink color is preferred, but a totally even tone is a red flag.
posted by The Whelk at 8:41 AM on December 10, 2009

Look for Sockeye salmon. It is tasty, rich in oils, never farmed, and is good frozen, fresh, or smoked. If the package doesn't tell you the variety of smoked salmon, it will be a lower grade fish like Pink or Chum salmon. They feed farmed salmon fish meal pellets and add dye to turn the flesh various shades of pink or red. So if you're buying farmed salmon, forget the color--it's fake.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:56 AM on December 10, 2009

Nthing smell. It should smell like nothing.

Also, get fish whole and look at the eyes. Thy should be firm and shiny.

Lox? No pre-packaged if you can possibly find a good deli.
posted by cmoj at 10:13 AM on December 10, 2009

I wonder if it was a pink (humpback) rather than a silver or red salmon. Pinks are pretty inferior tasting (mushy and pink!) compared to the more delicious silver and red salmons. It might be a better tasting fish if it's a coho (silver) sockeye (red) or chinook (king.) I'm not sure if you'll ever find the species labeled like that though.
posted by vespabelle at 12:59 PM on December 10, 2009

I'm not sure if you'll ever find the species labeled like that though.

Coming from wild salmon land, I can say that labeling the species is normal for smoked salmon sold to locals. I'd regard lack of labeling as lower-grade fish packaged for the tourist market.

The wild Alaskan salmon I eat comes from Jerry's Meats and Seafood. (With express shipping in a cooled container it's very expensive. I just get it at the grocery store.)
posted by D.C. at 1:28 AM on December 11, 2009