Trader Joe’s “LIGHTLY SMOKED SALMON” (gourmet canned salmon)

26 May 2022 12 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, can, fish, General, New, News, Pantry, pescatarian, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, seafood, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


RAVE

TERRIFIC! – “Skinless, boneless salmon in Extra Virgin Olive Oil“.

21 grams of protein per portion!

Trader Joe’s came out with this product they call “Lightly Smoked Salmon“. You will find it in a pink can along with the tuna, sardines, and two or three other kinds of canned salmon they carry. I was intrigued and curious when I first saw this and frankly a bit confused by the name (“smoked salmon”? in a can?!) Forget about the “smoked” in the name, basically just know this is maybe the best and I do mean the BEST salmon in a can you probably ever had. Really great stuff! Trader Joe’s has a hit here. I find it’s so popular, it sometimes sells out. Now frankly to me the word “smoked” is a bit misleading, even confusing, so I would just forget the name…. This is not anything like what you and I think off when we hear “smoked salmon”. I would have named this something like “Premium Canned Salmon” or “Gourmet canned salmon”. This stuff even made me think about those imported pricey gourmet tins of fish like high end canned tuna from Spain (Ortiz for example) which can sell for $15 a can! TJ’s “Lightly Smoked Salmon” is actually a nice pure hunk of salmon poached in extra virgin olive oil. When you open the can you see an appetizing piece of Atlantic salmon. Completely skinless and boneless unlike many canned salmon, just pure meaty salmon. The salmon is swimming in a yellow/orange oil, EVOO and the orange color came from the salmon. Because of this EVOO, the salmon is so flaky and incredibly moist. It has an excellent flavor and texture from being poached in the can in some decent quality extra virgin olive oil. Yes, it farmed salmon but of a very good quality. (“Product of Chile”). As far as “Applewood smoke” which is listed in the ingredients I would say that it’s so light as to be non-existent. I can’t really taste any smoke flavor so forget the word “smoked” and just know that I found this salmon so tasty I couldn’t stop eating it. I kept saying “umm, let me just try one more little bite” and soon noticed the can was almost empty. Oh and that golden oil it’s swimming in? If you dump out this golden elixir you are going to miss out on one of its best points, so I implore you do not dump out this precious oil/juice, the way one usually drains off all that oil in say a can of tuna. This golden sauce is delicious. It’s the salmon juices mixed with decent Extra Virgin Olive Oil which it is cooked in, actually make for a delicious built in “sauce” oozing concentrated salmon flavor. UMAMI. I just spoon a bit of this golden juice over the fish with a squeeze of lemon. So Perfect. You could equally spoon this flavorful golden olive oil over your salmon salad, boiled potatoes, rice bowl or protein bowl, or what have you.

Open faced salmon sandwich on TJ Norwegian Crispbread, cucumbers, cream cheese, lemon. Delicious, try this!

You can use this salmon exactly like you would a piece of poached salmon. You can simply open this up and put the fish on a plate or put it on top of a salad or greens, or in a protein bowl, or mashed up into an avocado for an almost instant delicious (and healthy) dinner or lunch with no effort. This salmon is wonderful as-is right out of the can. On a toasted bagel, on toast, or on crackers. I found it a perfect match with TJ’s great Norwegian CRISPBREAD for a Scandinavian style open faced sandwich. This salmon is especially perfect for summertime heat or whenever you don’t feel like cooking. Mix a bit of mayo and lemon juice into this and you can have a wonderful salmon salad in about a minute. The other night I didn’t feel like cooking. I found I had a nice ripe avocado I needed to use, so I just mixed a can of this salmon with a little mayo, lemon juice and some Peri-Peri sauce and voila! I ate this lovely avocado stuffed with salmon for dinner, which took me less than 5 minutes and was so tasty.

Avocado Stuffed with Salmon
Seaweed Hand Rolls with Salmon and Cucumber

One serving contains 190 calories but best off you get a whopping 21 grams of protein in a can of this. The 5 oz can has about 3.6 oz of drained salmon. It’s $3.69. Product of Chile. Great pantry item. I would gladly buy it again.

RECIPE IDEA – Japanese Salmon Rice Bowl: Put some fresh rice in a bowl. Top with this salmon flaked up. Sprinkle on a nice amount of Furikake seaweed blend and chopped scallion. Optional: a sprinkle of Soy Sauce with a sprinkle of Toasted Sesame Oil. Mix gently. YUM.

One might even get extra cans of this salmon and put it away in your larder for a year or two, to improve with age like fine wine*….

*Spain and Portugal have places which specialize serving tinned fish and seafood, aged for a year or two or three… Believe it or not the canned fish actually improves as it ages just like wine. Here’s a video of the late great Tony Bourdain visiting one of these bodegas in Spain, eating from cans of seafood and loving every bite…. EL ESPINALER

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Why you should eat SARDINES (Protein, Omega 3 & Calcium…)

17 Feb 2022 2 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, can, fish, News, Pantry, pescatarian, Prices, Products, Rave, seafood, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,


You should probably add sardines to your diet if you don’t eat them already. Before you click away just hear me out. Don’t be squeamish about these little fishies. Sardines are good, and they’re good for you. In fact did you know Sardines are one of the healthiest fish you can eat? Not only are they are loaded with protein they are a terrific source of calcium (the ones with skin and bones but don’t worry these tiny bones are so soft you don’t even notice them). Women especially need extra calcium. And Sardines are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids giving one 2 grams of omega-3s per 3 ounce serving – which is one of the highest levels of omega-3s in any food per amount They also have the lowest levels of mercury of any fish. Sardines are WILD caught only, never farme and the sardine is a plentiful and sustainable fish. And they are cheap. But not only are these little guys healthy for you. I think sardines are DELICIOUS. Europeans love them and eat lots of sardines. Not so much here in the U.S, but you should if you don’t already.

Trader Joe’s sells about three varieties of canned sardines. I especially love TJ’s SMOKED SARDINES IN OLIVE OIL (purple can) which is just $1.69 (!). A can gives you a whopping 21 grams of protein. Plus Calcium and Omega’3. I probably eat a can for lunch at least once a week.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Drain and mash them up with a fork adding juice of a quarter lemon or lime and a teaspoon of mayonnaise, with a grind of fresh black pepper. Add a touch of hot sauce if you like. Spread this paste on fresh toasted bread or your favorite cracker. So yummy.

Trader Joe’s has 3 varieties of sardines. If you can’t bear to see the ones with skin, the skinless boneless ones in olive oil (grey can) are a good starting point but I do recommend the tasty smoked ones (purple can) which I love best. The “smoked Trader Joe’s sardines” are very tasty.

You can even saute cubed potatoes in the left over oil in the can.

Country of origin: Portugal (purple can), Canada (blue), Morocco (grey)

Get some more ideas here: https://wildplanetfoods.com/recipes-category/sardines/

TJ’s Fresh Cranberries (and RECIPE)

23 Nov 2011 3 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, can, condiments, DIY, Fall Season, fresh, General, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, recipe, Recipes, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Every year this post becomes the most popular post around Thanksgiving, ENJOY~

FRESH VS. CANNED CRANBERRY SAUCE

To me the greatest sin one can make for Thanksgiving is not making the cranberry sauce from scratch, and just opening up a can.

There is simply no comparison to MAKING YOUR OWN CRANBERRY SAUCE fresh, and no reason not to, as it’s literally the EASIEST thing in the world to make. If you do it this year, I promise you everyone will say how wonderful the cranberry sauce is. Seriously it could not be easier to make. Recipe follows….

If you’ve never made your own cranberry sauce and are used to opening a can of that jiggly jelly stuff (ugh) you owe it to your family to make it fresh this year. It will take you about 1 minute of “work” – plus maybe 15 minutes doing its own thing on the stove. TIP: Make it at least an hour ahead of eating so it can be served at room temp (hint, even better do it at the day/night before, it will set up beautifully in the fridge. Take it out of the fridge an hour or so before eating.)

EASY “RECIPE” :  Open bag. Dump berries in a pot. Add one cup water* and one cup of sugar. Bring to a boil. Basically that’s it. When it boils, just lower the heat down to a simmer and let it alone until the cranberries “pop” in about 15 to 20 minutes. When the berries have popped, they’re done so just turn off the fire. DONE! Let it cool for 30 minutes or so. As it cools it will thicken up (cranberry skin contains a great deal of pectin, a natural thickener).

If this easy recipe seems “too easy” for you and you want to get a tiny bit fancier and more creative, here are things you try…  * Instead of water, you can use orange juice. A bit fancier? Grate in a little orange zest. Even more creative? This year I added a tiny bit of cayenne pepper and a pinch of fennel seeds and some lime juice. Ginger can be nice in a cranberry sauce.

Once you try this you will be shocked at how easy it is to make and how infinitely better this fresh sauce is over the canned stuff. At the time of this writing a 12 oz. bag cost $1.99, a decent price. (UPDATE: 2018, a bag was $3.49 at TJ’s) Update 2: 2022, a bag was back down to now $2.29.

You can even buy an extra bag of berries and throw it as is in the freezer where it can keep for a few months if you want it outside of just Thanksgiving. This stuff is great with just grilled chicken breasts.

Once you make your own, you will realize how easy it was to make and and like me, will never buy the sauce in a can again.

 Now go, and sin no more…

#DIY #CranberrySauce

RECIPE VARIATION: Indian Cranberry Chutney. In a saute pan, melt a tablespoon butter, and add some chopped garlic, a quarter chopped onion and saute stirring for 3 minutes. Add a teaspoon of TJ’s curry powder (or more to taste) and cook one minute. Add the zest of one orange and its juice with 1/4 cup of water and 1/4-1/2 cup of brown sugar or Palm Sugar (or more or less to taste). Add the package of cranberries and simmer 25-30 minutes stirring frequently. If you want heat add a few dashes of Cayenne or your favorite Hot Sauce (PeriPeri, Green Dragon.…) to taste.