PRIME SEASON
Savvy
seafood shopping Eliz abeth Morse Read
Ahoy! Have you seen the price of frozen lobster tails ($35.99/lb.), sea scallops ($25.99/lb.), or tuna steaks ($25/7-9 oz.) lately? You so badly wanted to host a big family shindig this summer, complete with lobsters, steamers, stuffies, seafood kabobs, and all the trimmings. But with prices like these, how can you even come close to your dream reunion without taking out a second mortgage?
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utritionists advise that we all eat fish at least twice a week – it’s a lean and relatively inexpensive protein high in omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin D. And when you buy fresh fish fillets, you’re not paying for bones, gristle, skin, or fat, as you do when you buy meat. So don’t get light-headed when you walk past the fish counter – read on and then dive in!
fishing industry – and learn to love the less expensive, underutilized by-catch fish, aka “trash fish,” or the lesserknown species that rarely show up in the supermarket. Can’t afford the salmon? Try its tasty cousin, Arctic char. Can’t afford the scallops? Experiment with skate wing! Can’t afford the fish steaks? Become a seafood kebabs grill master!
When a fillet of monkfish is sauteed in butter, it tastes very much like lobster! And, at about $6.99/lb., it’s a lot less expensive than the real thing and a lot easier to prepare. Add finely chopped celery to the fish, dollops of mayonnaise, and a good sprinkle of sweet paprika, and – voila! – faux lobster salad!
ONE MAN’S TRASH (FISH) IS ANOTHER MAN’S TREASURE
POOR MAN’S LOBSTER Nothing screams “summer” more than creamy chunks of lobster salad in a toasted hot dog roll. But would anyone really notice if those chunks were actually made of cubed and shredded monkfish?
Pollock, a plentiful and inexpensive white fish [see sidebar], tastes almost exactly like the more endangered and expensive codfish. It’s used in frozen fish products like fish sticks and breaded fish fillets, but a fresh pollock fillet is just
We may live in inflationary times, but we can educate ourselves on the economics and science of seafood and the
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S ou th C oast P r ime T imes
JULY/AUGUST 2022
POOR MAN’S COD
