Tom’s Reviews / Orca Bay Foods

Orca Bay is a line of flash frozen, vacuum packed seafood that offers top quality at budget prices. The seafood includes both farmed and wild seafood, including wild Alaskan salmon which is one of the healthiest foods on the planet, one of the SuperFoods Rx: Fourteen Foods That Will Change Your Life. I’ve found the product quality to be consistently good and the prices consistently reasonable with two six-ounce (or three four-ounce) servings of most fish costing less than $4. The one exception is Orange Roughy which runs over $9 for a 12-ounce package and which I have not tried. So far I’ve tried:

Ahi Tuna - I’ve prepared these tuna steaks blackened with my own recipe and with italian seasoning. If you’ve never had a tuna steak, you’re missing out and these are great steaks. The flavor is less “fishy” than canned tuna, but more flavorful. These are best prepared by a quick searing in a skillet with some olive oil that is just below the temperature where it starts to smoke. About 2 minutes on each side, reduce the temperature for a couple more minutes and its done. I’ve served these over wild rice and over a bed of mixed greens.
Wild Alaskan Keta Salmon - I’ve done these blackened and with a ginger-garlic glaze. The fish is excellent quality. I have one minor complaint, that’s a matter of personal taste. I don’t like to cook fish with the skin on and these have the skin left on one side. It’s easy enough to cut off, but it means the weight is actually about 2 ounces to the heavy side plus I probably lose another ounce or two because I don’t have a proper filet knife and it takes a few extra minutes prep time compared to their other fish which is already cut in easy to use portions. The cat’s happy about it though. Regardless this is a regular on my table.
Mahi mahi - Mahi mahi is the Hawaiian name for a whitefish that also goes by the name dolphin (due to the shape of its head which is similar to the mammal, but this is a fish). The Mahi Mahi from Orca Bay is caught off the coasts of Costa Rica, Ecuador, Taiwan, Peru and Columbia. No Omega-3s, but this is a very lean fish with 1 gram of unsaturated fat, 0 saturated fat and 21 grams of protein per serving. The texture is firm, almost like chicken, but the fish still flakes properly. I’ve only made these once, baked with a lemon-pepper mustard sauce. The sauce was ok, but the fish would have been great with just a squeeze of lemon. Mahi mahi is a regular ingredient in fish tacos and I’m planning to give those a try next.

I have two other types thawing in the fridge now that I plan to use for supper tomorrow (along with some Mahi mahi):

Alaskan cod - Orca Bay says that cod is “the world’s most popular whitefish.” Baked cod is one of my wife’s favorite meals to order when in doubt at a restaurant. If the quality of this cod lives up to the rest of their products, I’m sure it will be a winner at supper tomorrow. It’s a fairly lean fish with no saturated fat and about 1/3 the Omega-3s of the Alaskan salmon.
Pacific Perch - I’ve never had ocean perch before. I’ve had perch out of Missouri ponds, creeks and rivers, but I doubt they’re related. This fish is a pinkish color and is a little fattier than most of the other fish, though still no saturated fat. The extra oil should make for a bit moister fish and the pink color says “flavor” - I’m looking forward to this one.

The rest of their line, which I have yet to try, includes: