Market Report: March 9, 2015

March 10, 2015

sheepshead

Sheepshead

Best known for their teeth that look like they came from a human mouth, sheepshead are an inshore species and are commonly found around oyster bars, seawalls and in tidal creeks.  They move nearshore during late winter and early spring for spawning.

 

Sheepshead have tough skin, heavy scales and strong fin spines, making them more difficult to clean than most fish. Although sheepshead are difficult to clean, the flesh is excellent. It’s meat is very white and firm with a flavor similar to crabmeat, small grouper and drum. Sheepshead is best prepared pan-fried, broiled, sautéed, or grilled whole. Sheepshead can also be used in soups and chowders, and they can even be used to make imitation crab meat.

 

Like most lean fish, sheepshead cook quickly, so it’s easy to overcook them. When the flesh is cooked for too long, it can get dry and somewhat tough. How can you tell when whole sheepies are done? Watch the backbone – the meat will draw away from the backbone. The flesh on whole dressed fish and in fillets will turn from almost clear to white when completely done.

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Notes from our buyer

FRUGE SEAFOODS is proud to announce it will now be the exclusive distributor of PureFish sustainable seafood products for Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. We will now be offering their full line of sustainable and Organic seafood items with direct shipment from Europe to ensure top quality and freshness for our customers.

Wild Isles Organic Salmon – this E.U Certified Organic salmon is unlike any other farm raised salmon where it is raised in the open ocean of the Shetland Islands, and not in a Loch or Bay like other farms raised salmons. Its certified sustainable aquaculture methods are free from all antibiotics, hormones, & GMO, and its feed is certified organic and uses no synthetic coloring or pigments added. This allows for the quality, taste, and texture of a Wild King salmon to be available year round. You and your customers will taste and see the difference.

Wild Isles Ocean Trout – All Natural Ocean Trout (Steelhead) begins its life in fresh water land based closed containment recirculation tanks, once these rainbow trout reach maturity, they are then transferred to wild water off the island of Skye in Scotland where the continue their grow-out in salt water until they reach a harvest size of 7-12 lbs each. The result is an amazing sashimi quality ocean trout with a higher fat content then salmon and a great flavor that lends itself to any type of cooking or smoking. This sustainably raised ocean trout is a more sustainable and lower costing than a similar Tasmanian Ocean Trout.

Anglesey Aquaculture Mediterranean Sea Bass (Bronzino) – Unlike any other Mediterranean sea bass, this is truly sustainable.  Welsh sea bass is raised in a ZERO WASTE land based recirculation farm in Wales, UK. From egg to harvest every detail of its life cycle is cared for and highly monitored to produce the best tasting sea bass using no antibiotics, hormones, and feed free from all GMO’s. Sustainable aquaculture and a zero waste policy (all waste from farms is collected and sold as organic fertilizer to local Welsh farmers) ensures that this sea bass is truly the world’s most sustainable bronzino. You and your customers will truly take the difference and have a boutique product that is only available in 3 cities in North America.

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Mahi very scarce this week as prices are starting to rise. Expect shortages.

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American Red Snapper
Beautiful fish out of Texas hit the door on Monday with more arriving on Wednesday. Sizes are 1-2, 2-4 and 4-10 whole fish.

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Bell Farms Steelhead Trout
We have Bell Farms Steelhead Trout in 10lbs increments. Fillet sizes are 7-9oz skin on boneless fillets.  Bell Farms Trout has been designated Best Choice by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch® Program..

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Clams & Mussels

P.E.I. mussels are stilled iced in, and West Coast mussels supplies are depleted. We are expecting a small amounts of mussels arriving at the end of the week. We will keep you posted on the next available shipment.

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Cod, Sole, and Haddock 
Decent cod and scrod are landing this week. We expect to have product throughout the week.
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Flounder

The Carolinas are back on track this week 2-4 and 4-6 flounder are in house. Get it while it lasts, they are going fast!

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East Coast Oysters 
Harsh conditions, tons of ice- the East Coast oyster market is super tight this week. There are lots of frozen bays in Mass, RI, and Maine.
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Gulf Appellations
We are getting very nice Gulf Appellations from Stephenson Point, Lone Oak and Whitehead.

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Gulf Oysters 
Gulf sack prices are short this week as MS and LA start to re-seed their beds. TX is getting hammered with fresh water this week after the heavy rainfall this past week. Gallons are looking good with most of our oysters coming out of Texas. Select gallons are a great product for oyster stuffing.

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No changes here, the trend continues with jumbo sized redfish (2.5-3lb) being extremely tight right now, Extra Jumbo (3lb and Up) are in decent supply. Striped Bass is a better option this time of year.
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Salmon
Chilean salmon prices begin to creep up as enter the Lenten season. We also have North Sea and Canadian product in whole and fillet form.  Check with your sales rep for case discounts if you are a volume user.

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Scallops 
Scallop prices are up and availability is tight due to the East Coast weather. Expect shortages until the end of next week.

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Tuna 
Prices are on the rise for #1 and 2+ Tuna. Availability will be somewhat tight as we get through the week. We are seeing rising prices on all tuna from all areas.

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Sword 
Sword is still in short supply and the price is climbing. Expect shortages in the coming weeks.

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Grouper 
There is a grouper closure in Mexico every year from Feb 15 – Mar 15th. We have small amounts of product coming in from TX and other areas. Expect shortages and higher prices until the end of the conservation period.

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Black Drum 
Boats are docked today as weather rolls through South Louisiana. We received a decent amount of product on Monday out of Hackberry, LA. We have product in the 2-4 and 4-8 whole sizes.

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Fresh Crabmeat 

Domestic Crabmeat prices are up, and availability is very poor. This time of year is very difficult for all crab sources.

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Seabass 
We have a variety of seabass options.  We continue to carry H&G 20-30 kg as well as a smaller 10-20 kg if that is more of what you’re looking for. Prices are moving up and that trend will continue through Lent.

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Rainbow Green™ and Ruby Trout 
The trout supply seems to be stable.  The variety of the cuts and sizes of this fish never cease to amaze me.  There are many options to meet your menu specifications.