January 10, 2017

What's the Catch? Barramundi: Go Buy Some Damnit

By Crabby McSlacker

Tired of long-ass blog posts that take forever to get to the point?  Well hey, it's a new year, and mixing things up is good, so I thought I'd try something different for a change: succinctness!

So here are your five most important takeaways about barramundi, I fish I have come to love, brought to you with 95% less meandering.

1. Barramundi is a safe and extremely nutritious protein source, with a hefty dose of the good kind of fat, omega 3. (Unlike Tilapia which is annoyingly popular despite being a really crappy choice nutritionally). It also has other good fish nutrients like vitamin D and potassium. Unlike some farmed fishies, the barramudi (barramundies?) don't get pumped up with hormones, colorants, or antibiotics, plus they have no detectable mercury, PCBs, or other contaminants. Yay!

2.  Farmed U.S. barramundi is sustainable. You can eat it without depleting or exploiting anything and pissing off your ecologically correct friends or family members. It's a great alternative to frankenfish.

4. Got something against fish?

You may still like barramundi. Well, not if you're a vegan: Barramundi is a sea bass, not a plant. But it's got a mild taste and there's nothing slimy or disgusting about it. You can hate salmon and still like barramundi. (Just steer clear of the occasional dark gray streaks that taste a little fishier. Some cuts don't have this but if yours does, just scrape it off or eat around it). Unless you like fishy tasting fish, then go for the dark stripes too.

5. Buy it Now! Barramundi is finally making its way to a few grocery stores here and there but I worry it may disappear again, to be replaced with ever-more packages of fucking Tilapia if people don't at least make an effort to try it. (Like Crabby's beloved trout from Trader Joes. Gone now! Acck!).

Final note: I first heard about Barramundi years ago from the official barramundi people who even offered me a bunch free but I was tired of doing product reviews so I ignored their kind offer. So: this is an authentic, spontaneous endorsement that is not in anyway sponsored or paid for by anyone. (Damnit!).

Have you tried barramundi? Are you making an effort to try anything else new foodwise these days?

30 comments:

  1. I honestly have never heard of this! Having said that, I'm a vegetarian who isn't a seafood fan to begin with, so I will admit that my finger is NOT on the pulse of the seafood market.

    I'm not making a concerted effort, but every once in awhile I'll try something that my husband or a friend has ordered that I don't think I will like (it has seafood in it, that's a great example) just on the off chance. A lot of times it turns out that it's...acceptable, but something I don't know that I'd want a full portion of. But I feel compelled to not make sweeping judgments about food, so you know, try stuff every now and again.

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    1. OTF, I'm with you! I'm also a big fan of trying things other people have ordered, it's so much less risky than buying a whole plate of something and hating it. And mostly I only sample off plates of the people I'm dining with. I find it's frowned upon if I go to neighboring tables. :)

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  2. I thought this was a island in the South Pacific! I wouldn't say no if it was on the menu, but I don't recall seeing it up this way.

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    1. It's still hard to find Kimberley, but I say if you're offered a South Pacific island instead of a plate of fish, go for the island!

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  3. I could never ever ever cheat on my beloved salmon.


    Oh wait. Barramundi was ALL the rage in Europe... And it has made its way into my mouth before, that's for sure. But salmon will ALWAYS be the apple of my eye...Or the fish of my mouth? lol

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    1. Wait, Europe is all ahead of us on this? Damn. Their beer is better, their coffee is better, they've even got us on the fish thing? But we won't mess with your salmon thang, Gigi, sounds like true love.

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  4. Sweetie's not much for fish, but if i buy some and cook it, who knows? This might start a tradition.

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    1. Traditions often start in funny ways, Messymimi, so who knows? But yeah, I know it's a hard sell to cook fish for people who are Convinced They Don't Like Fish. (I'm married to one of 'em myself, and I usually end up eating my barramundi solo while she has frozen meatballs. Go figure.)

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  5. I had barramundi in Australia, where it's from, years ago. It's DELICIOUS! I'm glad to know it's being farmed now . . . I can't wait to be able to buy some locally. If you find it, try it!! Yum . . .

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    1. Hope your grocery store decides to carry it Cynthia! 'Cause yeah, it's a tasty fish!

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  6. I'm so over salmon and cannot stand to look at it anymore so I THANK YOU so much for this! Here's hoping they have it in CT!!

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    1. Me too! I just burned out on salmon, I can eat it, but not constantly and not with enthusiasm. Trout and barramundi are my faves now when I can get 'em. Good luck in CT!

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  7. I have not heard of Barramudi, so this morning I put it to the test and asked the women at my gym about it. I have a professional chef and some big time foodies and they didn't know about it. Now they are going to investigate with their various "guys" at the fish market. It soon became a contest of who had the better "guy".

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    1. I'll be curious what the foodies and their "guys" have heard Cindy, since I have to confess I am not a foodie do not have a "guy" and just get my fish from the big frozen bins at the grocery store.

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  8. I, too, have never heard of it. Here in the middle of the country, I don't buy fish much. When you can smell the fish counter in the grocery from fifty yards a way, it's a sign. And frozen fish that's not breaded, or frozen into a giant chunk unsuitable for one person is rare. But I will look for it.
    I am interested to learn that tilapia is low in nutritional value. That might explain why it's so tasteless.

    Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    1. Now I have researched barramundi in this area. It's available at expensive restaurants (two of them known to me to have excellent food) and at wholesalers. Hmm.

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    2. Well shoot, Mary Anne, I hope it comes down in price and gets more available. I've found the frozen kind at the local (MA) grocery store was pretty reasonable, less so at whole foods, but since they're farmed in MA that might explain why I got lucky.

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  9. Hi Crabby,

    it's actually very cool that Barramundi is low in PCBS, dioxins, etc. I always thought of fish as the needy boyfriend/girlfriend with baggage because of it.

    PS: You're comment about sampling other people's food made me think of Joey in Friends: "Joey doesn't share food!" (https://youtu.be/96DDkJMZd-Q)

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    1. Love the baggage analogy Hanro! I hate hearing "oh you MUST eat fish," along with "oh by the way it will poison you with toxins." ANd thanks for the friends link!

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  10. Have never heard of Barramundi, but willing to try if I happen to come across it.

    My grandfather on my Mom's side was a fisherman in Newfoundland. When we used to go there to visit, or had salmon from there I liked it. But I find salmon to be an iffy proposition anywhere else. I've had some that was really good, and some that I couldn't eat at all.

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    1. This. The best salmon is super fresh and the flavor is NOT what you normally find in a restaurant or grocery. I've switched to smoked salmon I can get from a relative in Alaska for most of my salmon cravings. I just can't with the rest.

      Barramundi is delicious! We have an amazing seafood shop here in our blip of a town in flyover country that works direct with fisherman to fly fresh fish in daily. They had it a few times so we gave it a try. It's fabulous for fish tacos. And hey, Monterey Bay has determined it's a best choice, so eat up!

      (I find it beyond humorous that my spell check wants to replace barramundi with barracuda.)

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    2. Ah, the magical words "flown in fresh." When I lived in Raleigh, NC, the fish in groceries was never more than a day old at most, and expensive restaurants had contract pilots to fly it in an hour out of the ocean.

      Any advice for those of us who have no relatives in Alaska?

      Mary Anne in Kentucky

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    3. Here's where I'm weird. I've rarely gotten fresh fish that actually tasted fresher than frozen, probably because I don't get there right when they're unloading. But to me, "fresh" fish that sits kinda refrigerated in a deli case tastes fishier than the stuff frozen right off the boats. But probably because I haven't found the right fish market!

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  11. I had barramundi in Australia, I think. Been a few years. If I did, then I know I liked it.

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    1. That makes sense Leah, I think it's orginally from there and now is being farmed in the U.S. The great thing about it is even a shitty cook like me can stick it in a toaster oven and it comes out ok.

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  12. Thanks for the tip. I'll keep a lookout for this fish at the store.

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  13. I live in Australia, so barramundi is very easy to come by. Just move here :-) Emma

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  14. This is where I get to feel a teensy bit special about being Australian. You can get barra anywhere here - at fancy restaurants, in the supermarket, or at any old take-away place which does fish 'n' chips. Def one of my favourite fishies. Yum!

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  15. Attributes such as flavor, taste and aroma are among the most important factors that influence consumer acceptability and demand for fish products.

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  16. Very interesting blog. A lot of blogs I see these days don't really provide anything that attract others, but I'm most definitely interested in this one. Just thought that I would post and let you know.

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Thanks for commenting, Cranky Fitness readers are the BEST!

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