Buy Fresh Halibut for Tasty Sushi

Tuna may be the most common fish for making sushi, but fresh halibut is rapidly becoming the choice of discerning chefs in top restaurants. Halibut’s creamy white flesh is sweet and firm, perfect for preparing as sushi or sashimi. Its delicate taste makes it especially popular at the beginning of a meal as an appetizer. If you’re planning to use halibut for sushi or sashimi, be sure to buy fresh halibut from a reputable fish market. The fresher the fish and seafood shipped, the sweeter and more flavorful the sushi will be.

Besides the freshness factor, when you buy fresh halibut from a reputable online fish market, you can be sure to get Pacific halibut, usually from Alaska. Alaskan halibut, in season from late autumn through early winter, is one of the more sustainable white fish choices for sushi. Pacific halibut is considered an especially thoughtful choice for sushi and other dishes because Alaskan fisheries use positive management and responsible fishing methods. If you’re concerned about ethical food production and sustainable fishing, Pacific halibut is your best choice for sushi and sashimi.

Halibut, often called hirame or ohyo in Japanese, has firm, sweet pink flesh. The best piece of the fish for sushi is the “porch”, a muscular bit of flesh located just under the dorsal fin. It tends to be higher in fat than the rest of the halibut, and has a creamy, chewy texture that’s perfect when served raw as sushi or sliced in paper thin slices for sashimi.

Selecting Fresh Halibut

When choosing fish in a fish market, look at the eyes first. A fresh fish will have clear, bright eyes with no hint of cloudiness. The inside of the gills should be bright red in color and the halibut should have no ammonia or “fishy” smell. Fresh fish smells like the ocean – fresh as a sea breeze. The flesh should be firm, and not slimy.

Most home cooks prefer to buy their halibut cleaned, skinned and filleted, and most online fish markets will give you a choice of buying whole fish or fillets. Figure that one pound of cleaned halibut will make enough sushi to serve eight to twelve people as appetizers or four for as an entrée.

Order seafood online no more than one to two days before you intend to serve it. The market will generally ship it to you the same day the halibut is caught, and you’ll have it within 24 hours. When it arrives, check the halibut for freshness, then place it in your refrigerator to stay chilled until just before you’re ready to prepare and serve the sushi.

When you order seafood online and buy fresh halibut, you’ll be buying one of the tastiest and healthiest fish available. Fresh, sweet and delectable, it’s guaranteed to be the hit of your next dinner party or a family favorite for special dinners.

What To Know When You Order Seafood Online

As more and more people hear about the health benefits of seafood – especially cold-water seafood and fish like halibut, tuna and lobster – it’s becoming more common to order seafood from an online source. There are many good reasons to order seafood shipped directly to your door if you live a distance from the ocean, and a number of things you should know and understand before you place your order.

Benefits When You Order Seafood

When you have seafood shipped to you from a dockside market, you’re practically guaranteed to get all the wonderful goodness that fresh seafood has to offer. You can almost be certain that the seafood shipped to you is fresher than anything you’ll find at your supermarket’s fish counter. In fact, unless you’re ordering a local seafood specialty, fresh seafood shipped from an online fish market will even be fresher than anything you can buy in the local fish market.

Your order will be individually packed on ice and shipped directly to you in a foam cooler, usually by 24-hour shipping. The fish you buy locally in your supermarket has probably spent days on the road, crowded on a railroad car or shoved frozen into the back of a refrigerated truck. Large shipments of salmon and halibut and tuna are often shipped in huge frozen blocks that are thawed and sold as “previously frozen” at their destination. Which do you think will taste better?

You can have your order delivered directly to your door. If you’re planning a special occasion dinner or serving seafood for a party, having your seafood shipped is a huge timesaver and convenience. When you order seafood from an online fish market, you don’t have to spend half your day running out to the market to get your fish or buy lobster tails.

What You Need to Know Before You Order Seafood

The single most important thing to know when you place an order, whether it’s for halibut, tuna, smoked fish or lobster tails, is the reputation of the market from which you’re buying. Keep in mind that many online seafood sources aren’t actually fish markets. In fact, they’re middlemen, selling frozen and previously frozen fish that’s no different than what you’ll find in your grocer’s fish case.

These days, social media and review sites make it much easier to find fish markets that actually sell fresh-off-the-boat seafood, and take pride in providing only the best. Don’t be satisfied with the “testimonials” you’ll find on the market’s website. Instead, search for them at a review site that lets customers post honest, unbiased reviews of local businesses. It’s one of the best ways to make sure you’re doing business with one of the best places to order seafood online. And after all, you wouldn’t want to serve anything but the best.

Have Fresh Seafood Shipped to Benefit Your Health

Fresh seafood is among the healthiest of all foods, not to mention the tastiest. While freshwater fish are a great, lean alternative to higher fat red meat, they don’t provide the same essential benefits as seafood, especially those fish and shellfish that thrive in cold, salt water. Tuna, halibut and salmon are among the highest sources of omega 3 fatty acids, the component that makes fish oil so very good for you. If you don’t live close to the ocean, you can still benefit from the flavor and health benefits of coldwater fish when you have fresh seafood shipped directly from the dock to your door.

The Quest for Fresh Seafood

Halibut, salmon and tuna are most plentiful along the West Coast, especially off the coasts of the U.S. from northern California up through Alaska. If you’re not lucky enough to live within a short drive of the coast, your choices used to be limited to whatever fish was shipped across country on a boxcar or refrigerated truck. At best, the fish will be days old when it arrives at your grocer’s fish counter. At worst, depending on the care taking during its transport, it could be on the verge of spoilage – or actually spoiled. Either way, the flavor wasn’t anywhere near the quality of seafood bought right off the boat and cooked at home within a day or two.

Where to Buy Halibut and Fresh Seafood

The well-to-do have always had the option to have seafood shipped to them from across the country. Knowing where to buy halibut, salmon and other high-end, healthy ingredients is part of the training for a chef, after all. Until the advent of theInternet, though, it wasn’t quite as easy for the rest of us to just order seafood and have it delivered directly to the kitchen door.

These days, those looking to have fresh seafood shipped only have to look as far as their favorite search engine. There are many fish markets online that also ship seafood anywhere in the country. The only trick is in finding one you can trust to consistently deliver high quality, fresh seafood – and there are a few tricks that can help you find a great online fish market.

Always buy seafood from an online market that has a real world fish market, preferably on the docks.

Check the reviews for the fish market on the various social local review sites. A business that has a great reputation locally is most likely to also ship their best seafood to their online customers.

Check the shipping schedule. Order from online markets that ship daily. They’re most likely to ship seafood that was caught the same day.

When you have fresh seafood shipped from the dock to your door, you’ll get the benefit of all the goodness the sea has to offer, both in flavor and in health. Why would you settle for anything less than the best?

Order Seafood for Great Gifts

If you’re the type of person who enjoys giving distinctive gifts to your friends, family and acquaintances, here’s a suggestion you may not have considered: order seafood online and have it shipped fresh for a holiday dinner. Whether you choose to have fresh seafood shipped, buy smoked seafood or send a gift of delectable frozen or fresh lobster tails, your gift will be appreciated and savored – and long remembered. If you’ve never considered having seafood shipped as a gift, these tips and suggestions can help you make the right choices.

Know Their Tastes and Requirements

Before you decide to order seafood as a gift, be sure that you know the tastes and dietary requirements of your gift recipients. You don’t want to send a gift that your friends can’t eat, after all. That said, there are many good choices of fresh seafood that are generally a safe and delicious choice, such as halibut. The sweet, firm flesh of fresh halibut is a delectable treat raw, as sushi or sashimi, and cooked in just about any style you can imagine. The mild flavor makes it a popular choice on gourmet menus around the world, and the health benefits are undeniable.

Buy Halibut and Other Seafood from a Real Fish Market

When you buy fresh seafood online, it’s important to buy from a real fish market, not a warehouse that sells canned and frozen goods that might have been hanging around for weeks or months. Many dockside fish markets now sell seafood online, so it’s easy to find a fish market where you can buy lobster tails, fresh halibut, smoked fish and other seafood delicacies and be assured that they’re fresher than what you’ll find in your grocer’s freezer.

Understand the Shipping Terms

Before you buy fresh seafood online, be sure that you read the website’s shipping terms and conditions. Look for an online fish market that ships seafood daily, and that guarantees the freshness of its fish and seafood. In most cases, the market will ship your seafood the same day you order it if your order is placed by a certain time. If your order is placed later in the day, your order will be shipped the next day and delivered within 24 hours. This ensures that your seafood purchases will be as fresh as possible when they reach you.

Fresh seafood is a delectable, gourmet treat for any season, but it’s especially welcome during the holiday season when people enjoy an extra touch of luxury. When you order seafood online as a gift, you can be sure that your gift will be appreciated.

What You Really Get When You Buy Halibut

Halibut, a cold water ocean fish, is rapidly becoming a favorite seafood choice among foodies of all stripes. The sweet, white flesh cooks firmly and flakes beautifully – but fresh halibut is just as delectable raw as it is cooked – it ranks with tuna as a favorite fish for use in sushi and sashimi. Something that tastes this good can’t really be good for you can it? Here’s a look at what you really get when you buy halibut.

Nutritionally Dense

When you buy halibut, you are buying a food that is packed with important nutrients, including minerals, vitamins and elements that your body can’t make for itself. Halibut is a very good source of protein, providing 27 g of protein per serving. Compare that to beef, which provides about 31 g per serving, with much more fat and cholesterol, and it’s easy to see why dietitians and nutritionists often include halibut on their list of must-eat foods. But protein is just the start of all the nutritional goodness you’ll find in this cold-water fish.

Like its cold-water cousins, tuna and salmon, halibut is an awesome source of omega 3 fatty acids, essential fats that your body can’t manufacture. Omega 3 is one of the most potent antioxidants scientists have discovered in the past 100 years. It not only has anti-aging effects, it helps your body rebuild nerve and brain cells and may help you fight memory losses associated with age. Did someone say fish is brain food? Yep, they were thinking about halibut.

Halibut is also a good source of several B vitamins, including vitamin B12 and B6, which help lower levels of homocysteine, a chemical byproduct of digestion that damages the artery walls. The B vitamins also seem to affect your moods – B12 in particular has a very beneficial effect on depression. Combine that with the benefits of omega 3 fish oil on mood, and it’s not unreasonable to say that people who eat halibut are happier people as well as being healthier.

Halibut is no slouch when it comes to providing minerals and essential trace elements either. It’s a very good source of magnesium, a natural calcium blocker, which helps improve circulation. When your blood circulates more freely, the oxygen and nutrients it carries get to every part of your body more efficiently – and that can only be a good thing. And if you have a tendency to wake up in the middle of the night with screaming charley horses – well, the magnesium in halibut is a great natural cure for that. Halibut also provides selenium and phosphorus, which help detox your blood and organs and keep you healthier.

When you count up all the nutrients and benefits packed into every serving of halibut, it turns out that you’re not just buying a delicious treat when you buy halibut – you’re providing your body with an entire medicine chest worth of nutrition and health-protecting nutrients. You can order seafood like fresh halibut online and have it delivered directly to your door, ready to cook for tonight’s dinner. Why put off getting healthy when it tastes so good?

Buy Halibut for Delicious, Nutritious Autumn Dinners

It’s low in calories, high in nutrition and over the top in flavor. Fresh halibut, with its firm, sweet flesh, is one of the shining stars in the parade of seafood. When you buy halibut for your dinner, you’re stocking up on B vitamins, important minerals and a healthy helping of omega-3 fatty acids. According to nutritiondata.com, one of the most trusted sources of nutrition data on the web, halibut is low in saturated fat and sodium, a good source of vitamins B6, B12, magnesium and potassium, and a very good source of protein, niacin, phosphorus and selenium. And when you order seafood online, your halibut will be as fresh as if you lived right on the wharf.

Halibut – Versatile and Flavorful

Unlike many other popular fish, halibut is an incredibly versatile ingredient for your recipes. The white-fleshed fish has a delicate, slightly sweet flavor that’s as at home in a fish chowder as it is on your grill. It’s a perfect foil for sauces, from creamy to piquant, and stands up well to just about any method of cooking you can imagine. Whether you poach it in vegetable broth, sear it on the grill or bake it in a spiced chili sauce, halibut retains its characteristic flaky flesh and fresh, sweet flavor.

Serving Suggestions for Fresh Halibut

Brush fresh halibut fillets with olive oil and lemon juice and rub lightly with salt. Season with finely chopped garlic, sprinkle with dill and broil until the fish is opaque and can be flaked with a fork. Serve with rice pilaf and a spinach salad.

Everything’s better with bacon, and halibut is no exception. Marinate halibut steaks in Italian dressing for 10 to 15 minutes. While the steaks are marinating, cook bacon until it’s cooked but not crisp. Wrap each halibut steak in two strips of bacon and grill or broil until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily. Serve with a crisp salad and cauliflower au gratin.

Where to Buy Halibut

Halibut is at its sweetest and most flavorful when it’s fresh-caught. The frozen halibut you can buy in your grocer’s case can’t compare with halibut fresh off the pier. If you don’t live on the seacoast, you can still take savor the delicious flavor of fresh halibut when you order seafood from a fish market online. In fact, you can have nearly any seafood shipped direct to you from online fish markets, many of which enjoy excellent local reputations for the quality of their seafood.

Have Fresh Seafood Shipped for Holiday Gifts

Are you looking for the perfect holiday gift for your gourmet friends? Look no further than your favorite fish market. Skip the restaurant gift certificates and standard food gift baskets. Instead, have fresh seafood shipped directly from the wharf to their door.

Fresh seafood is an especially treasured gift for those of your friends who live far from the ocean, in parts of the country where the freshest seafood available has already traveled for days on a railroad car. When you order seafood from an online fish market, it will arrive at your friends’ door within about 48 hours from the time it was pulled from the ocean.

Fresh Halibut, Directly from the Wharf

Halibut has rapidly become one of the most popular seafood entrees on menus across the country. In addition to being flavorful, it’s also very healthy. Fresh halibut provides a hefty portion of omega-3 fatty acids, an essential nutrient that’s difficult to find outside the seafood market, along with potassium, selenium and, of course, protein. Even more than that, halibut is widely gaining a reputation as a luxury seafood. Its firm, sweet flesh works well in nearly any recipe and stands up to any kind of cooking method. When you buy halibut as a gift, you’re giving a gourmet food par excellence.

Smoked Seafood Spreads and Dips

Smoked fish and smoked seafood make delicious additions to a gift basket. You can buy smoked fish from your favorite online seafood market in many different forms, including as a spread or dip that you can tuck into a gift basket alongside gourmet water crackers. For an unusual treat, try smoked sablefish, a West Coast fish that’s rapidly becoming a favorite canapé spread and party dip.

You’ll Never Go Wrong with Lobster Tails

Sweet and succulent, fresh lobster has long been considered among the most luxurious and decadent of foods. Lobster tails contain the sweetest, most succulent meat of all, making them the single most prized part of the lobster. It used to be that you could only get the freshest lobster tails if you lived in a coastal city. Today, you can buy lobster tails online and have your seafood shipped anywhere in the country. Anyone on your gift list will be delighted to receive a shipment of lobster tails, fresh from the wharf and ready to serve.

If you’re looking for a holiday gift that will really wow your gift recipients, go online to pick out a luxury gourmet treat, and have fresh seafood shipped directly to their door.

How Long Does It Take to Have Fresh Seafood Shipped?

How does 24 hours sound? You can often place your orders at a fish market online and have your fresh seafood shipped and sitting at your kitchen table in 24 hours.

If you’re planning a dinner party or just want fresh seafood for dinner, you can have fresh seafood shipped to you directly from some of the best fish markets on the West Coast. Many favorite local fishmongers will happily pack up any seafood product they sell and ship it to any address in the country. Whether you want to buy halibut or other ocean-caught fish for dinner or are looking to buy lobster tails for a special occasion, you can not only have it delivered to your front door, you can do it at a quite affordable price.

How to Have Fresh Seafood Shipped

If you’ve never ordered seafood online, you may be unsure how to go about it or what to expect. The easiest – but perhaps most important – part of ordering seafood online is finding where to buy halibut, ocean fish or shellfish. A simple Internet search will turn up dozens of results. If you’re looking for a specific type of seafood – say, halibut or lobster tails – use “buy halibut” or “buy lobster tails” as your search phrase to target your search more narrowly.

Look for a website that is connected to an actual fish market. Once you find one, check out the reviews for it online to get an idea of their reputation, both locally and across the country. That little bit of research will narrow down your choices to the top online fishmongers. Generally, the website will have photos of its offerings along with descriptions to help you make your choice. Many of the best places to buy lobster tails, halibut and other seafood also offer recipes and helpful information about the healthy aspects of eating seafood. Those pages can be fun and informative, but the page you want to find is the one that explains the fish market’s shipping policies. It will tell you what you need to know before you place your order.

Most online seafood vendors have their seafood shipped out once a day. The shipping policy will tell you what time your order needs to be placed if you want it shipped to you the same day. If you miss the order deadline, your order will be shipped the next day. This ensures that any fresh seafood shipped to you is as fresh as possible.

Depending on the time you place your order, you can expect it to arrive either the next day or the following day. It will be shipped in a Styrofoam container surrounded by frozen gel-packs to keep your seafood at the right temperature during its transport. Generally, the seafood will be vacuum-packed inside the Styrofoam container, and the container will be packed inside a cardboard box. Your order will probably also include instructions on storing your seafood to keep it fresh until you’re ready to cook it.

That’s it. As you can see, it’s easy to have fresh seafood shipped directly to your door. So next time you’re craving seafood, don’t resign yourself to what you can find in the freezer case. Shop online and have your seafood shipped to you, anywhere in the country.

What To Look for When You Order Seafood Online

If you love fresh ocean seafood but don’t live near the ocean, you don’t have to resign yourself to eating “previously frozen” seafood from your grocer’s freezer. Thanks to the Internet, you can easily order seafood online and enjoy the tastiest fish and shellfish available. Some of the best seafood markets in the country will accept your orders online and ship seafood anywhere in the country with next day shipping. That means when you buy halibut, salmon, tuna or other delicious and healthy ocean fish online, you’ll get all the benefits of living right next to the wharf.

If you’re considering placing your first seafood order online, you should look for these things to make sure that you’re buying the best quality seafood available and making your purchase safely.

Contact Information

Check the website for contact information to make sure you’re dealing with a real seafood vendor, not a re-shipper. Any legitimate seafood market will post their address on their About or Contact page as a selling point. When you order seafood from a fish market located on or near the wharf, you know your order will be far fresher than if it has to be shipped inland. When it comes to seafood, a few hours makes a big difference in flavor.

The contact page should also include a telephone number you can call to ask questions or follow up on your order.

Shipping Policy

A reputable seafood vendor will provide you with the details of their shipping policy. It should tell you the shipping price, how they delivery shipped seafood and the store’s shipping timetable. The shipping policy should also include any additional charges for special handling, such as Saturday shipping, and the company’s refund policy in case of delayed or lost shipments.

Secure Order Page

A secure order page won’t make a lot of difference to the flavor of your seafood, but it’s vital to protecting your personal details when you order seafood online. Before you send your credit card number or any other personal details, check to make sure that the address in the URL bar of your browser starts with HTTPS:// instead of HTTP://. The S lets you know that your information will be encrypted when your browser sends it so that no one else can read it and access your credit card information.

Of course, you can look for other clues that you’re getting quality seafood when you buy lobster or other seafood from an online vendor – good pictures, descriptions that are accurate and informative and information about cooking unfamiliar seafood are a few factors you might take into account. If you want to be sure that you’re getting high quality products when you order seafood online, though, check the contact details, the shipping policy and the order page for the information you need to know.