Cooking with Intercity Packers Seafood

I spent the past few weeks cooking a selection of Oceanwise fish dishes at home. Richmond-based Intercity Packers wholesalers recently launched a Home Delivery service providing their restaurant quality bundles of seafood, steaks and produce. This is a great idea for all home cooks especially now when many are homebound due to the covid19 pandemic.

Intercity Packers, BC’s only fully integrated supplier of custom-cut meat and seafood has been pivoted to a new sales channel to keep product moving and their employees working. Customers are able to select curbside free pickup from Intercity Packer’s location at Number 6 Road in Richmond, or contactless, refrigerated home delivery throughout Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

Cooked up some dishes at home with a selection of fish from the Oceanwise Seafood bundle, here are the three recipes for the dishes we made. The first one was the delicious Lemon-based Sockeye Salmon.

Lemon-basted Sockeye Salmon

2 salmon fillets (skin on)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp butter

2 cloves garlic, skin on, crushed

2 sprigs thyme

4 wedges lemon

1.Heat a stainless steel pan to medium-high heat, add the oil, and bring to a light smoke point, then place the salmon in the pan flesh side down.

2, Cook until lightly browned, then flip the fish to skin-side down and lower the heat to medium . Cook the salmon until just warm inside, this should take 3-5 mins.

3. When done remove from the heat, and add the butter, thyme, garlic and lemon wedges to the pan. Baste the salmon with the seasoned, melted butter; and then serve.

The next recipe was for the outstanding Maple Miso Black Cod, buttery fish with the delicious maple miso flavours.

Maple Miso Black Cod

Used a recipe from the “Feast” cookbook

2 black cod fillets (skin on)

1/4 cup white miso paste

2 Tbsp maple syrup

2 Tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated

1.In a saucepan over low heat, whisk the miso, maple syrup, vinegar and ginger together until fully mixed. Remove from the heat and pour into a shallow dish, let cool.

2. Lay the fillets skin side up in the dish with the marinade. Ensure the marinade is covering as much of the fish as possible. Cover tightly with a lid or plastic food wrap and leave in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 24 hours or up to 72 hours. The longer it marinates the richer the flavour will be.

3. When you are ready to cook the fish, move the oven rack to the middle and preheat the oven to 400 F (200 C). Once pre-heated, set the broiler on high and let it preheat again. Remove the fish from the marinade. Place the pieces of fish, skin side up on a baking sheet and put under the broiler. Broil until the skin blackens and bubbles, about 3 – 4 minutes, rotating the baking sheet half way through. Remove from the oven, carefully turn over the fish fillets so the skin-side is down and flesh side is up, and return to the oven. Broil until the top of the fish caramelizes and the flesh is opaque and flakes easily, about 2 – 3 minute, again rotating the pan half way through, watch to make sure the fish doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven and serve immediately with your favourite rice.

Lastly Lawrence and I made the Sea Star Salmon Wellington another glorious dish that featured the beautiful Spring salmon.

Sea Star Salmon Wellington

Delicious recipe from “The BC Wine Lover’s Cookbook” by Author Jennifer Schell @jenniferschell8 who featured this recipe from Sea Star Vineyards @seastarvineyards on page 231; the book was published by Appetite Random House and you can get the book at the usual booksellers as well as Amazon Books.

Every purchase of their Butcher Bundles puts $5 in the Intercity Tip Jar, which donates 100% of its funds to its program partners, including the Vancouver Aquarium, the Vancouver Food Bank and the Vancouver Food & Beverage Community Relief Fund, which distributes funds to food & beverage workers impacted by COVID-19 who require urgent financial relief. To date, over $15,000 has been raised in the Intercity Tip Jar.

Steak, poultry, seafood, fresh produce and more items are available in variety packs, such as “The Grill Master” or “The Breakfast Boss,” which are perfect for those who would like to release their inner chef and challenge themselves with new ingredients. Larger pack sizes for single items are also available, similar to what a chef would order and at wholesale prices.

To place your own order of one of their bundles for home delivery, contact them here.

By: Richard Wolak

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