Just wanted to let everyone know, I had my personal assistant search high and low for an affordable source of sashimi-grade canned albacore loin that is low in mercury (i.e. from young tuna), cooked only once in it’s own juices (not in water or oil), no vegetable broth added, no phosphates or pyrophosphates or acid pyrophosphates (anyone ever read the label on a tuna can?), and all the other good stuff, basically I had her look for the highest quality most natural canned albacore at the best price. She compared a ton of companies. In the end she put together a spreadsheet of the best 4, and one i’m going with is:
RBS Seafoods
137 Government Street
Victoria, B.C.
Vancouver Island, Canada
V8V 2K6
Phone: 250.383.6462 ? this is the fish store?s phone number.
Email: info@rbsseafoods.com
I am not affiliated with these guys in ANY way, other than i’m about to be a customer
It’s $80CAD for 24 cans (180 grams, or around 6 1/2 oz, per can), plus shipping.
If anyone wants the spreadsheet with the details let me know via PM or whatever, but there’s no American companies on there because the prices were mostly the same so I went with the Canadian companies since I live in Canada.
… there’s tons more. Just do a Google search for [canned albacore once] and you’ll get all the companies, but you’ll have to contact each of them to get all the information. I had her contact all the companies and make sure that the fish was troll-caught, meaning no nets and dolphin safe, and that also means they are younger fish. I also had her confirm that they are flash-frozen right on the boat, that the are not pre-cooked prior to canning (this give you better flavour, more nutrients, and more product in the can), and that it was tuna loin. As I said, there are a TON of companies doing this, many of them actually do everything from catch the fish to can to market/sell which is really great. But most of them were in the order of $5/can. Bulk prices were less, but the price here in Canada was the same but in Canadian dollars so it was a no-brainer for me to go with a Canadian company.
ahh the joys of being a new englander. Fresh tuna you say? Why, just head down to the harbor at Galilee and buy some from the fisherman. Or, if you’re the adventurous type, find a friend with a boat, get some rods, some chum, a couple cases of beer, and go catch some. Sorry, I know this isn’t an option for a lot of people, it’s just one of my favorite things about new england. I always took fresh seafood for granted til I had fish in Austin, TX. Damnit, I’m gonna have nightmares for a week now that I brought up that memory.
