If you buy farmed salmon, try to get the kind that is sustainably raised. Basically Alaskan salmon is fine, as is farmed salmon raised in either tank systems or from one of the very few sustainable farms.

http://www.seafoodwatch.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/content/media/MBA_SeafoodWatch_SoutheastGuide.pdf

Was the farmed Costco Salmon that WaPo liked from the frozen section? What's the best way to defrost?

I actually prefer the flavor of farmed salmon because of the fat content. Makes it so much juicier and tender!

FWIW, here's my opinion on the different species of salmon:
King Salmon (Chinook) - largest, good flavor. The flesh has large flakes which are individually very firm, but flake apart easily.

Sokeye (Red) - Smaller than King, deep red color, rich flavor, firm flesh (smaller flakes than King, which leades to a finer, more uniform texture)

Coho (Silver) - Milder flavor, decent texture

Pink Salmon - pale color, mushy, bland. Often used in canned salmon, but in my opinion only really suitable for cat food

Farmed Atlantic Salmon - mild flavor, softer texture. Not my favorite because I prefer a deeper flavor, but that's a matter of preference (and I still like it, just not as much as Sockeye). It is higher in mercury and other contaminants than wild salmon, if that's a concern.

Most importantly, don't overcook it!

Anonymous wrote:The one you want to avoid for mercury and other contamination issues (because it's the biggest) is King Salmon, which is one of the four fish you shouldn't eat when you're pregnant.

Huh? You might be thinking of King Mackerel, which is an entirely different type of fish. Wild salmon, including King Salmon, have among the lowest levels of mercury of any fish species.

Farmed salmon have higher mercury than wild salmon due to their diet of processed fish meal, but still relatively low overall.

The one you want to avoid for mercury and other contamination issues (because it's the biggest) is King Salmon, which is one of the four fish you shouldn't eat when you're pregnant.

I saw something about fish becoming contaminated from the japan nuclear issues, reaching Alaska even does anyone worry about that? I know farmed is bad, but would it avoid that issue of pollution and any contamination? Not super paranoid, but think about it for my kids.

Wild sockeye salmon on the grill is amazing.

WaPo Food section did a blind salmon tasting earlier this year with local chefs and fishmongers. Costco farmed Atlantic salmon came out way ahead of everything else, including all the expensive wild caught ones. It's probably more expensive than TJ's, but it was $5/lb. less than the other ones they tested.

So I love salmon; usually I get wild Alaskan when I can which I love. But it's expensive so sometimes I get the farmed (gasp!) recently started getting frozen wild salmon from trader joes which I think is really good. Tonight I tried the silver coho wild salmon (also frozen from TJ) and it was really good. I was surprised and the difference in taste from the salmon I usually get.

I don't really know what the point of this post is lol but if you like salmon try the silver coho as well it's really good