Quote: (12-14-2012 10:23 AM)Blackhawk Wrote:
The problem with scallops is most of what is sold in the US is counterfeit. Shark or other white fish is taken, and circular scallop-shaped pieces are punched out and sold as the much more expensive scallop meat at the grocery store. (And at every cheap restaurant you've ever eaten in)
So when you've being sold mystery meat from any one of several different species of fish that all cook very differently, it's hard to get a good routine for cooking it properly.
I've given up on buying scallops in the market. Genuine scallops are just impossible to find among all the cheap fakes.
Almost all imported fish to the US market is counterfeit and masquerading as something more expensive than it really is. Consumer Reports sampled 14 different imported fish varieties and found only 4 of them to reliably be what they said they were.
When Americans complain about seafood being difficult to cook, it's largely because of the "mystery meat" problem. We're buying pre-cut and sealed cuts of fish that look the same, but cook and taste very different.
Where are you buying scallops? Food for less?
There's an Italian proverb that basically goes something like, "To enjoy fish you must have deep pockets". Something along those lines.
Pristine seafood is a luxury, if you're gonna buy fish, don't cheap out. If you can't afford it just stick to chicken.
A lot of the mis-classified fish isn't necessarily fishermen or fishmongers trying to screw people over. There are a lot of common names thrown around that get lost in translation or renamed to make themseves more marketable.
Black cod? That's the market name, but it's not in the cod family or related whatsoever. It's technical name is sablefish but it can also go by the name butterfish.
Tai snapper is not a member of the snapper family at all. It's a sea bream, but the japanese word for "Sea Bream" is "Tai", which translates to "Snapper". So the American market name is sometimes called "Tai Snapper" and you'll see it as such on menus, when in reality it's a member of the bream family, not snapper at all.
Similarly you might see Arctic Char or any other Ocean trout being labelled as "Ocean Salmon" because of its orange flesh. But these are saltwater trout species. Salmon is simply more marketable than "Arctic Char".
In these instances, it's not really a case of cheap product being passed off as something more high end. Sablefish, Sea Bream, and Arctic Char are all fucking delicious and I'd take them any day of the week. It's just a matter of selling items that have a more familiar name to American consumers.
But yeah if you're buying from cheap or unreputable sources you're probably getting bottom of the barrel. If you live in a major city I highly encourage you to seek out Japanese seafood companies and get there at 5 in the morning to pick over the good stuff.