June 2017A Samuels and Son Seafood MagazineA Samuels and Son Seafood MagazineA Samuels and Son Seafood Magazine

FISH TALESFISHFISHFISH FISH ™

TALESTALESTALESTALES

In this Issue:In this Issue:Hidden Palms Barramundi -Hidden Palms Barramundi -

Now Available!!Now Available!!In The News...In The News...

James Beard Award Winners!James Beard Award Winners!In the Spot Light- In the Spot Light-

Chef Clay Conley - Būccan RestaurantChef Clay Conley - Būccan RestaurantSustainable Seafood-Sustainable Seafood-

Seafood Watch Assist Asian Shrimp FarmersSeafood Watch Assist Asian Shrimp Farmers

In this Issue:Hidden Palms Barramundi -

Now Available!!In The News...

James Beard Award Winners!In the Spot Light-

Chef Clay Conley - Būccan RestaurantSustainable Seafood-

Seafood Watch Assist Asian Shrimp Farmers

Hidden Palms BarramundiHidden Palms BarramundiHidden Palms Barramundi

SamuelsandSonSeafood.com

Edward ODonnellEditor in ChiefAdvertising Sales

Joseph LasprogataCreative Editor

Donna D’AngeloAssisting Editor

William BradfordStaff Writer

Chef Davis DenickLead Chef

PhotographyJosiah AndrewsKatya Friedman

Advisory CommitteeNick AnastasiKate DiPinto

FISH TALESFISH TALESFISH TALESFISH TALESMagazine

Spotlight

Follow us online @SamuelsSeafood

Congratulations to Mike Tate and Matt Phillips, as April Employees of the month.

Mike is the go to man in the Cutting Room. From start to finish, Mike lends a hand to get the job done. Mike doesn’t stop when his work is complete, he steps in to assist the entire team to get the job done.

Matt is an up and coming member of the Green Team. Matt arrives early, stays late, works week-ends and helps everyone out in between. Matt has a keen eye for attention to detail and ensures quality with each order he fills.

Palm Beach, FL

BūccanBūccan RestaurantRestaurant

by: William Bradford

Employees of the Month

Great chefs like Chef Clay Conley leave a profound path of success to take a risk and start their own venture. That path has led him to own one of Florida’s hottest restaurants where he excites guests with big flavors.

Hailing from Maine where he tended to his family’s orchard and livestock, Chef Conley began in the restaurant industry as a dishwasher. Chef Conley fell in love with the energy of the industry and worked his way up the restaurant ranks. Eventually, in 1996 he made it to Boston and found himself a protégé of acclaimed and charismatic Chef Todd English. Chef Conley began at English’s Figs Restaurant and did such a great job, he opened restaurants for English throughout the world and became Culinary Director of the restaurant group.

In 2005, Chef Conley left English’s restaurant group and began a very successful run as executive chef at Azul located in the Mandarin Oriental, a AAA Five Diamond Award winning restaurant overlooking the Biscayne Bay in Miami. In 2011, Chef Conley took the risk to become Chef/Owner for the first time with the opening of Būccan in Palm Beach. “A dream of many young chefs is to own their own restaurant someday,” says Chef as he speaks of the hard work and planning he and his partners, Piper Quinn and Sam Slattery, endured. Along with the hard work, experience and talent that went into the opening, Chef also had a vision. “Most dining experiences in the market were very high end and white table cloth. We wanted something casual with great energy,” he says.

Indeed there is a great energy at Būccan, mixed with a classy vibe. The menu includes progressive Ameri-can cuisine and gives Chef Conley the freedom to integrate many influences. Chef has lived and worked in Tokyo. He has visited various countries in Asia, Europe and South America. He mentions he brought some of the Peruvian style of cooking he learned in Miami with him to Būccan. “Būccan is fun because we can integrate so many different

cuisines,” he says. “My philosophy is big flavors. I want everything to be full flavored with great balance.” Being from New England, Chef Conley also brings with him some of the excellent seafood the region has to offer including Lobster, Scallops, Peekytoe Crabmeat and his favorite fish, Wild Striped Bass. However, he enjoys the local Florida seafood as well including Snapper, Rock Shrimp and local Swordfish. He even mentions he’s able to bring in Spearfish from local fishermen. Now that’s sustainable.

The diversity on the menu is obvious. For a cold dish, the Hamachi Tiradito stars Peruvian chiles, mojo onions, lotus root and yuzu vinaigrette. It’s also hard to resist Scottish Salmon with an eggplant puree, fennel, olives and sauce vierge. Along with other wood-fired options, the Octopus Tabbouleh with chickpeas, Datil chili, parsley and mint will offer plenty of flavor. If you’re spending a warm day at the beach, Būccan has a terrific sandwich shop offering local favorites such as a classic Cubano in addition to a clever smoked Yellowfin Tuna salad sandwich.

And there’s more. A year after Būccan’s, opening, Chef Clay opened Imoto. In Japanese, Imoto means “Little Sister.” It’s a small expansion of Būccan that really highlights his skill with Asian cuisine where you can enjoy Peking Duck Tacos, Japanese Snapper Crudo and the finest sushi options. Most recently, Chef Conley and his partners opened Grato in the Dixie Corridor section of West Palm Beach. Grato shows off more of Chef’s diverse skills by providing a rustic Italian menu. The pasta is homemade, the pizza is cooked in brick ovens and the menu offers Italian inspired dishes that has been well received since the opening. This year, he received his third James Beard nomination as Best Chef: South.

You can imagine how much of a great time you can have in Palm Beach, Florida. With Chef Clay Conley leading the way of the culinary scene, you can revel in great food as well.

Chef Clay Conley

In The News...

NEW - HIDDEN PALMS BARRAMUNDI

And the Award’s Go To…It was a big night for Philadelphia and other Mid Atlantic Food Professionals at the 2017 James Beard Awards.

The nations’ culinary all stars were shining on May 1st in Chicago at the 2017 James Beard Awards where several friends of Samuels proved to the industry their talents and earned top awards.

A previous winner of the “Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic” in 2011, Chef Michael Solomonov made Philadelphia proud by winning “Outstanding Chef.” To keep the Philly pride going, Chef Greg Vernick of Vernick Food &

Drink won this year’s “Best Chef: Mid Atlantic.” Stephen Starr, another Philadelphia mainstay took the honors of “Outstanding Restaurateur” with his Starr Restaurant Group. Mr. Starr came out on top twice that night as his new, French inspired New York City restaurant, Le Coucou, won “Best New Restaurant.” The awards kept flowing as Sam Calagione of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, located in Milton, Delaware won “Outstanding Wine, Spirits or Beer Professional.”

Samuels & Son Seafood is proud of all our award nominated and winning customers. We know how hard you work and now everyone else does as well. Congratulations!

By: William Bradford

On the open road of a seemingly endless landscape of desert and sand dunes, a glimmer of life appears in the distance. An oasis of date palms lining a vast tropical sea dissolve out of the heat, like a beacon. These hidden palms over the horizon welcome you to the tropical desert shore of the Red Sea. Over 12 kilometers off this palm lined shore in the open sea, Hidden Palms Barramundi are raised sustainably to perfection. The extremely high salinity and clear tropical waters of the Red Sea lends the perfect environment for raising higher quality, and better tasting Barramundi.

National Aquaculture Group has been raising Hidden Palms Barra-mundi off the coast of Saudi Arabia since 2012, and cultivating Shrimp and Algae since 1970. With an annual seafood production exceeding 100,000 metric tons a year, and 2,500 employees from 32 different nations, this is one of the largest fully integrated marine farms in the world. With their farming model founded on sustain-ability and food safety, National Aquaculture Group is truly the home of desert coastal aquaculture, a shining example for the future of global food security.

The issue of fresh water scarcity is increasingly becoming a global concern.

This is even more pronounced in coastal arid deserts, where food production has always been extremely limited by the availability of fresh water. Much of Saudi Arabia’s agricultural efforts are placed on drought resistant plants, like date palms, which thrive in the harsh desert. When Dr. Al-Ballaa, a fifth generation date farmer visited a Shrimp farm in the Philippines while recruiting for civil engineering projects in Saudi Arabia, he was instantly sparked, and started building what is now National Aquaculture Group. This he knew was the solution to his country’s and perhaps the world’s food security. Much like date farming, Marine Aquaculture does not require the use of large amounts of fresh water if any at all, making it one of the most sustainable forms for protein production on the planet, and not to mention one of the healthiest.

Dr. Al-Ballaa still farms dates, operating one of the largest farms in Saudi Arabia, cultivating the sweetest and rarest dates on the planet. His passion for high quality food, lead him into open sea farming of Hidden Palms Barramundi. Serendipitously, the Red Sea is more than ideal for producing premium quality Barramundi.

Hidden Palms Barramundi is unique in that the high salinity of its environment is correlated directly with it’s taste, flavor and cooking performance. A naturally mild and sweet white fish, Hidden Palms Barramundi’s sweeter flavor and ability to maintain moisture during cooking is a result of its high salinity environment, crystal clear waters, low density stocking, and stress free farming practices. Sashimi quality Hidden Palms Barramundi can be prepared in a multitude of ways: raw, pan seared, baked, broiled, sous vide, and grilled. Its mild nature compliments multiple cooking applications allowing sauces and flavor to shine through. Hidden Palms Barra-mundi is also a perfect substitute for other more known species such as Mahi Mahi, Snapper, Sea Bass, and Grouper.

JAMES BEARDAWARDS

S a m u e l s ’ S u s t a i n a b l e S e r i e s By William Bradford

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Shrimp is the number one consumed seafood and it comes from all over the world. In fact, 90 percent of shrimp consumed in the U.S. comes from imported and aquaculture raised sources. That is why we’re happy to hear our partners at the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch program are working to help shrimp farmers gain a sustain-able rating for all of us to enjoy.

Seafood Watch has teamed up with the Asian Seafood Improve-ment Collaborative (ASIC) to assist with their Southeast Asian Shrimp Aquaculture Improvement Protocol (SEASAIP). This worthy project aims to help Southeast Asian shrimp farmers gain a sustain-able rating in the marketplace. This is a big opportunity in the shrimp industry for heavy hitters including Indonesia, the Philip-pines, Thailand and Vietnam. The project, which originated in 2012, has already created standards that combine existing standards Southeast Asian shrimp farmers use with elements of the Seafood Watch Aquaculture Standard. “The goal was to create a standard for shrimp farming for Southeast Asian farmers that reflects the reality of farming in these countries, but that also was recognized by the markets that Seafood Watch is important to” says Taylor Voorhees, Senior Aquaculture Scientist for Monterey Bay Aquarium. “We asked, how do we help get some of these farmers out of the red and enrolled in this process?” Taylor adds.

The answer was a positive one. Participants proudly joined the program that consisted of Southeast Asian industry members, decision makers, academics and NGO’s. Taylor mentions the recep-tion has been much warmer and interest has been higher than first expected. Currently, there is no cost to be in the program and the cost for improvements have been minimal. The work is already paying off and two farms have been audited and earned themselves a yellow, “Good Alternative” rating.

This was a major milestone for the Southeast Asian shrimp industry.

Now these farms have a big opening in the marketplace for Seafood Watch partners and the growing number of consumers looking to buy sustainable choices. This is such a worthwhile effort, especially considering 12 million people in Asia depend on seafood for their livelihood. The sustainability has just begun. Field testing is planned to create a standard to get farms the ultimate rating…a green “Best Choice,” rating.

A few objectives Monterey Bay and their partners have include creating a platform for stakeholders to stay engaged on issues of improvement and create solutions by working together. Another is the opportunity to build partnerships between these farmers and international markets to support improvement. Other objectives are very hands on. This includes actions such as improving trace-ability information for the farms and monitoring water quality. Monterey Bay Aquarium is also helping facilitate such improve-ments. For instance, if a farm doesn’t have the information on where they’re fish oil used in their feed is from, Monterey Bay Aquarium will assist them getting this information.

Currently, Monterey Bay is also working with the Asian Crab indus-try. Inspired by the Shrimp initiative, this project will follow a similar path. Sam Wilding, Senior Fisheries Scientist of Monterey Bay Aquarium says stakeholders in this industry reached out to them and Monterey Bay was eager to help. “We’re working with organiza-tions in the region to see how protocols will work for these fisheries, enabling us to consistently measure environmental performance while considering the realities and challenges of small-scale fisher-ies.” he says. Sam mentions that stock assessments can easily be done by measuring Crabs caught, proving that improvements can begin with simply using a ruler. Sam says they’re working to get the Crab improvement protocols up and going this year. This is very good news for a fishery that could use real assistance.

As a participating partner with Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Seafood Watch program, Samuels is excited to see more Shrimp and Crab products evolve to the “Good Alternative” and “Best Choice” lists.

Visit Seafood Watch online at seafoodwatch.org and learn more about the initiative at: asicollaborative.org

Seafood Watch Assisting Asian Shrimp Farms

Chefs

Chef Davis Denick

CornerCorner

Questions or Comments? Chef Davis will be happy to assist. 800-580-5810 x6555davis@SamuelsandSonSeafood.com

by Chef Davis Denick

Photo by: Tina Toal

Photo by: Josiah Andrews

I often feel that Barramundi is underappreciated on menus and that perspective should change. It has a nice firm flesh and thick, easily crisped skin very reminiscent of Wild Striped Bass but at a generally lower, more stable cost. Due to the high quality Hidden Palms has achieved and comparatively low cost, this product is a staff favorite to take home for dinner, myself included.

The skin, being as resilient as it is, will hold a crisp and stand up to a long rendering like a poultry skin. Most often, I simply start it in a hot pan, get a mild sear and finish it still skin side down in the oven until cooked through. Give the pan a mild nudge and the crisp skin should slide and turn easy. Turn to remove the skin side from the oil right out of the oven so the fillet maintains it’s texture.

Perhaps unfamiliarity sets some customers skeptical so I try to pair a wonderful product like this with a known desired garnish such as Shrimp or Lobster that will drive sales. Knowing those that try it will greatly enjoy their Hidden Palms Barrimundi fillet you will develop another product, soon to be often requested, that maintains a controlled cost and can be sold for a good margin over wild fish.

I really did nothing to the Barramundi in this dish except season it

with salt & black pepper and cook it the way I described above. From the farm, this fish arrives in fillet form, skin on, scaled so butch-ering it is a snap. I cut my portions from the thick fillets and removed the skin left on my trim pieces and belly flaps. In a pot of salted, boiling water, just dip the skin pieces in the water 6-8 times until the skin curls and opens up where the scales attach. Rest to cool at room temperature and cut into strips.

Using Canterbury Cure Sundried Tomatoes and Santa Ines Olive Oil along with some cooked chick peas, garlic, tahini, fresh thyme, fresh basil, lemon juice, white wine vinegar and seasoning to taste, I spun up some sundried tomato hummus to compliment the meaty Barramundi.

Keeping this dish fresh with bright spring flavors, I also sautéed together some julienned snow peas and brown beech mushrooms (another Samuel’s product) in some slightly brown butter, season-ing to taste. Deep fry the skin strips in a hot fryer until crisp and season right out of the oil on a drain towel. Garnish your Hidden Palms Barramundi with these delightfully crispy skin cracklin’s and enjoy a really nice fillet of fish.

Seared Hidden Palms Barramundi with Crispy Skin Cracklins and Turkish Sundried Tomato Hummus

SSC

*Prices and Availability Subject to Change! Must be Current Samuels Customer for Special Pricing!

E a s t C o a s t8 0 0 - 5 8 0 - 5 8 1 0 2 1 5 - 3 3 6 - 7 8 1 0

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AUNT CONNIES MACARONI SALAD - Homemade 5 lb. UnitGreat as a Side Dish for BBQ’s12.49 ea

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Samuels and Son Seafood FISH TALES MagazineJune 2017

HIDDEN PALMSBARRAMUNDI

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