Farmed salmon versus wild caught salmon is highly debated and whether one is better than the other is controversial and also really complex! I hadn’t yet tried Costco’s Kirkland Signature Farmed Atlantic Salmon, so I decided to give it a go. While I find that I actually prefer the flavor of farmed salmon, when it comes to health benefits, I lean toward wild-caught. Curious to know why? Keep reading the blog post below!
Location in Store
I found this salmon in the freezer section near the Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon and the Kirkland Signature Tail-On Cooked Shrimp. The item number is 1340137.
Taste
The salmon doesn’t have a fishy smell when you cook it but I noticed the slightest bit of fishyness when I took my first bite. After having a few more bites the fishy flavor subsided completely. The salmon is soft, moist and not very salty.
Compared to wild caught salmon I notice the farmed tastes a bit fattier and more moist. It’s also less pink in color. The wild caught salmon also seems tougher to be in texture.
This farm raised salmon is quite soft and flaky. I think I like the mellow flavor and texture of the farmed Atlantic Salmon more than the wild caught sockeye but wild caught is shown to be healthier for you.
Cost
The 1.36-kilogram bag costs $44.99 Canadian. The bag states there should be six to eight portions per bag and my bag had seven huge portions! One portion is enough for two meals for me.
That’s 14 salmon meals for $44.99, which is really good in my opinion. Another thing to note is that farm-raised salmon will cost less than wild-caught.
Convenience
Each portion of salmon comes individually vacuum sealed so it’s easy to cook one portion at a time. This is great for me because my husband doesn’t eat salmon but my toddler does so we can share a portion over two or three meals. The portions all vary in size, shape and thickness.
The bag has cooking instructions for baking, grilling and sauteing. I baked my salmon in an oven-safe dish and it turned out perfect. I hadn’t taken it out the night before so I quickly thawed it in some cold water which worked well.
There isn’t any seasoning on the salmon other than a bit of salt so you can easily season or marinade it the way you like! I like salmon with lemon but realized I had run out of lemon after I had already thawed my portion.
Nutrition
Calories
One portion contains 370 calories, 24 grams of fat, zero grams of carbohydrates, fibre and sugar, 39 grams of protein and 240 milligrams of sodium. As I said before, the portions are quite large so I only need about half of a portion per meal.
Ingredients
The ingredients list is short and sweet with only having farm-raised Atlantic salmon, water and salt listed. The salmon is gluten-free as well as dairy-free.
The difference between wild-caught and farm-raised salmon
I did some deep diving into this subject because I usually buy wild caught salmon and was surprised by how I like the taste of farm raised salmon more. One of the big differences is what the salmon eats.
When they’re farmed, salmon are fed a diet of processed dry pellets made of fishmeal, vegetables, grains and oils. This can be concerning to some individuals if the salmon are being fed unhealthy things like animal byproducts, soybean oil or cornmeal.
Wild caught salmon feast on algae, plankton, shrimp, smaller fish, octopus and squid. You’ll notice that wild caught salmon is leaner than farm-raised because they’re swimming more and eating a different diet.
Farm raised salmon also may be exposed to more contaminants from the fish feed and environment they’re living. There’s a possibility they’re also treated with antibiotics. However, these Kirkland Signature Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon Fillets are not raised with any antibiotics.
Some people have concerns about the farming practices used to raise salmon while others have feel strongly about the environmental impact from fishing wild salmon. Atlantic salmon also can’t be wild-caught in Canada or the U.S. because they’re a protected species.
Scoring
Taste: 8/10
Cost: 7.5/10
Convenience: 6/10
Nutrition: 8/10
Overall
Give it a try!
Personally, I like the flavor and texture of the farm-raised salmon better than wild-caught but I eat salmon strictly for the nutritional benefits, so I think I’ll stick with my wild-caught.
Have you tried the Kirkland Signature Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon? What did you think of it? Drop a comment below!
Please note that this review was not paid for or sponsored by any third party. This product was purchased by Costcuisine for the purpose of producing this review. The opinions in this review are strictly those of Costcuisine. Costcuisine is not affiliated with Costco or any of its suppliers. In the event that Costcuisine receives compensation for a post from the manufacturer of a product or some other third party, the arrangement will be clearly disclosed (including where the manufacturer of a product provides Costcuisine with a free sample of the product).
I cook my salmon and trout in an air fryer with spices etc. for about 10 to 12 min, depending on thickness. Always comes out perfect.
Thanks, Natalie, for your review and the additional info at the end. It was clear and concise. No decision is easy these days. I would probably choose the wild too but that’s because I prefer a firmer flesh and less mild flavour.
🐟 Cheers from Waterdown 🐟