Smoked Salmon Information

Smoked Salmon Delivered – Information about our High Quality Smoked Salmon

Smoked Salmon Delivered features gourmet products which are produced in Alaska within an industry rich in scenery, history, and seafood. An abundance of delicacies are available from these waters, including wild Alaskan salmon, which makes a truly wonderful Smoked Salmon product, as well as herring, halibut, crab, prawns, pink shrimp, and sablefish. Most wild Alaskan fish stocks are at their healthiest levels in years, and we have shore-based processing plants in several Alaskan locations from which to source this delicious seafood.

All of our Smoked Salmon Smoking is done in Ketchikan, Alaska located in southeast Alaska (about 700 miles north of Seattle) among some of the richest salmon grounds in the world and “smoker-central” to our business. The smokers are integrated into our general production plant, which gives us unusually tight control and management of products, from the time the fish are hoisted on board the fishing boats in nearby waters, to when they ship from our warehouse.

Smoked Salmon Delivered is unique within the industry, in that its products are smoked in an Alaskan facility, located right on the docks where salmon are delivered directly from the fishing fleet. Salmon has been smoked in Alaska for generations. Native Alaskans developed the process of creating Smoked Salmon and this expertise shows in our Smoked Salmon Products.

Smoked Salmon Delivered offers several forms of Smoked Salmon:

HOT-SMOKED — This is the traditional Alaskan method of smoking, where salmon is given a heavy smoke at a relatively high temperature. The result is a firm-meat product that easily flakes off. The smoked salmon sides, or portions, are then vacuum-packed in a clear plastic bag and frozen. This form is most familiar to people in the Pacific Northwest.

CANS — Following a rich history of salmon canning in Alaska, we’ve tweaked the process to offer a gourmet, specialty smoked seafood product. Cans are hand-filleted, bones are removed, and each piece of smoked salmon is packed individually into a can.

RETORTS — These are a relatively new form of smoked salmon, combining the shelf-stable qualities of cans with the eye-pleasing presentation of full fillets. Each fillet is placed by hand inside a gold foil “retort” pouch and vacuum sealed. The pouch is then cooked under heat and pressure in the same manner a can would be. (A fillet of fish in a “soft can” is a good way to describe retorts.)

The difference between Smoked Salmon Cans and Smoked Salmon Retorts:

Both cans and retorts offer you an excellent opportunity to share a taste of Alaskan smoked salmon without worrying about refrigeration or freezer space. Some points that differentiate cans and retorts:

Both are sealed, then cooked under heat and pressure, similar to canning done at home. The cooking process sterilizes the fish and removes the air from the can or retort pouch to make it shelf-stable.

Retorts can be described as a “soft can,” with the fish packaged in a foil pouch instead of a stiff can.

Cans require no additional packaging protection. Retorts are usually packaged inside a gift box.

Salmon for canning is usually cut into smaller pieces to fit into the container.

Because of their size, retort pouches can hold a full fillet of fish, in varying sizes, rather than the smaller pieces found in a can.

Both cans and retorts have a long shelf life while still sealed — easily three years if the product has not been abused.

Smoked Salmon Delivered cans and retorts are packed only with fish — no water is added. The juice that is typically found when the pouch or can is opened is the natural moisture from the fish that has been cooked out during the thermal process.

We believe you will enjoy a taste of the Northwest and find the quality of our seafood products, desserts and coffee to be exceptional.