Lummi Island Wild-Caught Canned Tuna
6 oz tin - Lummi Island, WA
" This was hands-down one of the best canned tunas I’ve ever had—
and it’s not even oil-packed! I was expecting dry and dense, as water-packed tuna often is. This was so flavorful, moist and delicious on its own that I had it straight from the can, with just a small blast of lemon juice. It easily rivals any of the fancy Italian and Spanish olive oil-packed tuna brands. It’s the perfect tuna to build a Salade Niçoise around!!! "
-- Tina Ujlaki - James Beard Foundation's Editor of the Year award -Food & Wine Magazine
Lummi Island Wild-Caught Canned Tuna A fish Story
I want to tell you a wonderful fish story. It started with a trip out of state and ended up with me meeting a neighbor I hadn't met before. Funny how that works sometimes. Not exactly a next-door neighbor, but a neighbor to the north, about 90 minutes away by car.
I was in San Francisco at a food show and ran into an old friend, Mehdi (he makes the Harissa we all love).
We chatted about, what else, food. Then Mehdi said to me, "Did you try the wild-caught canned tuna from Lummi Island?" I was like, "No, not really interested." And he said, "Come on, you have to try this; it is really, really good."
So over we went to the Lummi booth, and I met Ian and Riley from Lummi Island who let the fish do the talking. And the fish was good, really, really good. So good I knew right then and there we were going to carry it.
The taste was special. As good as any tuna in a can I have ever had. It was surprising. We have had a lot of tuna over the years. Many cans have been recommended to us, and rarely if ever are they super special. This tuna is memorable!
This sashimi-grade young tuna is individually caught with single hook lines and is flash-frozen solid at sea right after it is caught, making it a sustainable canned tuna, as well as a tasty one! Averaging up to 50% less mercury than many common store brands, this tuna has more omega-3 fatty acids than most salmon!
All of Lummi Island's wild-caught canned tuna comes from one second-generation tuna fisherman, Paul Hill, and his crew, who care about the fish and making sustainable canned tuna. Because of the special gear they use, they get virtually no bycatch.
We had an impromptu taste test in the shop this week of all our canned tuna to refresh our memories and to welcome our tuna to the school. Everyone has their favorites and is not likely to relinquish their choice. Though everyone agreed Lummi Island tuna is quite special and worth pulling the tab!
It is a great story, a good fish story!