Trident Ultimate Fish Sticks Review
Don’t eat your own shoe laces.
Are you a grown adult who still eats fish sticks? We should be friends.
I love fried food. I would probably eat my own shoe laces if they were battered and deep fried. Facts.
Fortunately, I won’t have to. I bought these Ultimate Fish Sticks from Trident Seafood instead. I confess, I purchased them mainly because there was a wicked-good sale at Costco, and four pounds of fish sticks was just too good to pass up. My greedy stomach made me do it.
Fair warning: I previously reviewed Trident’s Salmon Burgers, and I had a rather lukewarm opinion of those. I’m not “sold” on everything Trident offers. But these fish sticks are pretty good. Here’s why:
#1. These are really big fish sticks.
Although these shrink slightly after baking, they’re still some of the biggest fish sticks I’ve seen. Adult-sized fish sticks. The hunk of fish inside is a big, chunky slab. A jumbo chunk of yum. In this case, the bigger planks of fish seemed juicer and had a better overall texture.
#2. Extra crunchy.
Trident’s fish sticks are super crisp and the breading has distinct crunchy fragments that add extra texture. From looking at the ingredients, the crunchy bits appear to be whole grain cornmeal and whole grain flour. I’ll add that the breading is pleasantly soft inside — and the contrast of the crispness on the outside and softness inside is especially gratifying.
#3. Good fish texture.
I don’t typically think of fish sticks as providing high quality fish, but these are the exception. The pollock is not gummy or squashy like some fish sticks, but rather the right balance of firm and flaky-tender. I didn’t find any slimy or grayish sections — everything was dense, white, fresh-looking fish-meat.
#4. Savory breading flavor.
I mean. How often is the breading on a fish stick so tasty that you don’t need a dipping sauce? There is onion, garlic, and buttermilk in the breading that give it a savory taste. Unfortunately, there are also flavor enhancers, which I’ll mention later.
I was perplexed by the slogan on the bag that says: “More fish, less breading.” That wouldn’t be my assessment — there’s quite a bit of breading here, more than I expected. It’s a thick, crusty layer. The ingredients say the fish sticks are only 65% fish, so that means 35% is…erm…something else. I don’t mind that there is so much breading, because I like it. And the breading is sort of the reason why any of us eat fish sticks in the first place. Rather than just eating…you know…fish.
So yeah. There’s a generous amount of breading, and I’m OK with it.
#5. Wild Caught.
Yes, this fish is wild caught Alaskan Pollock, which is a a low-mercury fish, and considered a sustainable and responsible fish option by the NOAA Fisheries governmental site.
(And, yes, that’s a delicious pile of Aldi Cheese Truffle Knöpfli on that plate, which I previously reviewed.)
#6. Foolproof cooking.
The label offers several convenient cooking methods, including baking, air frying, deep frying, and microwaving. My toaster oven produced great results. I’m not a complete barbarian, so there’s no way I will avail myself of the “microwave” cooking option. But I guess it’s nice to know that’s even possible. Maybe if I was desperate. And if there were no shoe laces to eat.
#7. Protein.
Well, you like protein, don’t you? Of course you do. Here’s the Nutrition Facts from the label.
A serving is just 3 fish sticks, and contains 12 grams of protein. I ate 4-6 fish sticks as a meal, so I got up to 24 grams of protein per meal. That’s pretty impressive.
A three ounce serving has 170 calories, 8 grams of fat, and only 14 grams of carbs. These fish sticks also have a teeny bit of fiber — from the whole grains in the breading — but barely enough to mention.
#8. Omega-3
The front of the bag says there are 650mg Omega-3 per serving. If you eat 6 fish sticks, that would be 1300mg Omega-3. Way more than shoe laces!
Ingredients in Trident Ultimate Fish Sticks from Costco
I am disappointed that soybean oil is the primary oil in these fish sticks. I’m also not delighted by the Disodium inosinate and Disodium guanylate and Maltodextrin. Otherwise, these are pretty decent ingredients.
- Fish (Alaska Pollock)
- Batter & Breading (Whole wheat flour, Vegetable oil ‘[Soybean and/or Canola], Enriched wheat flour [Wheat flour, Niacin, Reduced iron, Thiamin mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic acid], Water, Whole grain yellow corn flour)
- Contains 2% or less of: Seasoning (Maltodextrin, Salt, Dehydrated onion, Dehydrated garlic, Disodium inosinate & Disodium guanylate, Modified corn starch, Buttermilk, Natural flavor), Salt, Whole grain yellow corn meal, Rice starch, Vital wheat gluten, Malted barley flour, Yeast, Tapioca starch, Leavening (Cream of tartar, Baking soda), Spice extractives
Cooking Instructions
I opted to use my countertop air fryer toaster oven to cook my fish sticks. I cooked them at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes.
I used aluminum foil to line the pan, but I found the sticks stuck to the foil, and some of the breading ripped off when I tried to remove them. Spraying the pan/foil with oil before baking produced better results. I didn’t need to flip my fish sticks over, but if you want them EXTRA crunchy, you can do that.
Shelf-life
My bag has an expiration date approximately 2 years after purchase.
Price and Servings
The four-pound bag cost $14.99 at Costco. If you only eat 3 fish sticks per meal, there are 21 servings per bag, at 71 cents per serving. If you eat 6 fish sticks per meal (because you’re an adult, Sharon), it will still only cost $1.42. I got my bag of fish sticks on sale for $10.49, so my 6 fish sticks only cost about a dollar per meal. Cheaper than shoe laces?
More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews I’ve recently written:
- Costco Gyro Meal Kit Review
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- Costco Deli Enchilada Bake Review
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Author’s note: I wasn’t paid or compensated in any way for this review and I have no affiliation with Trident Seafoods or Costco…OR Aldi! I bought these fish sticks with my own dad-gum money.
