Australis Barramundi Sea Bass Review
Ocean farmed in Vietnam.
I bought this frozen fish on sale at Costco. Honestly, the sale was the deciding factor. I wish I had more noble reasons for picking this, but there ya go. I just wanted to save money and eat fish.
Barramundi is also known as Asian Sea Bass. I don’t usually go for farmed fishes. I prefer wild-caught. I was a little hesitant to buy these Australis Barramundi fish fillets, because label says they are “Ocean farmed in Vietnam.” Which immediately exercised the muscles above my eyebrow. What the heck does that mean?
These are farmed by Australis Aquaculture, a US company based in Massachusetts. Fortunately, the fish are raised using sustainable seafood practices, and the company has received a Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) 4-Star Certification. According to Food Print, this doesn’t eliminate every possible fish farming concern, but it helps. I’m not a fish nerd, so I’m just going to roll with it. For now.
(I like fish on my salad. Now you know. Here’s my salad.)
Each sea bass fillet is individually sealed in an airtight plastic pouch. As a single person, I appreciate this, as it keeps my fish fresh until I want to eat it, and it allows me to consume just one piece at a time. My bag had 6 moderate fillets inside. I submerged my fillets in a bowl of cool water and let them thaw inside the plastic pouches. They were thawed within 10-15 minutes, and ready to cook.
The actual recommendation on the package is to remove the fish from the pouch and thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, uncovered. Oh well!
There’s no skin on the fillets, and no bones. Sea bass is low in mercury — in fact, Australis Better Fish website promises their sea bass “is guaranteed to be contaminant-free. That means no detectable levels of mercury, PCBs, antibiotics, hormones, or colorants.” They also state that this Barramundi has “the highest Omega-3’s of any white fish.” Hmmm.
Anyway. This fish is soft and flakey. It has a pleasant, mild taste. All of my fillets so far have tasted fresh and not old or rancid or “fishy.” I would describe this as a versatile fish, due to the neutral flavor profile. The fillets cook rapidly, hold together well, and stay fork-tender. I served mine over a few different salads with a homemade vinaigrette dressing, which worked well with the texture.
I cooked my fish in a skillet with a little butter and some sweet chili seasoning. It only took a few minutes on each side to reach a crusty finish with tender meat inside. There’s almost no “oil” from the fillets, but they don’t taste dry or tough. However, the portions seem to shrink up a bit after cooking. The fillets vary dramatically in thickness, which influences cooking time. Mine really did not look like the picture of thick slabs on the bag — all of my fillets thinned dramatically at the edges, almost paper thin. This didn’t impact the taste at all, just an observation.
Nutrition Facts in Australis Barramundi Sea Bass
I received 6 portions in my bag. The label says you may get as many as 8 fillets. Each 4 ounce serving has 21 grams of protein, 100 calories, and only 1.5 grams of fat. This fish has a surprisingly high amount of Vitamin D, with 50% of your daily value per serving. I wish the label told me how many Omega-3’s per serving.
Ingredients in Australis Barramundi Sea Bass
- Barramundi Fish
Yup. That’s it. Yay.
Shelf-life
My frozen bag of fish has an expiration nearly two years after my purchase date, which should give me plenty of time to eat these. Again, I like that the portions are individually vacuum-sealed, as this keeps the fillets fresher — and free from freezer shenanigans. My freezer got jokes, sometimes.
Price and Servings
I got six medium fillets in my 24 ounce bag. The price was $17.49, but it was on sale for $13.49. At the non-sale price, each fillet would cost $2.92, which is perhaps high for a farmed, bulk-buy, frozen fish purchase. Especially as a non-US product. At the sale price, each fillet cost me $2.24.
Here’s another picture of my salad, because it’s pretty, and you earned it.
The End.
More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out a few other reviews I’ve written:
- Trident Ultimate Fish Sticks
- The Fresh Market Crab & Salmon Cakes
- Aldi Macadamia Nut Crusted Flounder
- Bibigo Korean Sweet & Spicy Crunchy Chicken
Author’s note: I wasn’t paid or compensated in any way for this review and I have no affiliation with Australis Aquaculture nor Costco. I just like fish, mmmmkay. Now go look at someone else’s salad.
