{"id":194,"date":"2023-12-30T02:06:09","date_gmt":"2023-12-30T02:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/squarespace.joannawhiteart.com\/wp\/2023\/12\/30\/australis-better-fish-barramundi-sea-bass-costco-review\/"},"modified":"2025-03-28T13:02:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-28T17:02:24","slug":"australis-better-fish-barramundi-sea-bass-costco-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2023\/12\/30\/australis-better-fish-barramundi-sea-bass-costco-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Australis Barramundi Sea Bass Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Author\u2019s note: I wasn\u2019t paid or compensated in any way for this review and I have no affiliation with <\/em>Australis Aquaculture<\/em><\/a> nor <\/em>Costco<\/em><\/a>. I just like fish, mmmmkay. Now go look at someone else\u2019s salad.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ocean farmed in Vietnam.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barramundi is also known as Asian Sea Bass<\/a>. I don\u2019t 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 \u201cOcean farmed in Vietnam.\u201d Which immediately exercised the muscles above my eyebrow. What the heck does that mean?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are farmed by Australis Aquaculture<\/a>, a US company based in Massachusetts. Fortunately, the fish are raised using sustainable seafood practices<\/a>, and the company has received a Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) 4-Star Certification<\/a>. According to Food Print<\/a>, this doesn\u2019t eliminate every possible fish farming concern, but it helps. I\u2019m not a fish nerd, so I\u2019m just going to roll with it. For now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(I like fish on my salad. Now you know. Here\u2019s my salad.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Thawing the Sea Bass<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recommendation on the package is to remove the fish from the pouch and thaw it in the refrigerator overnight, uncovered. Apparently, this is necessary to prevent growth of deadly botulism toxins<\/a>, which can spread when the fish thaws without oxygen inside the vacuum-sealed plastic pouch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Is this fish a healthy food choice?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no skin on the fillets, and no bones. Sea bass is low in mercury \u2014 in fact,\u00a0Australis Better Fish website<\/a> promises their sea bass \u201cis guaranteed to be contaminant-free. That means no detectable levels of mercury, PCBs, antibiotics, hormones, or colorants.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also state that this Barramundi has \u201cthe highest Omega-3\u2019s of any white fish.\u201d Well, that’s good to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What does it taste like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cfishy.\u201d I would describe this as a versatile fish, due to the neutral flavor profile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Cooking the Barramuni Fish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s almost no \u201coil\u201d from the fillets, but they don\u2019t taste dry or tough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> look like the picture of thick slabs on the bag \u2014 all of my fillets thinned dramatically at the edges, almost paper thin. This didn\u2019t impact the taste at all, just an observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Nutrition<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nutrition Facts in Australis Barramundi Sea Bass<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s per serving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ingredients<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ingredients in Australis Barramundi Sea Bass<\/h2>\n\n\n\n