{"id":283,"date":"2023-11-01T22:40:38","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T22:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/squarespace.joannawhiteart.com\/wp\/2023\/11\/01\/trident-seafoods-ultimate-fish-sticks-costco-review\/"},"modified":"2025-05-14T03:02:56","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T07:02:56","slug":"trident-seafoods-ultimate-fish-sticks-costco-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snarklesauce.com\/blog\/2023\/11\/01\/trident-seafoods-ultimate-fish-sticks-costco-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Trident Ultimate Fish Sticks Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Author\u2019s note: I wasn\u2019t paid or compensated in any way for this review and I have no affiliation with <\/em>Trident Seafoods<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>Costco<\/em><\/a>\u2026OR Aldi! I bought these fish sticks with my own dad-gum money.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t eat your own shoe laces.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Are you a grown adult who still eats fish sticks? We should be friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love fried food. I would probably eat my own shoe laces if they were battered and deep fried. Facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, I won\u2019t have to. I bought these Ultimate Fish Sticks<\/a> from Trident Seafood instead. I confess, I purchased them mainly because there was a wicked-good sale at Costco, and four pounds<\/em> of fish sticks was just too good to pass up. My greedy stomach made me do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair warning: I previously reviewed Trident\u2019s Salmon Burgers<\/a>, and I had a rather lukewarm opinion of those. I\u2019m not \u201csold\u201d on everything Trident offers. But these fish sticks are pretty good. Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Fingers<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

#1. These are really big fish sticks.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Although these shrink slightly after baking, they\u2019re still some of the biggest fish sticks I\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#2. Extra crunchy.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trident\u2019s fish sticks are super<\/em> 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\u2019ll add that the breading is pleasantly soft inside \u2014 and the contrast of the crispness on the outside and softness inside is especially<\/em> gratifying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#3. Good fish texture.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t 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\u2019t find any slimy or grayish sections \u2014 everything was dense, white, fresh-looking fish-meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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#4. Savory breading flavor.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I mean. How often is the breading on a fish stick so<\/em> tasty that you don\u2019t 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\u2019ll mention later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was perplexed by the slogan on the bag that says: \u201cMore fish, less breading.\u201d That wouldn\u2019t<\/em> be my assessment \u2014 there\u2019s quite a bit of breading here, more than I expected. It\u2019s a thick, crusty layer. The ingredients say the fish sticks are only 65% fish, so that means 35% is\u2026erm\u2026something else. I don\u2019t mind<\/em> that there is so much breading, because I like it<\/em>. And the breading is sort of the reason why any of us eat fish sticks in the first place. Rather than just eating\u2026you know\u2026fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So yeah. There\u2019s a generous amount of breading, and I\u2019m OK with it.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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#5. Wild Caught.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Yes, this fish is wild caught Alaskan Pollock, which is a a low-mercury fish<\/a>, and considered a sustainable and responsible fish option by the NOAA Fisheries<\/a> governmental site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(And, yes, that\u2019s a delicious pile of Aldi Cheese Truffle Kn\u00f6pfli<\/a> on that plate, which I previously reviewed.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

#6. Foolproof cooking.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The label offers several convenient cooking methods, including baking, air frying, deep frying, and microwaving. My toaster oven produced great results. I\u2019m not a complete barbarian<\/em>, so there\u2019s no way I will avail myself of the \u201cmicrowave\u201d cooking option. But I guess it\u2019s nice to know that\u2019s even possible<\/em>. Maybe if I was desperate. And if there were no shoe laces to eat.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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#7. Protein.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Well, you like protein, don\u2019t you? Of course you do. Here\u2019s the Nutrition Facts from the label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s pretty impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u2014 from the whole grains in the breading \u2014 but barely enough to mention.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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

#8. Omega-3<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> more than shoe laces!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ingredients in Trident Ultimate Fish Sticks from Costco<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am disappointed that soybean oil is the primary oil in these fish sticks. I\u2019m also not delighted by the Disodium inosinate<\/a> and Disodium guanylate<\/a> and Maltodextrin<\/a>. Otherwise, these are pretty decent ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n