I don't know about you, but I'm all about the quick dinner. And unfortunately, these days if you try to have fast food it will set you back about $10 unless you hit the dollar menu. For about $5, this is way better.
Taste
Now, let me be clear. This is not the same as the wild salmon that is sold in the refrigerated case. This is farm-raised and this is located in the freezer section.
So if you are all about the taste and flavor of wild salmon, then pass on this one. Otherwise, if you don't mind the more familiar taste of farmed then this is a good option to reach for.
The premise here is pretty simple. This basically takes a bbq cut piece of salmon and adds a few discs of compound butter. What is compound butter? Butter with certain items mixed in to make the butter more flavorful.
In this case, the butter is enhanced with the flavors of garlic, lemon, parsley, and chives. That butter then enhances whatever you put it on.
All that is needed is for you to defrost, bake in the oven, and figure out something to do with all the excess butter that is going to melt off of the fillet.
What you are getting in each package is a single-serve piece of salmon with three decent-sized rounds of lemon herb butter.
Salmon is fatty on its own, but as the butter melts the herbs stay put and make for a nice herbed topping. But the butter does have to go somewhere. So you are left with a piece of salmon in a pool of butter that Paula Dean or Ina Garten would be proud of.
You can look at the pool of butter in one of two ways: ewww butter look at that oil slick in the pan! or ooooh a topping for a side that is herby, lemony, and full of salmon flavor.
After I took the photos the butter was promptly used for putting on some vegetables. In my case that was broccoli.
For the sake of full disclosure, I did buy two of these. The flavor is very much enhanced if you add some salt and pepper before cooking.
The first time I made this I did find it to be a touch bland even with the butter and herbs. But that simple addition will make it go from meh to pretty solid.
For $4.99 this is a pretty good deal. It makes for a quick, easy, and flavorful meal.
Packaging
The packaging used here is similar to Trader Joe's other fresh fish. It's a plastic tray with tightly if not vacuum sealed plastic on top.
Overall
Would I buy this again? Yes, I would buy Trader Joe's Atlantic Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter again. This works out to be cheaper than take out and tastes a whole lot better too.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
The visual rundown
The package of Trader Joe's Atlantic Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter:
The nutritional information and the ingredients
How to prepare
After being cooked you get:
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The Bottom Line
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Trader Joe's Atlantic Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter
Product Name: Trader Joe's Atlantic Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter
Product Description: Trader Joe's Atlantic Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter is new and worth looking into for a quick single serve meal.
Price: $4.99
Summary
Trader Joe's Atlantic Salmon with Lemon Herb Butter is new in the frozen section
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Taste
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Value
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Worthy of Repurchasing
Pros
- Single serve
- Just needs to be defrosted and can be ready in about 15 minutes
- Herb butter was flavorful
- Salmon is nice and moist
Cons
- No option for wild salmon
- A bit bland before seasoning this
I love how artfully the butter discs is placed on top. You could do roasted potatoes. Then toss with that yummy butter. Or green beans surrounding it.
Would it be possible to cook it on a baking sheet or do you really need a dish because of all of the butter? I’m afraid it will get messy! Perhaps putting some veggies around it would help capture the fallout?
You can cook it on a baking sheet but I'd make sure the baking sheet has some rim around it to catch the excess butter. I hope that helps. And yes veggies would absolutely work here.
I line a baking sheet with foil to cook it on, then toss the foil. First time I can say I enjoyed the salmon that I cooked. It’s delicious.
Thanks so much for sharing!
I had a large pool of butter too and I might try it again and season the salmon first (agreed it was a bit bland) and then put the butter on top once I turn the oven off or something?
You'll probably still have a pool of butter. Perhaps cook some veggies under it like broccoli. I hope that helps!
What type of colour added in the salmon?