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Black cod used to be one of those fish we had to explain. These days, more people walk up to our market booth already knowing exactly what it is, and often exactly how much they want. We’ve watched demand grow substantially over the last few years, and it appears we’re seeing our own small piece of a much larger trend: Americans are developing a taste for black cod.

The timing is interesting. Alaska has experienced several unusually successful years for young black cod, meaning more of those fish survived and grew large enough to eventually become part of the commercial fishery. In Northern Southeast Alaska, 2016 produced the strongest group of young black cod to enter the population since 1979, followed by several other strong years. As those fish have matured, they’ve helped increase the available supply at roughly the same time domestic interest has been growing.

Despite the name, black cod isn’t actually cod at all. It’s sablefish, a remarkable deep-water North Pacific species that can live for many decades. Fisheries biologists determine their age by examining growth rings in tiny calcified inner-ear structures called otoliths, much like counting the rings of a tree. Fish over 40 years old are commonly found in commercial catches, and black cod approaching 100 years old have been documented in Alaska.

Researchers have also learned a tremendous amount by capturing black cod, attaching individually identifiable tags and releasing them back into the ocean. When a tagged fish is eventually caught again, scientists can compare where it was released with where it was recovered. Those studies have documented individual black cod traveling well over a thousand miles and help researchers better understand their movement, growth and population structure.

Black cod is also an extraordinarily rich fish. Its high natural oil content creates the silky, buttery texture its fans love, while also making it an exceptional source of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, ASMI identifies black cod as having the highest levels of the long-chain omega-3s EPA and DHA among Alaska’s commercially harvested seafoods.

Of course, that same richness means black cod isn’t necessarily everybody’s fish. If you’re looking for something especially mild and lean, this probably isn’t it. Black cod is rich, oily and distinctive. Some people try it and decide it’s not for them; others try it and immediately seek out more. Sometimes the more we warn someone about how rich and distinctive it is, the more determined they become to try it.

With more black cod entering the fishery and more people interested in eating it, responsible management matters. Alaska scientists monitor the fish through longline surveys, biological sampling and extensive tagging programs, looking at abundance, age, growth, movement and the number of young fish entering the population. Harvest levels can then be adjusted as conditions change. The recent strong groups of younger fish are encouraging, while continued careful management is particularly important for a species capable of living nearly a century.

Maybe Americans are finally catching on to something longtime black cod fans have known all along. It’s a remarkably long-lived, far-traveling fish harvested from the deep waters of the North Pacific, and we’ve had a front-row seat as more people discover it for themselves.

If you’ve never tried black cod, come see us this Saturday at the Los Ranchos Growers Market and find out whether you’re a black cod person too. We’ll have a great selection of wild Alaska seafood, grass-finished beef, New Mexico pork, raw local honey and more, surrounded by all the late-summer abundance from our fellow growers and producers.

Stay Well Fed,

Brenna & Kenny

Today happens to be National Filet Mignon Day, which seems like a pretty good excuse to talk about one of the most recognizable and prized cuts of beef. Filet and ribeye may be the two steak names people know best, even when they’re not particularly familiar with the rest of the animal. But what exactly is filet mignon, and why does this relatively small steak command so much attention?

First, a little clarification. What we label Tenderloin Steak is what most people are referring to when they ask us for filet mignon. Filet mignon is cut from the beef tenderloin, a long, narrow muscle tucked along the spine. Because this muscle does very little work, it develops very little connective tissue. The result is the exceptionally fine texture and tenderness that made filet famous.

The name itself is almost funny considering the steak’s lofty reputation. Filet mignon comes from French and roughly translates to “dainty filet” or “delicate filet.” That’s actually a pretty accurate description. The tenderloin is relatively small, especially when you consider the size of the entire animal.

Take a look at the beef cut chart above and find the tenderloin. There’s your filet.

There are only two tenderloins on a beef, one on either side of the spine, and they represent a very small portion of the total animal. We can’t simply produce more tenderloin because people want more filet. For every animal harvested, there will always be far more ground beef, roasts and other cuts than there will be tenderloin steaks. That natural scarcity is one reason filet commands a premium price.

But does that make filet mignon the best steak? Not necessarily.

Filet’s claim to fame is tenderness, not necessarily the biggest beef flavor. A ribeye brings considerably more fat, marbling and richness. A strip steak has a firmer bite and plenty of beefy flavor, generally without the richness of a ribeye. Tenderloin is comparatively lean and mild, but it’s extraordinarily tender. Which one is “best” really depends on what you want from a steak.

And when it comes to cooking a beautiful tenderloin steak, our advice is pretty simple: don’t mess it up.

You don’t need an elaborate recipe. Salt and pepper, good heat and a meat thermometer will take you a long way. Cast iron works beautifully, as does a grill. Because tenderloin is lean and usually fairly thick, paying attention to internal temperature matters much more than blindly following a certain number of minutes per side. The USDA recommends cooking whole beef steaks to a minimum internal temperature of 145°F followed by at least a three-minute rest.

However you prefer your steak, start with good beef and keep the preparation simple enough to taste it.

We’ll have a nice supply of our grass-finished beef, including Tenderloin Steaks, with us this Saturday at the Los Ranchos Growers Market, along with wild Alaska seafood, New Mexico pork, raw honey and bee pollen, Bariani Olive Oil, dates and more. We’re also still right in the thick of peak growers market season, with local fruits, vegetables, herbs, eggs, flowers and plenty more filling the market each Saturday morning.

Come see what’s growing, find something good for dinner, and if National Filet Mignon Day has you craving a “dainty little filet,” we’ll know exactly what you mean.

Stay Well Fed,

Brenna & Kenny

Every summer we look forward to the weeks when local tomatoes are at their very best. Add fresh basil, green onions, cucumbers, garlic, and Bariani Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and dinner practically makes itself. This simple grilled coho salmon recipe celebrates some of our favorite flavors of August and lets great ingredients do what they do best.

Every summer we look forward to the weeks when local tomatoes are at their very best. Add fresh basil, green onions, cucumbers, garlic, and Bariani Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and dinner practically makes itself. This simple grilled coho salmon recipe celebrates some of our favorite flavors of August and lets great ingredients do what they do best.

Grilled Coho with Fresh Tomato & Basil

Ingredients

• 2 coho salmon portions (8 oz each)
• 2 tablespoons Bariani Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
• 2–3 ripe local tomatoes, chopped, or halved if using cherry tomatoes
• Handful of fresh basil, torn
• 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Optional sides

• Sliced cucumbers
• Grilled summer squash
• Roasted new potatoes
• Crusty bread

Directions

• Brush the salmon lightly with 1 tablespoon of Bariani Extra Virgin Olive Oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium-high heat for about 3–4 minutes per side, depending on thickness, until the fish flakes easily with a fork.
• While the salmon grills, combine the tomatoes, basil, green onions, garlic, and the remaining tablespoon of Bariani Extra Virgin Olive Oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Let the flavors mingle for a few minutes while the fish finishes cooking.
• Spoon the fresh tomato mixture over the grilled salmon and serve with sliced cucumbers or your favorite seasonal vegetables. Don’t forget a slice of crusty bread to soak up every last drop of those summer juices.

One stop at the Los Ranchos Growers Market is all it takes to gather almost everything you need for this meal. Pick up ripe tomatoes, fragrant basil, green onions, cucumbers, and garlic, then stop by our table for your wild Alaska coho. We’d love to see you this Saturday! Come fill your market bag with fresh local ingredients, and let us help you bring a little Alaska to your dinner table.

Stay Well Fed,

Brenna & Kenny

Walk into almost any grocery store today and you’ll find bananas, avocados, blueberries, tomatoes, peaches, salmon, and nearly every cut of beef throughout the year. We’ve grown accustomed to finding almost anything we want, almost any day of the year. It’s a remarkable convenience, and one that’s easy to take for granted. What often goes unnoticed is that every one of those foods began with a season of its own.

Wild Alaska salmon is a good example. Although we offer salmon throughout the year, every fish was harvested during a relatively short fishing season. Careful processing and freezing at peak quality allow us to enjoy a seasonal harvest long after the fishing boats have returned to port. That’s not a departure from nature. It’s simply one of the best ways to preserve an abundant harvest.

Honey reminds us that nature doesn’t always follow a predictable schedule. Customers often ask when we’ll have Ambrosia or Catclaw Acacia honey again, and the honest answer is that we don’t know. Those flowers bloom only when conditions are right, and some years they simply don’t. A favorite varietal may return the following season, or it may be several years before weather and rainfall come together in just the right way.

Beef tells a different story. Every harvest begins with a whole animal, and every animal yields a natural balance of steaks, roasts, soup bones, ground beef, and the many other cuts people enjoy. Some cuts are naturally more abundant than others, and some become customer favorites. That balance isn’t determined by demand or marketing. It’s simply part of the animal itself.

The modern food system has done an extraordinary job of making food available throughout the year. Freezing, refrigeration, transportation, and careful storage allow us to enjoy foods long after their harvest has ended. Those are genuine accomplishments. Even so, healthy soil, favorable weather, flowering plants, migrating fish, and thriving livestock continue to operate on nature’s timetable, not ours.

Perhaps that’s one of the quiet lessons good food has to offer. The foods we enjoy don’t begin on a grocery shelf or in a freezer. They begin with healthy land, healthy water, healthy animals, favorable weather, and people willing to work within those natural rhythms. We may enjoy the harvest months later, but its story always begins with a season.

We enjoy sharing these stories because understanding where our food comes from often leads to a greater appreciation for the people who produce it and the natural world that makes it possible. This is one of our favorite times of year at the Los Ranchos Growers Market. The market is brimming with locally grown fruits and vegetables, fresh herbs, flowers, meats, honey, eggs, baked goods, and countless other foods produced right here in New Mexico. If you haven’t visited in a while, we’d love to see you. Come stroll through the market, meet the people behind your food, and enjoy one of the most abundant seasons of the year.

Stay Well Fed,

Brenna & Kenny

There are only a few weeks each year when so many good things come together at once. Gardens are producing near their peak, orchards are heavy with fruit, lavender and garlic are being harvested, and the Los Ranchos Growers Market is filled with the colors, aromas, and flavors that make New Mexico summers so memorable.

This Saturday, you’ll find fresh peaches, plums, apricots, cherries, berries, grapes, and other seasonal fruit alongside an incredible selection of locally grown vegetables. Your favorite growers will also have fresh greens, herbs, garlic, onions, potatoes, carrots, squash, flowers, baked goods, jams, spices, prepared foods, and so much more.

We’ll be bringing one of our largest selections of the season. Our freezers are well stocked with wild Alaska seafood, including coho salmon, Pacific cod, black cod, and halibut. We’ll also have our grass-finished beef, New Mexico pork, local raw honey and bee pollen, Bariani olive oil, Kenny’s spice rub, Medjool dates, and more.

Whether you’re planning to grill, stock the freezer, or simply enjoy cooking with the best ingredients of the season, this is one of our favorite times of year to visit the market. It’s a chance to fill your bags with exceptional food from local growers, producers, and small family businesses all in one place.

We hope you’ll join us this Saturday from 8:00 – 11:00am at the Los Ranchos Growers Market.

Stay Well Fed,

Brenna & Kenny

We’re looking forward to being back in Phoenix on Tuesday and Wednesday, July 14 & 15 for our summer order pickup.

If you’d like us to bring seafood, beef, pork, honey, bee pollen, olive oil, dates, or other favorites, please place your order by 11:59 PM MT on Saturday, July 11. This deadline gives us time to organize orders before traveling to Phoenix.

Our current product list has been updated with this season’s pricing and availability, including wild Alaska seafood, grass-finished beef, New Mexico pork, Arizona raw honey, bee pollen, Bariani olive oil, dates, and more. We encourage you to review it before placing your order.

Ordering is easy. Simply reply to this email or send us your order through the contact information on our website. If you’re unsure how much to order or have questions about any of our products, we’re always happy to help.

Thank you for supporting our family business. We appreciate the opportunity to serve our Phoenix customers and look forward to seeing many of you during our July visit.

Stay Well Fed,

Kenny & Brenna

Pacific cod has arrived!

While wild Alaska salmon may be the fish we’re best known for, Pacific cod has earned its place as another FishHugger favorite. Mild, slightly sweet, and beautifully flaky, it’s one of Alaska’s most versatile fish and an excellent choice for anyone looking for an easy, dependable meal. It’s also one of those fish longtime customers ask about every season, and we’re happy to have it back in the freezer once again.

Also known as true cod or gray cod, Pacific cod has long been an important part of Alaska’s commercial and recreational fisheries. Although it can be harvested using several different fishing methods, ours is caught using longline gear. Longlines use baited hooks that allow fishermen to selectively harvest cod one fish at a time. It’s a careful, time-tested approach that reflects the quality and stewardship we value when choosing the fishermen we work with.

Like all of our wild Alaska seafood, Pacific cod comes from a fishery that is carefully managed. Each year, biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game assess the health of the stock, harvest limits are established before the season begins, and catches are monitored throughout the year to help ensure healthy cod populations for generations to come.

One of our favorite summer meals is citrus Pacific cod tacos. The filets cook quickly, hold together beautifully, and flake into large, tender pieces that pair perfectly with crisp cabbage, avocado, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Simple Citrus Pacific Cod Tacos

Season Pacific cod filets with salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and a pinch of smoked paprika. Pan-sear in butter or olive oil over medium heat until the fish flakes easily, about 3 to 4 minutes per side, depending on thickness.

Serve in warm corn tortillas with shredded cabbage, avocado, queso fresco, fresh cilantro, and a squeeze of lime. If you have a few extra minutes, stir together sour cream, fresh lime juice, garlic, and a pinch of salt for a quick garlic-lime crema.

Pacific cod is available beginning this Saturday at the Los Ranchos Growers Market. Whether you’re trying it for the first time or bringing home an old favorite, we think you’ll appreciate why this mild, flaky white fish has remained an Alaska staple for generations.

Stay Well Fed,

Kenny & Brenna

For the past couple of months, one question has topped the list at nearly every market: “Do you have any ground beef?” This weekend, the answer is yes!

Our herd grazes the native prairie grasses of northeastern New Mexico for approximately three years before harvest, followed by 18 days of dry aging and careful processing. The wait is over, and the first beef of the season is now ready for this Saturday’s Los Ranchos Growers Market.

We’ll be bringing plenty of ground beef, a selection of premium steaks, and a rotating variety of other cuts throughout the season. If you’re looking for something specific, just let us know. We may already have it in the freezer. While we won’t have every cut at every market, we’ll continue bringing a variety throughout the season as inventory allows.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve shared a little about this year’s harvest, how a beef is distributed, and why some cuts are naturally more limited than others. We appreciate everyone who followed along and look forward to seeing many of you at the market this weekend.

Stay Well Fed,

Kenny & Brenna

Looking at a beef cut chart can be surprisingly revealing. Most people recognize familiar cuts like ribeye, tenderloin, sirloin, brisket, and chuck roast, but few stop to consider how much of each cut actually comes from a single harvest.

While premium steaks often receive the most attention, ground beef represents the largest share of nearly every harvest. Most of us have spent our lives shopping in grocery stores where every cut seems endlessly available, regardless of season or supply. Our experience has been quite different. By raising and selling beef on a much smaller scale, it becomes much easier to see the natural limits of every harvest and appreciate the whole picture, not just the steaks. Even when a beef is cut to maximize premium steaks, those cuts represent only a small fraction of the final yield, while ground beef remains the foundation of many family meals.

Over the last several years, we’ve watched more and more families make ground beef a regular part of their meal planning. Whether it becomes burgers on the grill, tacos for a weeknight dinner, a pot of chili, or a favorite family recipe, ground beef has steadily become one of the most requested products we offer.

The current harvest is still making its way through the aging and processing stages. In the coming weeks, we’ll begin bringing this season’s beef back to market and share more about what this year’s harvest will look like.

Stay Well Fed,

Brenna & Kenny

A few weeks ago, our first beef harvest of the 2026 season took place. The beef is currently dry aging and should be available at the growers market in the coming weeks.

Every year feels a little different. Rainfall changes, grass changes, cattle markets change, customer demand changes. Some years move quietly along and others seem to shift all at once. This season already feels more like the latter.

Over the last several years, we’ve watched more and more families move toward grassfed beef, especially ground beef. What was once an occasional purchase for many families has increasingly become a weekly staple. Ground beef has steadily become one of the most dependable staples in many households.

At the same time, the broader cattle market has changed considerably across the United States and much of North America. Herd sizes remain tight, demand continues to be strong, and raising cattle on grass in a dry climate has never been a particularly simple endeavor. Even with all the modern systems surrounding food production, much of it still comes back to rain, pasture, timing, and patience.

One thing we have learned over the years is that customers overwhelmingly gravitate toward certain cuts while others move much more slowly. As a result, we’ll likely simplify portions of our beef program this season and focus more heavily on the cuts people use and enjoy most regularly.

The season always begins quietly, but there is already a lot taking shape this year. We’ll share more details as we progress, but we wanted to give everyone a small early glimpse into this year’s harvest and some of the changing realities surrounding beef production here in the Southwest.

More soon.

Kenny & Brenna