Beef in Stock!

Great news! We now have a limited supply of our New Mexico Pasture-Finished GrassFAT Beef back in stock including ground beef, beef roasts, soup bones and a few steaks! This beef was processed at a small family-owned USDA facility in Raton, NM. Same great beef, same great taste…all packages are paper wrapped instead of our typical vacuum sealed packages.

As always, we appreciate advance orders. All unreserved products will be sold on a first come, first served basis — no limits!

In an effort to make you feel safer, we will be adhering to the governor’s public health order by wearing face coverings and latex gloves at the market. If you’d rather not visit the market, we are now offering delivery in the Albuquerque area on Saturday afternoon. We already have measures in place for a completely contactless delivery. We accept cash, check, zelle and venmo. With minimal contact, we can accept applepay or debit/credit at the time of delivery. Orders $200+ will be delivered free, orders under $200 will have an additional $15 delivery fee. If you would like to pick up at market or schedule a delivery for this Saturday, please email your order by 12:00pm tomorrow, Friday, May 22. For deliveries, please include a complete address and a phone number so we can contact you when we’re on our way!

Should you have feedback, comments, questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us at anytime. We sincerely appreciate each and every one of our patrons, customers, co-vendors, growers and market managers…we couldn’t do this without you! It is our pleasure to provide you and your families with our premium quality salmon and beef!

In Health & Happiness,

Kenny & Brenna Aschbacher-The FishHuggers



Hello New Mexico!

We’re happy to be back in New Mexico for our summer growers market season! We’ll be beginning the Los Ranchos Growers Market this Saturday, May 16. New summer market hours are 8am-11am. In an effort to get everyone through the market as quickly and efficiently as possible, we are now accepting advance orders. No worries if you don’t want to order ahead of time, we’re bringing extra salmon! If you’d prefer not to attend the market, we’ll be delivering orders in the Albuquerque area on Saturday afternoon. Orders $200+ will be delivered free and orders under $200 will have a $15 delivery fee. All orders must be in by 9pm on Thursday, May 14 for market pick up or delivery this weekend. If you prefer delivery, we’ll need your complete address and a contact phone number (preferably a cell number so we can text you when we’re on the way). Please be sure to check out our current product list as we are temporarily out of stock on some items. Further inquiry welcome anytime. We look forward to serving you this summer!

Cheers,
Kenny & Brenna 

Come and Get it!

Hello there Phoenix FishHuggers! We’re here in Arizona through the end of this month before we begin our summer harvest season out of state. We’re currently accepting orders and scheduling appointments for pick up or delivery EVERY DAY through next Thursday, April 30. Check out our current list of products and pricing here: https://fishhugger.com/our-products/price-list/ and order via email or text/call Brenna at 602-576-1878.

We’ll also be available tomorrow, Saturday, April 25 at the Roadrunner Park Farmers Market. We keep our market calendar updated here: https://fishhugger.com/events/category/markets/

Other ways to procure your favorite FishHugger Foods here in Phoenix:

AREA Farms Arizona is a local CSA currently offering delivery and pick up options for delicious in-season produce and a few local food specialties…you can now add Sockeye Salmon and Arizona Local Raw Honey to your order! https://areafarmsarizona.com

Arizona Worm Farm is currently offering our Arizona Local Raw Honey. They also offer worms, worm tea, worm castings, mulch, compost, seeds, chicken eggs and lots more! https://arizonawormfarm.com

Eat Well,
Kenny & Brenna Aschbacher-The FishHuggers

Phoenix Schedule This Week

Hello Phoenix FishHuggers! Some of you may already be aware that Ahwatukee Farmers Market (Sunday) has closed indefinitely and Roadrunner Park (Saturday) will be closed this week, April 11, due to the Easter Holiday. As of this moment, we fully intend to be back at Roadrunner Park Farmers Market on the following 2 Saturdays: April 18 and April 25. We’re working to improve our social media skills and we are continuously keeping our website up to date, please check often for details: http://www.fishhugger.com/calendar.html

This week, we are offering staggered appointments for curbside pick up at our home (near Thomas Rd & 44th St) on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, April 8, 9 & 10. Please order in advance via email, phone or text message to 602-576-1878. Over the years we have found that most FishHuggers prefer a custom order, but we offer some bulk stock up options year round: http://www.fishhugger.com/pricelist.html

Additionally, we are offering a $100 or $200 Grab Bag: a generous amount of wild salmon and local honey. If you need help determining your family’s freezer and pantry needs for the summer, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can also order by budget or storage space availability. We’re here to help!

If you’re looking for the best chicken eggs possible, check out Arizona Worm Farm. They currently offer on farm sales including eggs, worm castings and worm tea and now OUR Arizona Local Raw Honey! Arizona Worm Farm is open  – but please call 602-622-7663 so customers can be spaced for safety.
https://arizonawormfarm.com

We appreciate you!

Too Small to Fail

Hey there Phoenix FishHuggers! We intend to be available at both Roadrunner Park and Ahwatukee Farmers Markets through April 26th this season (as usual). As you know, farmers markets are essential and are a great place to get the groceries you need directly from your local producers. As always, stocking up on nutrition is more valuable than stocking calories. We appreciate any orders placed in advance for a “grab and go” style pick up at the market. We prefer payment through zelle to further encourage your efficiency through the market…we still accept cash and cards. Vendors and management are taking many precautions to keep our customers and ourselves safe out at the markets.

For your convenience, we are offering curbside order pick up by appointment at our Phoenix test kitchen (near Thomas Rd & 44th St) on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the month of April. Call, text or email us your order.

In addition to our usual Alaska Wild Salmon and Arizona Local Raw Honey, don’t forget we currently offer: Pasture-Finished Beef (ground), Fresh California Olive Oil, Kenny’s Original Spice Rub, Kenny’s New Mexico Spice Rub, NM Organic raw Pecans, Herbal Infused Sparkling Water, Homemade Mustard and Pickles, Gray Sea Salt, Beeswax, Honeycomb, Pollen, Fresh-Frozen Elderberries and Lavender Tallow Soap!

Make Yourself Essential

Whether you buy food to eat or buy food to sell, you are essential. We need you to eat what we produce to keep you healthy and productive so we can keep feeding you and your family. This month’s demand will help determine next years’ availability. We will decide whether to scale up or down our production before harvest season starts in five weeks. Your input and support will have the greatest influence on what to do next.

Focus on what you can do:

Inventory your food and medical supplies

Calculate your need and a little more

If you need something more to do, create a temporary small scale business to help yourself and others in your circle to buy a supply together. Get involved.

We have weathered 9/11, housing bubbles, globalization, farmed salmon and fake meat. Confidence is high that American ingenuity will come up with good answers to the questions of today.

What I’m going to do today is share some simmering broth with the family and have a shot of cod liver oil.

Spring Updates

Hello Phoenix FishHuggers, it’s almost officially spring and we anticipate the recent desert rains will provide abundant nectar for the bees in the coming season.

We’re available at both Roadrunner Park and Ahwatukee Farmers Markets this weekend (March 14/15).

We’re currently offering 5 varieties of Arizona Local Raw Honey + 8 regional favorites including Oak Leaf Honeydew, Snowberry and Meadowfoam!

Sockeye Salmon and Keta Salmon are both in abundant supply and we have a few portions of Black Cod/Sablefish available as well.

If you’ve been looking forward to trying our New Mexico Pasture-Finished Beef Steak, this is your chance! We have a few Beef NY Strip Steaks and Beef Chuck Roasts available this weekend along with our delicious 5 star Ground Beef.

We have a great supply of fresh harvest fall 2019 Bariani Olive Oil too! This has been our favorite olive oil for over 15 years, a delicious product of California, try both the green olive oil and the black olive oil.

We will not be available at our favorite Phoenix Farmers Markets next weekend (Sat/Sun March 21/22). Please catch us back at the markets the end of March through the end of April 2020 for the spring season. Please contact us if you’re interested in a dinner party, cooking class, honey tasting or freezer delivery. Further inquiry welcome.

Stock Up Sunday – March 8

Hello Phoenix FishHuggers! Please join us this Sunday, March 8 from 1pm-5pm at our Test Kitchen (2031 N 47th St, Phoenix AZ 85008). Snacks and samples will be available. As many of you already know, our harvest season will begin in early to mid-May and we won’t be available at our favorite Phoenix Farmers Markets until fall. Now is the time to consider stocking your freezer and pantry for the summer. We offer salmon, beef and honey by the case, however, most FishHuggers prefer a custom order. Advance orders, questions and comments are welcome at the market, by email, phone or on Facebook. We appreciate your feedback and look forward to seeing you soon!

Which wild salmon is your favorite? Have you tried them all?

When we first started promoting our fish at farmers markets, salmon was all the rage. It was on every restaurant menu and in every supermarket across and country. The challenge then was that the only widely available salmon was farmed raised. Farmed salmon is a genetically engineered Atlantic salmon grown in net cages in the open ocean off the Pacific coast of Chile (mostly). You may have seen wild salmon canned or “fresh” in the fish counter on occasion. Back in the early 2000’s, we spent many hours discussing the superiority of Wild Salmon over farm-raised with consumers. Well, times have changed rather quickly and now it seems that a large share of seafood consumers are well aware of the wild vs. farmed debate and consistently seek out sustainably harvested wild Alaska salmon. As you probably know, wild salmon has higher omega-3 oils and better nutrition, it’s more eco-friendly and has a superior flavor and texture. What you may not know is that there are 5 species of Wild Pacific Salmon caught in the cold waters of the Pacific Ocean around Alaska. We’re commonly asked, “which one is the best?” There is no simple answer, but we can certainly help you determine your favorite salmon. Here is a basic overview:

1) Sockeye or Red Salmon is the darkest red and has the most powerful salmon flavor. Due to its high omega-3 oil content, sockeye is widely considered the “healthiest” salmon. These fish migrate tens of thousands of miles across the Pacific Ocean during their 2-3 year lifespan. Sockeye is our favorite salmon for sashimi, though we do grill or pan sear it often. Worldwide, sockeye is the Japanese preferred salmon.

2) Coho or Silver Salmon is slightly lighter, milder and has about half the omega-3 oil of sockeye. Coho tends to be juicy and flavorful when cooked. Coho is our favorite salmon for baking, grilling and smoking. Worldwide, coho is the American preferred wild salmon.

3) Keta or Silverbright Salmon (known in Alaska as chum salmon) is very mild and has 0.6 grams of omega-3 oil per serving (about 10 times more than most whitefish). Due to its mild taste, we think keta salmon makes an excellent substitute for cod or halibut and has superior nutrition. The flesh turns a very pale pink when cooked and it does well with a sauce or poached in white wine and water. Keta is our favorite salmon to prepare for guests who may or may not like salmon. Kids love it too. Worldwide, keta salmon is the favorite of Europe, particularly France.

4) Pink Salmon has traditionally been canned, as it is the most abundant species of wild salmon. We recommend canned wild salmon over any farmed salmon every day of the week. Pinks have a 2 year lifespan and are the smallest of the 5 wild Pacific salmon species. Pink salmon has a good omega-3 oil content and provides a lot of high quality protein. It’s our favorite salmon for chowder, salads and omelets. Typically, we wholesale all of our pinks to the cannery at the time of harvest.

5) King or Chinook Salmon is the largest and least abundant of the wild Pacific salmon species. It has a long lifecycle in the open ocean and the average king is over 30 pounds. King salmon is the state fish of Alaska and most of it is consumed within the state. It is a great source of omega-3 oil and is excellent cut into steaks. We didn’t harvest any king last season, we suggest coho as the nearest alternative.

For many years, sockeye was our family’s favorite. Now, we are better satisfied by rotating through the species for a little more variety. We suggest trying 2-3 varieties of our wild salmon to determine your favorite. ENJOY!

Try our Keep It Simple Salmon Recipe.

Fresh Catch! Sablefish and Pacific Cod!

Come see the FishHugger Family and get your fresh catch sablefish filet and pacific cod filet at the farmers market this weekend!

Halibut season starts in March 2019. Order now for March fresh catch halibut filet and halibut cheeks!