Bumblebee Archives

I've been on a bit of a tinned trout kick lately, and this Bumblebee Skinless Boneless Smoked Trout I found at Walmart looked interesting. At just over $4, I couldn't pass it up.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

I thought there could have been a little more fish in the can, but that's not uncommon. There is a smoky aroma. A sip of the neutral oil (canola) is similarly smoky, and does not taste artificial. Tasting a bite of the fish alone, the smoke is just right, not overpowering the inherent taste of the trout. I also thought the salt level was just right. The meat is fused together in the can, but is flaky and moist.

Let's Eat

After breaking up the mass of fish a bit to get it out of the can, I put it out over rice. The oil/broth that remained, I left in the can for the moment.

Honestly, I could have left well enough alone and enjoyed the trout as-is over the rice, but I decided to experiment.

It seemed like some chili crisp might be the ticket, so I went with the Lao Gan Ma I've had for a while now. As chili crisps go, it's more crunchy bits than oil. The Fly By Jing, by contrast, has a higher ratio of chili oil to solids.

To loosen things up a bit, I poured most of the residual can liquid over everything and mixed it in. This was a good move, as the smoky oil/broth combined well with the onion/pepper heat of the chili crisp.

I'd recommend this smoked trout with and without condiments.

Other Thoughts

The carton doesn't specify how the smoke flavor is achieved. But since the ingredients don't list an added artificial smoke, I have to assume it's naturally applied.
The carton says this is farm raised fish from Latvia. I have seen other cartons of the same which say it was sourced from Germany and Turkey.

Competitively priced at Amazon.

Brand: Bumble Bee Seafoods
Description: Skinless Boneless Smoked Trout
Species: Farm raised trout
Country of Origin: Latvia
Source: FAO N/S
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.8 oz.
Price Range: $4

I picked up this Bumblebee Smoke Flavored Coho Salmon at Walmart about a month ago. At the time I was exploring different brands of tinned smoked salmon with varying results. This one was inexpensive enough, under $3, so I gave it a try.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

I had already taken notice of the fact the carton says "smoke flavored". At this price point, I wasn't expecting actual smoked fish. The aroma of smoke, however, is very present. A sip of the oil has the same flavor. That the smoke taste is artificial is obvious. The can is reasonably full. The oil (soybean) is tinged a reddish color, noted in the ingredients list as an artificial additive. Trying a little of the meat by itself, I find it possesses a flakier texture than some other tinned salmon in its price range. I consider that a plus.

I thought this might be an opportunity to perk things up a bit, so I opened the jar of FLYBYJING Sichuan Chili Crisp I bought while on sale during the recent Amazon Prime Big Deal Days.

There is a very good smoked salmon sold by Fishwife which includes this same chili crisp condiment. Realistically, I wasn't expecting to replicate that product, nor even come close. But I did find it made an improvement here.

I ended up adding a little more than what's shown in the photo, and probably should have left well enough alone. It's not that the heat of the chili crisp is overpowering, but less of it might have made for a better balance with the taste of the fish.

Well priced at Amazon.

Brand: Bumble Bee Seafoods
Description: Smoke Flavored Coho Salmon
Species: Medium red salmon
Country of Origin: Thailand
Source: FAO N/S
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $3