I went to Whole Foods looking for some sale items, and was pleased to find this new, unadvertised Patagonia Provisions Smoked Wild Pink Salmon With Pastrami Spice in stock. So new, in fact, it's not even listed on the Whole Foods website yet. And it was on sale!
Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.
The pastrami spice aroma hits you immediately, along with a distinct smokiness. There is a modest amount of liquid in the can, typical of smoked salmon in this format. At an even 3 oz. it's a fraction of an ounce lighter than similar entries from competitors Fishwife and Wildfish Cannery. I could see some room in the can for a little more fish.
Let's Try It
My bad. I should have checked the photo before I ate. It's a little fuzzy.
Anyway, there's some nice bronze skin, and I detected no bones. The meat is firm, but flakes readily.
The flavor of the pastrami spice is just right, It could have been overwrought and overpowered the flavor of the fish, but thankfully no.
The ingredients list: Wild pink salmon, organic brown sugar, salt, organic pastrami spice blend (black pepper, coriander, caraway, garlic, onion, mustard), natural wood smoke. As I ate, there was an impression of tanginess I thought might be from vinegar, but as you can see it's not included.
I was pleased the salt level was not as high as might be anticipated, clocking in at a reasonable 530mg.
Main Takeaways
- Well-seasoned slow smoked salmon
- Pastrami spice well-balanced
- Not overly salty
The Whole Foods list price was a competitive $9.99, but the sale brought it down to $7.64 for Amazon Prime members. There was also a "slow smoked with brown sugar" version. I bought a can of it, too, and will review it shortly. By comparison, the only difference between the two ingredient-wise is the pastrami spice.
More On Marketing
I had to check out the Patagonia Provisions website to see if this was truly new or something I had just overlooked. It appears to be new, as of this writing. I found it odd the cartons didn't match, the website showing packaging more in keeping with the rest of the current line. You can see the carton I purchased above is leaning in to the whole eye-catching graphics trend for tinned fish cartons. They've forgone the unnecessary printing of the inside of the box, though. The whole package has a recycled content feel, for which they are to be commended.
Brand: Patagonia Provisions
Description: Smoked Wild Pink Salmon With Pastrami Spice
Species: Pink salmon
Country of Origin: WA, USA
Source: FAO67, Northeast Pacific
Skin/Bones: Yes/No
Net Wt: 3 oz.
Price Range: $10