I Finally Tried a Saltwater Fish That Was Born and Raised in Waterbury

Did you know that one of the cleanest saltwater fish available for purchase in the world was born and raised in Waterbury? You can buy them at local farmer's markets around Connecticut like I did over the weekend.

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Ideal Fish is a World-Class aquaculture facility located in the East end of Waterbury. One of the incredible things that they're doing there is raising saltwater fish in Waterbury. Branzino is a saltwater fish, it's also known as the European seabass. Ideal is 'growing' them in a sterile, sustainable, uber-responsible facility. I eat a lot of seafood, we live on the Atlantic Ocean, yes, I worry about mercury and pollution in wild-caught product. Not with these.

Ideal also raises and sells Barramundi, Salmon, Shrimp, Trout, and Caviar. You can purchase their products through their website, have them delivered right to your home, or do what I did, pre-order and pick them up at a local farmer's market. I got two Branzino at the Litchfield Hills Farm- Fresh Market on Saturday, but Ideal Fish is also going to be at upcoming farmer's markets in Coventry, Cromwell, Milford, New Canaan, Newtown, Norwalk, Hartford, and Westport through the 2023 season.

The verdict? Delicious. I would say Branzino is in the middle of Cod and Salmon on the fishy-ness scale, very mild and flaky. I looked at a few recipes, and the common ingredients in most of them were garlic, lemon, thyme, salt & pepper, and olive oil. I cooked them at 400 for 25 minutes, and they came out perfect. If you're a bit squeamish, buy the filets from Ideal, don't buy the whole fish like I did. Mrs. Large was a little creeped out when those eyes looked back at her in the fridge.