Siren SeaSA is like a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box – those boxes of fresh produce people subscribe to -- only it’s fish. Sea S A, get it?
Siren SeaSA, founded by Anna Larson, connects and supports fishermen who use sustainable fishing methods directly to customers, and sources only the finest local -- and sustainably caught -- seafood.
Siren promises seafood (including fish, squid, and shellfish) no more than two days from the sea – often Saturday delivery will have been underwater as recently as Friday. It’s beautiful seafood, and exquisitely fresh.
There are five Siren SeaSA pick-up locations: Petaluma, East Bay (Oakland), South Bay (Mountain View) and two in San Francisco. With your first pick-up you get an insulated bag and a frozen ice pack to get the catch of the day home. With each subsequent pick-up you bring your insulated bag, and swap out your ice pack for a newly frozen one.
Subscription options include weekly or every-other-week pick-ups, and a choice of half or a whole shares – priced accordingly. Through the website (or Facebook, or Twitter) Siren SeaSA will try to let you know what’s coming any particular week, but since it depends on what’s swimming by, you may find out fairly late in the game.
Given catch limits, seasonal constraints, the weather, and the arbitrary nature of fish and fishing, subscribers are warned that some weeks there may not be a delivery – which is actually reassuring: if Larson’s exacting standards can’t be met, there’s no delivery, and your subscription is extended. For this reason, winter deliveries can be dicey, but become more regular over the spring and summer, and through the fall.
The website is a lively spot, with news, recipes and, in the case of a delivery of oysters, an impromtu how-to-shuck video, which turned out to be critical to the enjoyment of the shellfish.
A recent delivery of albacore turned up a recipe for bacon-wrapped albacore on the website, but a hankering for spicier flavors (with fried plantains and refried black beans with chorizo) made this a good recipe too…
Grilled Lime-Chili Albacore
serves 4-5
This was adapted from a similar recipe for Southwestern Albacore Kebobs on the Oregon Albacore Commission website, where over a dozen recipes for line-caught albacore are posted; check it out.
- 1-1/4 pound fresh albacore, whole
- 4 tablespoons lime juice
- 4 tablespoons sherry
- 1/2-teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon of your favorite chile powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- 1/4-teaspoon pimenton agrudulce (smoky paprika)
- Marinate the fish in a non-reactive dish or zip-lock bag for no more than one hour (the lime juice starts to “cook” the fish, a la ceviche).
- Remove the albacore from the marinade and pat dry.
- Heat a thin film of neutral cooking oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat.
- Quickly sear the albacore to a golden brown on each side – or – brush with oil and grill quickly over very hot coals.
- Serve immediately.
Note: Albacore is typically served very rare in the middle, hence the high heat and quick sear. But if your diners prefer the fish more well done, adjust your cooking time accordingly. No one’s going to tell.
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