{"product_id":"smoked-black-cod-cheeks-in-cultured-butter","title":"Smoked Black Cod Cheeks in Cultured Butter","description":"\u003ch2\u003eAbout This Tin\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Spanish have a word for what's inside this tin: cocochas. It means cheeks — the small, tender cut carved from where the two gill plates come together — and it's the part of the fish that most people never see, because the fishermen keep it for themselves. Fish \u0026amp; Family Seafoods out of Sitka, Alaska does things differently. Hook-and-line, one fish at a time, they pull black cod up from the cold deep water it prefers and carve the cheeks right there on the boat before turning for home — a careful bit of knife work that most operations skip entirely. The cheeks are flash-frozen at sea, shipped to Wildfish Cannery in Klawock, smoked over natural hardwood the same way Wildfish smokes its salmon, and then packed in something that elevates the whole tin from exceptional to unreasonable: cultured butter from Fantello Farmstead Creamery in Enumclaw, Washington — a small, Certified Animal Welfare Approved family dairy that has been farming the Enumclaw Plateau since 1918, producing butter from grass-fed Jersey cows that contains roughly 20% more butterfat than standard dairy breeds. The butter costs more per pound than the fish. Wildfish did it anyway.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat results is a tin that is almost impossible to describe without sounding like you're exaggerating. The black cod cheeks are yielding and deeply smoky, with the particular richness that only comes from the most marbled cut on the most fatty fish in Alaskan waters. The cultured butter — which changes color with the seasons as the cows' diet shifts — melts around them during the retort process, permeating every bite with a dairy richness that makes the whole thing taste simultaneously like the most refined thing you've ever eaten from a tin and the most honest. Warm the can before opening. The butter will liquify. Take it from there.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat Makes It Special\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cut Fishermen Keep\u003c\/strong\u003e: Black cod cheeks — cocochas — are carved from the most prized, tender portion of the fish. Fish \u0026amp; Family Seafoods cuts them at sea, right on the boat, and flash-freezes them before heading home. Most operations never bother.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eFantello Farmstead Cultured Butter\u003c\/strong\u003e: Made from grass-fed Jersey cows on a family dairy in Enumclaw, WA that has been farming since 1918. Jersey milk produces roughly 20% more butterfat than standard breeds — the butter changes color with the seasons, and it costs more per pound than the black cod cheeks it surrounds.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHook-and-Line, Hand-Packed in Klawock\u003c\/strong\u003e: Every black cod is caught one at a time by Fish \u0026amp; Family Seafoods in Sitka using hook-and-line methods. Every can is hand-packed at Wildfish Cannery in Klawock on Prince of Wales Island, Southeast Alaska. No trawlers, no co-packers, ever.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePerfect Pairings\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe Wildfish Way\u003c\/strong\u003e: Warm the sealed tin in a hot water bath for 5 to 10 minutes before opening. The butter liquifies and the cheeks will slide out whole. Eat directly from the tin. This is the correct approach.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWine\u003c\/strong\u003e: Champagne or a good blanc de blancs — the acidity and fine bubbles cut through the richness of the butter without competing with the smoke. A dry Tokaji or white Burgundy works equally well.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eOn Toast or Polenta\u003c\/strong\u003e: Spoon the warm cheeks and all the melted butter over thick toast or a bowl of soft polenta. Do not leave the butter behind — it is the point. Finish with flaky sea salt and black pepper.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIngredients\u003c\/strong\u003e: Wild Alaska Black Cod, Cultured Butter, Sea Salt, Brown Sugar, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, All Natural Hardwood Smoke\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWeight\u003c\/strong\u003e: 3.9 oz \/ 110g\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin\u003c\/strong\u003e: Sitka, Alaska\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFishing Method\u003c\/strong\u003e: Hook-and-line\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAllergens\u003c\/strong\u003e: Contains Milk, Black Cod (fish).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePro tip\u003c\/strong\u003e: Warm the sealed tin in a hot water bath before opening. The cultured butter liquifies, making the cheeks even more ready to eat.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wildfish Cannery","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52619342086433,"sku":"WIL-COD-692","price":39.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0839\/3981\/9809\/files\/FishNookTinnedSeafoodCo_WildfishCannery_SmokedBlackCodCheeksinCulturedButter_HeroImage_Front.jpg?v=1777495094","url":"https:\/\/shopfishnook.com\/products\/smoked-black-cod-cheeks-in-cultured-butter","provider":"FishNook Tinned Seafood Co.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}