Cost of Sea Bass

[amber]

I've never tried sea bass, but saw a recipe on Giada D' laurentis (everyday italian) on foodnetwork. Anyway it called for sea bass. I called my grocery store to ask the price. My jaw dropped, it was $21 per pound and fresh frozen! Is that a typical price for sea bass?

I ended up buying fresh haddock for this recipe ($5.99 per pound)

[ironchef]

Originally Posted by amber

I've never tried sea bass, but saw a recipe on Giada D' laurentis (everyday italian) on foodnetwork. Anyway it called for sea bass. I called my grocery store to ask the price. My jaw dropped, it was $21 per pound and fresh frozen! Is that a typical price for sea bass?

I ended up buying fresh haddock for this recipe ($5.99 per pound)

I would think that you would be able to get the Atlantic Black Sea Bass (my personal favorite) for a relatively cheaper price than most other places in the U.S. because of your proximity. Depending on the availability, supply/demand, competition, etc. the price will be different wherever you are. The only sea bass that I can recall paying that much for was Hapu'upu'u (Hawaiian Sea Bass) which was almost $28 per pound at one point. Then there's Chilean Seabass (Patagonian Toothfish) which is very pricey now and which we do not serve due to overfishing. Usually we can get most types of Sea Bass between $7-$16 per pound depending on availability, but that's directly from the vendors. In the stores it would be a little more.

[marmalady]

Amber, remember you can sub out 'like' kinds of fish in recipes; if you can't get sea bass, any sweet, firm-fleshed fish is fine.

And, IC, glad to hear you're not using the 'Chilean' sea bass; although it's a fantastic fish, you're absolutely right that it's been fished almost to extinction.

[amber]

Thank you ironchef and marmalady. I had no idea there were so many differents kinds of sea bass. I will definately stay clear of chilean sea bass. Thanks!