For the Best Deal on Salmon, Buy It at Costco

Unless your household income allows for flying in fresh salmon straight from a boat or paying specialty purveyors big bucks for perfectly portioned fillets, you’ve got to shop around a bit to find the best deal.

Luckily, you don’t even have to put your shoes on, because I’m here to tell you that I’ve been buying Kirkland Signature Fresh Farmed Atlantic Salmon Fillet for as long as I’ve been a Costco member—more than 20 years! You can get a great price for consistently high-quality salmon.

You’ll find this salmon in the seafood section—next to the meat section—inside the deep fridges. It comes in a long, plastic-wrapped tray, sometimes in six to eight individual portions, and sometimes as one whole fillet. Depending on the time of year, it runs $9.99 to $12.49 per pound. I’ve even seen it on sale for $4.99 per pound right before big holiday breaks when the store closes.

Costco charges an additional 50 cents to a dollar per pound for removing the skin and portioning. The smartest deal is to get the skin-on, whole fillet. If there's a sale or if I know there are busy weeks ahead, I'll buy two or three at a time.

How To Prep Salmon at Home—It's So Easy

Here’s what I recommend you do when you bring the salmon home:

Give the fish a quick rinse under cold running water to remove any rogue scales stuck to the flesh. Lay it on a cutting board, skin-side down, and dab it dry with a paper towel. The fish is deboned, but just in case, run your finger over the flesh and pinch out any pin bones with your fingers (or tweezers, if you have them). I always find one or two that are easy to pull out.

Use a chef’s knife to cut the fish into individual portions—two to three inches wide. Portioned salmon fillets are smaller and cook faster than a whole piece. It’s a matter of five to 10 minutes in the oven, and when my kids’ bedtime is 8 p.m., every minute matters.

Don’t remove the skin. It isn’t worth the effort. Bake the salmon skin-side down—the skin acts as a barrier between the flesh and the baking dish. Leave it behind on the dish when you lift the salmon to serve. I enjoy the skin, so I eat my portion and everyone else’s.

At this point, you can cook the fish or freeze it for later. To freeze, place the portions in a zip-top bag and store them in the freezer for about a month.

My Favorite Way To Cook Salmon

The absolute worst salmon is stringy, dry, and stinky. On the other hand, no one can resist it when it’s so tender and buttery it flakes at the touch. The time between these counterparts is mere minutes when you grill or pan-sear the fish.

Having cooked salmon for more than two decades, I can say that baking it slowly in a low oven consistently delivers great results. The ideal range is 275°F to 300°F for no more than 30 minutes when cooking a whole fillet and about 15 minutes for smaller fillets. It’s nearly impossible to overcook. You can even forget it in there for a few extra minutes, and the fish will still turn out well.

Be generous with the olive oil you drizzle over the fillet, and season it with your favorite flavors. What’s mine? Must I tell you all my secrets? Well, of course I must!

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