Lamb can be a welcome change of pace from beef or pork, and it pairs well with so many flavors, making it fun to cook and even more fun to eat! Looking for the right cut and superior quality of lamb for your spring recipes? Plum Market is very excited to feature our favorite:  Mountain State Rosen (MSR), coming to you fresh from our butcher cases.

We love MSR and here’s why:

MSR lamb is 100% born and raised in the US by families of ranchers and growers who are dedicated to their land, their animals, and their trade. The lamb comes from MSR’s own co-op family of ranchers, primarily in the Western States.

Mountain States Rosen was the first company to offer an All Natural, Never Ever lamb program, ensuring the animals never receive antibiotics or added hormones.  Their vertical integration ensures “best in class” products from the feed,  to processing,  and delivery.

Mountain States Rosen is committed to producing the highest quality lamb in a responsible manner, focusing on 5 pillars of sustainability:  Animal Care-in-Production, Environmental Quality, Economic Viability, Social Viability, and Community Support.  All of these standards combine to help make Mountain States Rosen producers of the highest quality lamb.

Now, how to cook it…

We’ve scoured the World (wide web) to find some of the tastiest lamb recipes around, so check out these, and some other great recipes for Spring on our Pinterest board!

If you are a lover of tinned fish, Cole’s Brand is a must try.  And if you’re not a fan of tinned fish, put your adventure pants on and try some!  The smoked rainbow trout is lightly smoky with a hint of nuttiness and packed in olive oil for a velvety smooth texture.  You will be amazed at the flavor and quality of this often-mocked pantry staple.  They are delicious served on a piece of toasted bread or cracker with avocado and lemon juice or eaten straight from the tin.  They offer varieties of wild mackerel and sardines as well, all of which are equally delicious.

We are now featuring All Natural Grass-fed beef from Great Northern Cattle Company.  This beef gets its great flavor from the 100% grass-fed diet, plus it’s aged for 21 days. The cattle are raised exclusively on unconfined pastures and are never fed any grains, corn, animal by-products, bakery by-products, potatoes or sugar beets.

The beef from this Montana ranch is all humanely raised without antibiotics or growth hormones.  This healthy approach ensures the beef is rich in heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids and CLA, as well as being high in “good” unsaturated fats.  This is beef that is good for you and that you can enjoy eating!  Check out Great Northern Cattle Co.’s website for more information.

http://greatnortherncattle.com/Grass_Fed.html

NEW!  Jet-Fresh Wild Caught Fish, Delivered Daily from Hawaii

Visit our Seafood Counter for some new heavenly fresh selections flown in daily from Hawaii! Our Hawaiian fish are selected one-by-one by Sashimi experts, a process that requires patience and adherence to a strict code of quality. Just 2% of all the fish landed in Hawaii are selected to meet this grade: onlly the strongest, freshest, richest oil content, and candy-like texture make the cut.

Take these jet-fresh selections home tonight:

(Selection Varies Daily At Each Store)

Hawaiian Swordfish: Hawaiian Swordfish are caught on long line fishing gear in the colder currents of Hawaiian waters. The trips are very short ensuring that the freshness is superior to other versions found on the market. When Sword meat has a clean, slight pink hue and buttery moisture like this, you can refer to it as Shutome- the Japanese name for sashimi-grade Sword. Under high-heat applications, oil enables moist firming yet no mushy texture.

Walu: Only insiders know about Walu and its rare oil which is unique to only a few species. One of the two best-tasting fish in the world. Walu has a rich, buttery flavor that is luscious cooked and a delicacy raw. This exotic sashimi grade fish is also known as “white tuna” because of its rich oil content and tuna-like texture. Density and high moisture retention make this a versatile fish to prepare and a valuable commodity raw. Its paper-white color marks up especially well on the grill.

Nairagi: Visible fat marbling makes it a shame to cook this grade of Nairagi. Extremely rare and reminiscent of Ahi Toro for its valuable oil content, this is a sashimi lover’s dream. When cooked, its presentation-like cream orange color turns to a mild pink and maintains moisture. Raw Nairagi is a little-known secret of the Hawaiian Islands. Texture qualities offer a dancy-smooth firmness which makes great tartar, poke, or simply sliced.

Chef de Cuisine, Len Schneider, makes Honey Lime Glazed Salmon for the team at Fox 2 Detroit.  (Get the recipe below)

Honey Lime Glazed Salmon: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Honey Lime Glazed Salmon

w/ Quinoa & Black Bean Salad

For this recipe you will need (4) 8oz. portions of Salmon with the skin removed. Keep these under refrigeration until the time of use.

For the Honey Lime Glaze:
(Prepare ahead of time, and chill before use)

2T Garlic, minced
½ Cup Lime Juice
1 Cup Honey
1 Chipotle in Adobo Sauce
1T Olive Oil

In a medium hot sauté pan, heat the oil. Add the minced Garlic and cook until tender. Do not allow to brown. Add the Lime Juice and reduce by 1/2. Add Honey and bring to a simmer. Smash the Chipotle with a knife and float it in the simmering glaze for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to chill.

For the Quinoa & Black Bean Salad:
(Prepare ahead of time, and chill before use)

Ingredients:

3 Cups, Quinoa, cooked, chilled
½Cup, Black Beans, canned, rinsed
½ Cup, Sweet Corn Kernels, fresh or frozen
¼ Cup, Roasted Red Pepper, small dice
¼ Cup, Carrot, small dice
¼ Cup, Cucumber, seeded, small dice
¼ Cup, Tomato, seeded, small dice
¼ Cup, Garlic Expressions Vinaigrette
2T Parsley, Chopped
½t Cumin
½t Kosher Salt
½ t Black Pepper, ground

Method: Prepare all ingredients and gently fold them together in a mixing bowl. Will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Executing the Honey Lime Glazed Salmon:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Pre-heat sauté pan over medium heat
3. Gather the Salmon, 2T Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Kosher Salt & Pepper, and honey lime glaze.

In an oven safe, non stick pan, over medium heat, heat the olive oil until it shimmers.

Liberally season the salmon and when the oil is hot, place into the sauté pan presentation side down first.

Cook the salmon for 1-2 minutes until it is golden brown and flip over. At this point you will brush about 1T of Honey Lime Glaze on it and place it into the oven. It will take approximately 10 minutes to cook. At least twice during the cooking, you’ll want to brush a bit more glaze on it. Once the salmon is done (about 140 degrees) apply one final touch of glaze on it.

To serve:
Spoon about 6oz of Quinoa & Black Bean Salad on to a plate. Place Salmon, offset, on top. Garnish with Lime. Enjoy.

Plum Market is excited to have Skuna Bay Salmon out of Vancouver Island’s Pacific waters within its amazing fresh seafood repertoire. The waters are fed by glaciers and have the perfect balance of salinity, strong tidal currents, and cold temperatures.

Skuna Salmon see’s one of the highest water-to-salmon ratios in the industry with 98.5% available open water which lends a lot a room for the salmon to be in constant motion, allowing the fish to develop strong, healthy tissue.

Skuna hand selects each fish by looking for silver scales, red gills, a thick muscular belly, no blemishes and always firm and thick texture.  Because of these high quality standards, only 6% of the salmon are selected each harvest.  Once harvested, the salmon is cold packed in recyclable packaging and sealed at the farm.  The next person to open that package–only 2 days later– is a Plum Market Team Member.

We encourage you to learn more about Skuna Bay and their award-winning Aquaculture practices on the Skuna Website.

Anyone can make a dinner reservation, so why not make a thoughtfully romantic meal at home?

We have Lobster Tails for Valentine’s Day! Nothing says Passion like Lobster. These 6-7oz. Cold Water Lobster Tails are only $10.99/ea (regular $16.99) through February 14th, while supplies last. Try our simple but mouth-watering Grilled Lobster Tail Recipe that is sure to impress your date:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lobster tails (6-7 ounces each)
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 tsp Fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• Dash pepper
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 1 lemon, squeezed
• Lemon wedges and additional melted butter, optional

DIRECTIONS:

• Split lobster tails in half lengthwise. With cut side up and using scissors, cut along the edge of shell to loosen the cartilage covering the tail meat from the shell; remove and discard cartilage.
• Pour water into a 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; place lobster tails in dish. Combine the parsley, salt and pepper; sprinkle over lobster. Drizzle with butter and lemon juice.
• Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until meat is firm and opaque. Serve with lemon wedges and melted butter if desired.
  

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No, it’s not a typo.  Michigan does have shrimp.  Russ Allen, Michigan’s world-class “shrimpman”, is a Lansing area native.  After graduating from the School of Natural Resources at UofM with a degree in fisheries management in the late 70s, he guided sea turtle viewing trips in the Galapagos Islands.  When coastal Ecuadorans began to successfully farm shrimp on a large scale, Russ was hired to help develop the world’s first large shrimp farming models.  Russ then developed shrimp farms in Ecuador, Belize, and Mexico for the next twenty years and became a world renowned expert in shrimp culture.  When he moved back to MI in the mid-90s, he began to experiment with growing shrimp near East Lansing, where naturally saline water is abundant.  Michigan Shrimp Farms (MSF) was born. 

The system Russ has developed over the past 20 years is a bio-secure, environmentally safe, and climate-controlled process that requires zero use of antibiotics and chemicals producing naturally healthy shrimp. Inspectors from the World Wildlife Foundation’s sustainable seafood program visited Russ’ operation in 2008 and determined it to be “the most sustainable aquaculture model in the world”.  

In short, MSF shrimp are:

So, next time you’re in Plum Market we encourage you to stop by the seafood counter and ask a Team Member about taking home some fresh Michigan shrimp—it’s definitely worth a try!