Costco Frozen Salmon 2024 – What to Buy and What to Leave!

If you’re a seafood lover, Costco can be your go-to place. Not only do they have variety, but also the best prices in town!

Buying salmon at Costco is great; you can just defrost it and eat it without cooking it (if it’s sushi grade), or cook it! 

And it’s where the idea of getting frozen salmon at Costco comes to your mind. The cheap salmon is indeed a treat at your feast. But what can be the best options at Costco?

This guide is the answer. Let’s give it a mindful read of 10 minutes and enjoy “salmony” bites soon!

Costco Frozen Salmon – Best Picks Review

Let’s look at what options you get for frozen salmon at Costco and what can be the best among these.

Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon at Costco

Costco’s signature brand, Kirkland, sells wild-caught salmon at Costco. It’s sustainably fished with low toxicity levels, which makes it super healthy.

It also tastes absolutely delicious because it doesn’t have ammonia buildup, which means it doesn’t have that ‘fishy’ taste.

The texture is flaky and moist; the ratio is perfect, and it doesn’t get mushy. In addition, it’s rich in salmon taste and freshness. It comes in boneless; in contrast, the regular one has many tiny bones inside it. 

How much does it cost?

Wild Alaskan salmon is pretty expensive out there, but thankfully Costco sells it at excellent wholesale prices. You can get it for about $16.16 per pound. It’s boneless and skinned, so you can have it on the go! 

The whole package is 3 pounds, costing you $48.49.  The ease of preparation makes it a perfect meal.

Grill it bake it, or season it with sauce. It’s your choice!

Nutrition

A 170g serving of sockeye salmon has 290 calories. It has 36 grams of protein and a low-fat level of about 15 grams. It’s rich in omega-3 fatty acids and DHA for a healthy meal.

Kirkland’s Signature Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon at Costco

Kirkland’s Atlantic salmon doesn’t come from the wild like the Sockeye salmon. They raise Atlantic salmon at farms in Chile and Norway from where Costco imports them.

Atlantic salmon is raised on a controlled pellet feed with no antibiotics. 

How does it taste?

It’s super flaky and easy to cook. The salmon flavor is not as rich as it could be. It’s good, but nothing compared to the sockeye. 

Besides this, it’s perfectly safe if you’re worried about the treatment. They aren’t fed any antibiotics.

They might be treated with antimicrobials, though. So, watch out for that.

What’s the price point?

Atlantic salmon is cheaper than sockeye salmon at about $11.33 per pound. Costco sells it in a 3lb bag at about $33.99. This price is very good compared to other stores like Walmart.  

Nutrition

Considering one serving size to be 196g, Atlantic salmon has 320 calories, out of which 31% are from fats such as omega-3. It’s loaded with protein, about 37g, which is less than sockeye.

You can eat it raw too, that’s one advantage over the sockeye because as it’s farmed, it’s safer to eat raw.

New Zealand King Salmon Costco

King salmon is a superb quality “Wagyu salmon,” especially this kind, imported from New Zealand, where it’s raised in cold waters to help grow large with marbling and less bones. 

It’s called the ‘Wagyu of the seafood’ thanks to the marbling and taste. It’s flaky and holds up well without the mushiness.

Overall, The taste is light and creamy, and slightly sweet. It’s ravishing!

And the size and richness are way better than even the sockeye salmon. They can weigh up to 135 pounds!  

How much does it cost?

King salmon is super expensive, and it fetches up to $70 on the market. Costco sells it much cheaper though at about $25 per pound, so that you can enjoy it without the heavy burden on your pocket.

Nutrition

One 154-gram serving has 356 calories, which means it’s heavier than the other salmon. There are 40g of protein in it, so you don’t have to worry about the lack of protein!

It also has 21 grams of fat, but they’re healthy Omega-3 fats.

Northwest King Salmon

Next up, we have the Northwest king salmon. It’s also rich in taste and highly succulent, with flavor and deep red-colored flesh.

Northwest harvest king salmon in the pacific ocean, and it’s even more expensive than New Zealand king salmon!

Having all the attributes of King salmon, Northwest salmon has an exactly premium quality salmon taste and huge size.

Unlike the New Zealand king salmon, they’re also wild-caught via hook to preserve quality.

How much do they cost?

Northwest king salmon is also expensive compared to other kinds of salmon. Costco sells them at about $30 per pound, which is expensive considering this is the wholesale price. At grocery stores, they sell for much higher.

Nutritional Information

A 100g serving size has about 152 calories, of which 9% are from fat, and a whopping 42% are from protein! It’s packed with Omega-3 and vitamin D, so it’s super healthy.

Northwest White King Salmon

Like the Sockeye Northwest king, they catch this salmon in Alaskan waters. It’s an exceptional delicacy with a lower price tag, so you can enjoy it without the burden. It has a buttery taste and a silky texture. Other than that, it has all the attributes of a king salmon.

Is it expensive?

White king salmon is less expensive than other types of king salmon. The reason is that it’s caught on Alaskan shores instead of the Pacific. Costco sells them at $22 per pound, which is reasonable considering their taste.

Nutrition

A 100g serving of white salmon has more calories than red king salmon, about 231 calories. You get 13g of fat and nearly 26 grams of protein. Like other salmon types, it’s rich in Omega-3 and DHA for a healthy lifestyle.

FAQs

What kinds of salmon can you get at Costco?

You should always get frozen salmon at Costco. Did you know that even the unfrozen one in the ‘fresh’ section is frozen first? Yes, that’s right! After catching the fish, they freeze it, so frozen salmon might even be fresher than the ‘fresh’ salmon at Costco.

You can get two basic types of frozen salmon at Costco, wild-caught and farm-raised. Let’s look at how they differ. Furthermore, “Costco fresh salmon” has worms which are common with all fresh salmon, no matter where you get it from.

Salmon caught in the wild

Wild-caught salmon is caught off the shore of Alaska, and they thrive on a healthy diet of shrimps and krill. This not only makes them more flavorful but also gives the flesh a deep-red color. The carotenoids in the diet are responsible for color.

They have that traditional ‘salmon’ taste, making them highly sought after by customers.

Salmon raised on a farm.

Farm-raised salmon comes in two types: Atlantic salmon and New Zealand King salmon. The most sold is Atlantic salmon because it’s readily available and cheap. Atlantic salmon has a highly controlled pellet feed which gives their flesh a greyish color. 

They synthetically dye the flesh in the feed, giving them a pinkish-orange color. King salmon‌ is super expensive but delicious.

Farmed Vs. Wild-caught salmon, which is better?

Honestly, it highly depends on what you’re looking for. Some people prefer wild-caught while others prefer farm-raised. 

You might be concerned that farm-raised salmon is treated with anti-microbial and pesticides. Yet, on the other hand, you don’t know the water purity level in which the wild-caught fish has been raised. Nutrition-wise, wild-caught salmon may have more protein and vitamins.

Wild-caught salmon is also more sustainable than farmed salmon, so that’s another plus point in choosing. You should weigh the benefits and choose your favorite salmon. You might even like the taste of farm-raised salmon more than wild-caught salmon!

How does frozen salmon fare compare to fresh salmon?

Frozen salmon is pre-filleted, so you can just pull them out and defrost them for a quick dinner. You’ll need to fillet a fresh salmon yourself. Besides, Costco ‘flash freezes’ fresh salmon to kill harmful parasites too, so there shouldn’t be a difference in quality. 

However, the complaints of parasites in wild salmon are frequent, which can be disgusting. The truth is salmon, and all other seas food, have roundworms (wild-caught or farm-raised), but they’re more noticeable in the orange color of salmon due to color contrast. 

You still think it’s Yucky!

Don’t worry; you can cook your salmon at 145 degrees to kill them. Likewise, freezing the salmon at -4 degrees F for 1 week also kills them, and what you have is sushi-grade salmon.

How can you remove roundworms from salmon?

Yes, it’s possible to easily remove worms from Costco salmon, thanks to its bright orange color that lets no worm camouflage. 

Place the fish fillet under bright light and spot the worm carefully. Remove them using tweezers.

How long does Costco Frozen salmon last?

If you haven’t opened the packaging, the frozen salmon will last until the date marked on the package. If you thaw it out and place it in the refrigerator, then it’ll be safe to eat for only about 4-5 days.

Can you refreeze Costco frozen salmon?

It’s okay to refreeze Costco frozen salmon as long as you don’t worry about the quality much because it’ll certainly decrease if you thaw it out and freeze it again.

Conclusion

Now that you have good knowledge of the Frozen salmon they sell at Costco, you can buy the perfect salmon for your next dinner after carefully weighing the benefits. If you want good taste at a low price, go for the Sockeye, but if you’re looking to splurge, then king salmon for the win!