Tag Archives: seal meat
Fisheries minister says seal is the new lobster
“When properly prepared, it is delicious,” said Lebouthillier at a Senate Fisheries Committee (SFC) meeting. When it comes to seal meat, Lebouthillier called for it to be exploited. “Making it a consumer product is a priority,” she said. “We did it with lobster.” With regulators, she said they must “use this acquired experience.” This means they do not need to reinvent the wheel. The Senate Fisheries Committee sought new markets for seal products since sales collapsed under a 2009 European Union export ban. The trade at its peak in 2006 was worth $34.3 million per year. more, >>click to read<< 11:40
You can cook seal a lot of ways, and they’re actually delicious. Honest.
Seal meat is hard to describe. It’s dark and marrowy, gamy and fishy all at once. While the fat in pork and beef is marbled and intramuscular, seal fat is an omega 3-laden liquid oil that permeates the meat, which means the whole thing is rich in nutrients and has a silky-smooth texture. The market for seal meat is relatively small. Thousands of seals are killed for pelts, and that healthy seal fat is transformed into oil and capsules, but only pockets of people are enjoying the meat. My instinct, when presented with a flipper, is to make a pie. >click to read< 09:26
Quebec company touts lean nutrition and ‘unique’ taste of seal meat
Jonas Gilbart likes his seal steaks rare on the inside with a hard sear on the outside. “I love the taste and I love the nutritional benefits,” he said of a meat choice that’s still outside the food comfort zone for most Canadians. Gilbart’s helping lead a new campaign for Quebec-based supplier SeaDNA touting seal as “the Canadian superfood” with a “unique and inviting taste” similar to beef. “It comes from our backyard, it’s sustainably harvested from our waters and monitored by our government,” Gilbart said from Montreal. click here to read the story 17:16
World-renowned chef Eric Pateman cooks up a statement on seal in Twillingate
Along with his daily business responsibilities, Pateman travels the country and the world, espousing the delights of sustainable, local Canadian ingredients and their role in the country’s culture. In showcasing Canadian products, and with a mind to the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, the executive chef and president of the Edible Canada Bistro, decided to add seal meat to his restaurant’s menu for Canada’s largest food festival, Dine Out Vancouver, in February. This wasn’t done haphazardly. “I did a lot of research,” Pateman explained during a recent visit to Twillingate. “I learned about the sustainability of the product and scrutinized the ethical concerns about the seal hunt. To summarize, I didn’t find it a problem. In fact, the harvesting of seal meat, in my opinion, is certainly more ethical than most of our factory farmed foods. click here to read the story 10:09
Seal meat, a Natural Sustainable Resource – Questions for those who decry seal meat and other Indigenous foods
When a Vancouver chef put seal on the menu this week he attracted some negative attention — but in Nunavut icy chunks of raw whale blubber and seal meat are common fare. Seals are not endangered, so why the aversion to seal dishes in urban Canada? It seems people are still haunted by images from the 1980s of white-furred seal pups clubbed on blood-soaked ice — images that led to cries of inhumane kill practices. These days, the seal slaughter is considered to be as humane as any food-source animal. Seals are shot and ensured to be dead. And Canada now requires mandatory training for sealers to ensure the hunt is humane. “We welcomed the news today that the popular Vancouver restaurant Edible Canada will be offering its own culinary take on East Coast seal meat in a new dish they call seal pappardelle,” said the Canadian Sealers Association. But there are questions for those who decry seal meat and other Indigenous country foods. Read the article here 10:09
Inuit seal meat from Canada may soon be exported to Europe
Seal meat from Canada, produced by Inuit communities, could soon be sold in the European Union (EU) after the EU reported progress was being made on resolving the long-running dispute over these imports. Read the rest here 12:46
Seal Meat: Veal of the Ocean
“The meat is pretty much not like much else you’ve ever eaten,” says Perrin, chef/owner of The Mallard Cottage, a restaurant on the forefront of the new Newfoundland cuisine. “It has that kinda gamey, iron-y, almost kind of organ meat flavor. But when it’s fresh, it has a little taste of the sea. Read the rest here 19:09
Canada ‘racist’ for selling China seal meat, say Chinese activists – (at least Shark Fins are off the table. Today, anyway!)
Chinese animal welfare groups have accused the Canadian government of “racist bias” and “cultural imperialism” for selling their country seal products that have been banned by the European Union. A coalition of more than 40 organisations fired off the furious tirade after officials from Beijing and Ottawa signed a deal today,,,Read more here 07:42
Sealing the meal
Blend skill with imagination, however, and you can do practically anything with seal meat; as chef Chris Sheppard proved at the grand opening of the Sealers Interpretation Centre in Elliston last Thursday. Read more here 10:04
Government invests half-million dollars in seal meat
The Canadian and Newfoundland and Labrador governments are putting $498,000 into a pilot project to develop value-added seal meat products. Gail Shea, the federal fisheries minister, said in St. John’s on Friday that the money will fund a a pilot project to develop frozen and vacuum-packed seal meat and get the products on to store shelves in specialty Canadian and international markets. Sheryl Fink, the director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s Seal campaign, called the seal meat investment a weak ploy to bring legitimacy to what her groups has described as an inhumane commercial hunt for fur. “My first reaction was almost laughter,” said Fink. “Of all of the products to try and develop from seal, I think historically meat has been the most unsuccessful.” Maybe Ms. Fink would join me for some Seal Flipper Stew! more@cbcnews
