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Seattle’s Sena Sea is catching comfort with black cod

By Naomi Tomky, Special to the SeattlePI

Black cod

Black cod

Courtesy of Sena Sea

Sena Wheeler’s family has caught and sold fish in the Northwest for generations, but the newest product that her local seafood company has up on its website is a special one.

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“It feels more vulnerable when it’s a family recipe,” she says. But the roots of Sena Sea’s marinated ginger black cod go back even further than the recipe itself, intertwined with Wheeler’s Northwest fishing heritage and the goal she has for her company: to help people understand that fish can be easy and uncomplicated.

“So many people are not comfortable cooking it, or they only order it at restaurants,” says Wheeler, so in putting out the frozen marinated black cod — which just needs to defrost in the package then goes straight into the oven — she aimed for a dish that is all about convenience and building confidence.

The recipe itself is a treasured family favorite — the one she makes for her sister when she visits, the one she served to represent her side for their wedding (along with salmon, which is what her husband Rich was fishing for at the time), the one that always tastes of nostalgia.

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Fishing for salmon

Fishing for salmon

Courtesy of Sena Sea/Stryka Media

Wheeler’s grandfather and great-uncles immigrated from Norway and started fishing on boats out of Ballard in 1938. “Everyone fished for halibut back then,” says Sena, but her father, recently married into the family and finding his place as the new guy on board, pushed for finding sablefish, also known as black cod.

Art, Sena’s father, mentioned that he had heard about people fishing about black cod. The two fish use the same boats and gear, and it seemed like an easy switch, but the old Norwegians were less enthused. Sena’s grandfather said no, but her great-uncle Otto was open to the idea: Otto planned to continue fishing solely for halibut, he said, but Art was welcome to use the boat to give black cod a try.

The older generation ended up impressed as Art showed the increasing value of black cod. The rich, fatty fish had little in common with the white fishes they knew. “All other white fish cook the same,” says Sena. “But not black cod, it’s too oily to fry.” So, while Art found success with it, the product all got sent off to Japan, where customers knew and appreciated the unique fish.

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“For years, we didn’t eat it, because we didn’t know what to do with it,” says Sena. “Few Americans did.” Then her parents ended up at an auction where the chef had prepared black cod. “Holy heck, what have we been missing out on,” thought her father upon tasting it. He went into the kitchen and introduced himself, where the chef walked him through how to cook it — which he did from then on, and often. “That smell became my comfort food,” says Sena.

Sena and Rich Wheeler run Seattle's Sena Sea

Sena and Rich Wheeler run Seattle's Sena Sea

Courtesy of Sena Sea

Sena and Rich now run Sena Sea, a seafood company based in Seattle, along with their children, who join the boat from time to time as the fourth generation of fishermen in the family. Though they once sold at Seattle farmers markets, Sena Sea has transitioned to selling almost all of their fish online, along with one Wenatchee Farmers Market.

“We sell as much in New York as we do in Seattle,” Sena says. And that means they run into plenty of customers who need that extra nudge of confidence to try out a fish they haven’t cooked before.

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Asian glazed black cod 

Asian glazed black cod 

Courtesy of Sena Sea

By sharing a pre-made version of her family’s own favorite, she hopes to help other people understand just how wonderful black cod is. While the pre-marinated version they sell just needs defrosting, the original recipe doesn’t require that much more work — and sits on Sena Sea’s website if you want to make it yourself.

Seattle-based writer Naomi Tomky explores the world with a hungry eye, digging into the intersection of food, culture and travel. She is an Association of Food Journalists and Lowell Thomas award-winner, and the author of "The Pacific Northwest Seafood Cookbook." Follow her culinary travels and hunger-inducing ramblings on Twitter @Gastrognome and Instagram @the_gastrognome.