Adding Value with Portioned Seafood Cuts

March 31, 2023

Restaurants are seeing lots of movement and volume. As the summer months draw closer, those hungry guests are going to crave a little surf with their turf. But the preparation of seafood takes time and skill that most food-service establishments just don’t have right now, due to post-Covid labor shortages. So, what’s a Chef to do? Halperns' has you covered with portioned seafood options that save you time and money.

Portioned Chilean Sea Bass Filet Delight in the convenience and quality of our perfectly portioned Chilean sea bass filets, ready to elevate your culinary creations.

Creating a menu that meets demand, drives profitability, and works within staffing issues is truly a balancing act. In addition to our premium and exclusive products, we also offer a wide selection of innovative portion cuts that you might consider adding to your offerings.

The “value” in portion cuts is not because the product is of lesser quality, but in what we are doing for you and your BOH staff. By ordering pre-packaged, pre-cut, prepared seafood, you’re saving time, money, food waste, and the potential for injury.

Why Use Portion Cuts?

We’ve all done it: you intend to cut an 8 oz. portion of fish, but you somehow end up with a 10 oz. portion. This then leaves you short for the night, costing you money, and your seafood special is practically over before it started. When you break down your own protein, it’s easy to over-portion, undercut, and eat away at your budget with time spent on labor and special talent.

Well, you probably know what we’re going to say next. When you order portioned cuts of fish, this doesn’t happen. The value you get:

  • 100% yield
  • Portion consistency every time
  • No food waste
  • Reduced risk of injury
  • Time and labor savings
  • Speed to prepare, plate, and serve
  • Preserve valuable cooler and freezer space
  • Reduced risk of contamination in the kitchen
  • Inventory control and management from purchase to profit
  • Cost control

Seafood Portioning and Cuts

Something that sets Halperns’ apart is the fact that we can break down proteins into whatever cut you desire. Larger distributors can’t – and won’t – do that. So, how many ways can we break down a whole fish?

  • Block Cut
  • Square Cut
  • Black Diamond Cut
  • Straight Cut
  • Bias Cut
  • Candy Bar Cut
  • V-Cut
  • Boot Strap Cut
  • Butterfly Cut
  • Fillet Skin On and Skin Off
  • Breadloaf
  • Osso Boucco Cut
  • Belly off Loin
  • No Skin, No Chain, No Bloodline

The Whole Packaging

Seafood packaging technology has come a long way. And it really does make a big difference. If you’re in fresh fish, you know that you’ve gotta be using the 10K OTR bag.

So, what is the 10K OTR Bag?

Well, 10K film is made of highly permeable material and is FDA-approved for packaging fresh fish. The high-shrinkage material provides a skin- tight, oxygen-permeable barrier while keeping seepage and purge out of the product. The skin-tight 10K OTR vacuum bags also allow the product to be rapidly chilled and shipped at the lowest possible temperature.

Fish contains a bacteria called Clostridium botulinum, a common and totally natural-occurring natural bacteria. It only grows well in an environment without oxygen, like vacuum-sealed fish. The 10K OTR vacuum bag is oxygen-permeable, meaning seafood can be sealed from environmental contaminants like bacteria, dirt, or chemicals while allowing oxygen to pass the sealed barrier. Mr. Halpern, the guy who started it all, was actually the one that said he wanted to put the tech into fresh fish. We have held to that in all of our facilities.

Longer Lasting

Outside of the 10K OTR packaging, we have a number of other protocols in our plants to extend the shelf-life of your seafood. We give our seafood a splash of ozonated water before we package it up. We use ozonated water to disinfect our facilities, too, because it kills bacteria within seven seconds of contact. Clean, fresh, delicious fish that will stay that way until it hits the frying pan, grill, or oven.

Portion Cuts ≠ Compromise

Think you’ve got to compromise on quality or product type with portion cuts? Nope! Because of Halperns’ in-house cut shops, there are no boundaries. We’re open to whatever you’d like to explore, whether that’s a brand-new way to cut seafood or something super special for your menu.

Once we establish what you’d like us to portion out for you, we conduct yield testing for how much loss of product there will be. We can work through your methodologies, whether that’s on a contract basis or a one time execution.

Ready to take the plunge into portioned seafood cuts? Our inboxes and phone lines are open!

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