Sablefish and Salmon are different fish, but they're close enough in the kitchen to stand in for one another.
Anoplopomatidae
Sablefish
Sablefish is sold nearly everywhere as black cod, and it is not a cod — Anoplopoma fimbria is the sole commercial member of its own family, a deep-water North Pacific fish caught on longlines from Oregon to the Bering Sea. The name matters less than the fat. It carries the highest oil content of any Alaskan whitefish, around 15 percent, which is why the flesh is pearly white, breaks into unusually large silky flakes, and is close to impossible to overcook: the fat keeps it moist long after a halibut of the same thickness has dried out. That richness is what made it the classic fish for miso marinade in Japan, where it is gindara, and the reason a black cod fillet costs several times what a true cod does. Two naming confusions are worth carrying to the counter. In Spanish it is bacalao negro, but so — loosely and often — is Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides), the fish sold in English as Chilean sea bass and in Argentina and Chile as merluza negra; they are unrelated, from opposite hemispheres, though both are fatty white deep-water fish and cook similarly. And in English, sablefish is regularly muddled with the black scabbardfish of Madeira and mainland Portugal, another dark deep-water species with a comparable reputation and a completely different body.
Full guide →Salmonidae
Salmon
Atlantic salmon is one of the world's most widely consumed fish, prized for its rich, fatty flesh and distinctive pink-orange color from carotenoids in its diet. Farmed Atlantic salmon dominates supermarket shelves globally while wild Pacific species are prized in North America. It has a buttery, mild flavor and is suited to grilling, baking, pan-searing, and smoking.
Full guide →The honest substitute for black cod is not a cod at all — it is a fatty fish. Both carry enough oil to stay moist under a sweet miso or soy glaze and under hard heat, which is exactly what a lean white fillet cannot do. King salmon is the closest match for richness.
| Country | Sablefish | Salmon |
|---|
| 🇺🇸United States | Sablefish | Salmon |
| 🇬🇧United Kingdom | Black cod | Salmon |
| 🇫🇷France | Morue charbonnière | Saumon |
| 🇪🇸Spain | Bacalao negro | Salmón |
| 🇦🇷Argentina | — | Salmón |
| 🇲🇽Mexico | Bacalao negro | Salmón |
| 🇵🇹Portugal | — | Salmão |
| 🇧🇷Brazil | — | Salmão |
| 🇮🇹Italy | — | Salmone |
| 🇩🇪Germany | Kohlenfisch | Lachs |
$175.00–$495.00 · Free US shipping (except Hawaii) · Alaska Gold Seafood
The black cod that Japanese restaurants marinate in miso
- ·Line-caught Anoplopoma fimbria — not a cod
- ·The highest oil content of any Alaskan whitefish
- ·Skin-on boneless portions, vacuum-sealed
- ·5, 10 or 20 lb box
Alaskan Sablefish (Black Cod) Portions
Affiliate link — CarneAtlas may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Price checked 31 Aug 2026.
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