West Coast Select Crab Paté
Makes me Crabby
Originally Published: Saturday, February 4, 2023
Specs
Small box, big promises.Background
West Coast Select is a brand offered by Sundance Seafoods in Surrey, BC. My first exposure to the brand was through their selection of salmon-themed souvenir products, such as jerky and smoked salmon. Anyone visiting the west coast of Canada would likely encounter their products sitting on the shelf in a gift shop. I’ve always enjoyed their various salmon products and often purchase them as gifts.
The crab paté has always been a bit of a strange cousin to their regular offering to me. I’ve seen it in stores before but always ignored it until now. As a lover of all sorts of paté and canned seafood, it seems odd that I’ve not reached for this product in the past. I saw it recently in the store for a reasonable price, so I took the opportunity.
Not the golden ticket I hoped it to be.Presentation
The presentation of this product is definitely aimed at gifting. The packaging is thought out and colourful, with some nice font choices on the outer sleeve. I can imagine this being quite an eye-catching item as part of a gift basket. The box itself is a trapezoidal prism, which is a bit unusual and serves to stand it out from the rest of the crowd.
One strange little detail on the packaging is the addition of splatter marks under the words Wild/Sauvage. At first, I thought I bought a stained box, but it’s actually an incorporated design and I honestly don’t know how I feel about it.
The can itself is a soft foil tin, similar to the kind found in some cat-food brands. I am surprised to see that the can contains no identifying information on its shiny gold exterior, meaning it becomes a mystery can if I ditch the box. The soft foil can is lighter than a traditional hard can and saves on weight. As this product often travels on a plane, the minute difference is appreciated as every gram counts in checked baggage.
All in all, the presentation is nice, if a little outdated graphically.
First Impressions
Upon opening the can the comparison to cat food becomes a bit more apt. The first scents that hit the sinuses are the unmistakable aromas of canned fish. I was a bit surprised by how much the product smelled like canned tuna or salmon, so I checked the ingredients list. While crab is indeed the major ingredient in the paté, it also lists sockeye or coho salmon as the second ingredient. This explains the fishiness and the colour of the paté.
The undisturbed paté has a peachy-pink hue and the consistency of well… cat food. Between the unmarked soft can, aroma, and consistency of the product I think I would have a hard time distinguishing it from a can of Fancy Feast.
There is a small pool of liquid at the bottom of the can precipitated from the paté itself. This is normal and expected. Before my first bites I reincorporate the brine by giving the paté a quick mix with a fork, just to fluff it up a bit and make it easier to spread.
Sheba, with a side of toasted baguette crackers.Eat it Meow
There is no doubt crab in the paté. The distinct sweet and savoury umami flavours of a crustacean is jam-packed into the opening seconds of tasting the product. Unfortunately, it’s easy come easy go as the salmon component quickly overtakes and covers up the crab.
It’s also severely under-seasoned. Besides one-two punch of crab and fish at the beginning the paté quickly loses steam and becomes overpowered by even the cracker. There is a distinct lack of salt in the product to the point where I wonder if the product does serve a dual purpose as cat food.
The overall experience is not unlike eating canned tuna flakes preserved in water, an experience that should resonate with most people, and one I generally avoid.
The product is not without its positives, as it has a nice texture that is fluffy and smooth, and it’s easily spreadable.
Over the course of tasting the product, the crab flavour starts to wane and all that is left is the fishy salmon component. I believe this is partially due to flavour fatigue, but also due to the overwhelming nature of the salmon.
As an experiment, I added a dash of salt, a few turns of black pepper, a dash of cayenne, and a sprig of fresh chive on top and it turned into a decently tasty treat, but on its own without modifications it’s underwhelming.
When a product is overpowered by bread, you know it needs more kick.Verdict
While inexpensive, I don’t think I can recommend this product, at least not on its own merits. I think it’s probably quite useful as a base for making a baked dip or filling, but at that point you might as well do things from scratch.
I really wanted to like this product so it was disappointing that I didn’t. I will remain a fan of West Coast Select’s salmon jerkies and lox, but I think I will give their patés a pass in the future.