Black cod vs cod: black cod is sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria), a deep-water North Pacific fish from a different family that is not a cod at all. Its flesh carries about 15 g of fat per 100 g, more than twenty times what cod carries, which makes it buttery, velvety and rich where true cod is lean, mild and flaky.
Order black cod when you want a silky, high-fat fish that stays moist under a broiler and takes a glaze. Order cod when you want a neutral white fish for frying, baking or chowder.
Black cod vs cod at a glance
| Black cod (sablefish) | Cod | |
|---|---|---|
| Taxonomy | Anoplopoma fimbria, family Anoplopomatidae, order Scorpaeniformes; not a cod | Gadus morhua (Atlantic) and Gadus macrocephalus (Pacific), cod family Gadidae |
| Other names | Sablefish, butterfish, black cod, coalfish, skil | Atlantic cod; Pacific cod, Alaska cod, gray cod, true cod |
| Where it lives | Northeastern Pacific from Mexico to the Bering Sea; adults on mud bottoms deeper than 650 ft | North Atlantic (Greenland to North Carolina) and North Pacific; roughly 30–800 ft |
| Size and lifespan | Harvested fish typically 5–7 lb; lives more than 90 years | Atlantic cod reaches 51 in and 77 lb and lives 20+ years; Pacific cod grows to about 6 ft |
| Flavor | Rich, sweet, buttery; “exceptionally flavorful” (NOAA) | Mild and clean; Atlantic sweeter than Pacific (NOAA) |
| Texture | “Soft, velvety texture” with “large, white flakes” (NOAA) | Lean and flaky; large flakes, less firm than haddock |
| Fat per 100 g raw (USDA) | 15.3 g | 0.67 g (Atlantic cod) |
| Omega-3 EPA+DHA per 100 g raw (USDA) | 1.4 g | 0.18 g |
| Price | Premium: “among the highest-valued finfish per pound” in Alaska and West Coast fisheries (NOAA); about $1.50 per pound at the dock in 2024 versus 28 cents for Pacific cod | Moderate; varies by cut and origin |
| Best cooking methods | Broiled with miso glaze, roasted, grilled skin-on, smoked | Baked, poached, battered and fried, chowder |
| Nutrition per 100 g raw (USDA) | 195 kcal, 13.4 g protein, 15.3 g fat, 3.2 g saturated | 82 kcal, 17.8 g protein, 0.67 g fat, 0.13 g saturated |
| Mercury (FDA) | 0.361 ppm mean; “Good Choice” (one serving a week in pregnancy) | 0.111 ppm mean; “Best Choice” |
| Sustainability | US stocks not overfished; longline and pot fishery, MSC-certified since 2006 | Pacific cod not overfished; US Atlantic cod overfished and rebuilding |
Dock prices: 2024 NOAA landings value divided by pounds landed. Retail prices vary; check current prices.
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Is black cod the same as cod?
No. NOAA states that sablefish “is not actually part of the cod family” despite the black cod name. Cod belongs to the family Gadidae; sablefish sits in its own family, Anoplopomatidae, in the order Scorpaeniformes.
NOAA lists black cod, butterfish, skil, beshow and coalfish as its other names; “butterfish,” it explains, comes from the “melt-in-your-mouth, oil-rich meat.” True cod is two species, Atlantic and Pacific; what cod tastes like covers both.
What does black cod taste like compared with cod?
Rich, buttery and sweet versus lean and neutral. NOAA says sablefish “have high oil content, making them exceptionally flavorful,” with a “soft, velvety texture” and “large, white flakes.” Alaska Seafood calls it “prized for its rich melt-in-your-mouth flavor and succulent, velvety texture,” and its fact sheet describes the fish as “sweet and delicate yet intensely flavorful.”
Cod is the opposite profile: NOAA’s words are “mild clean flavor” and “large flakes” for Atlantic cod, “lean and flaky” for Pacific cod. If cod is a blank canvas, black cod is closer to a fatty salmon belly or Chilean sea bass in richness, with a whiter, more delicate flake than either. Full tasting notes are in what sablefish tastes like.
Black cod vs cod nutrition: fat and omega-3
Black cod is a fatty fish; cod is one of the leanest. USDA FoodData Central lists raw sablefish at 195 calories, 13.4 g protein and 15.3 g fat per 100 g, with 0.68 g EPA and 0.72 g DHA, about 1.4 g of long-chain omega-3s. Raw Atlantic cod has 82 calories, 17.8 g protein and 0.67 g fat, with 0.06 g EPA and 0.12 g DHA, about 0.18 g. Gram for gram, black cod delivers roughly eight times the omega-3 of cod and more than double the calories. Alaska Seafood’s cooked-portion figures run higher still: 250 calories, 20 g fat and 1,800 mg omega-3 per 100 g.
Mercury tilts the other way. FDA’s survey found a mean of 0.361 ppm in sablefish against 0.111 ppm in cod. FDA places sablefish on its “Good Choices” list (one serving a week for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding) and cod on “Best Choices” (two to three servings a week).
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Why is black cod so expensive?
Because it is slow-growing, deep-living and prized for its oil. NOAA calls sablefish “among the highest-valued finfish per pound in Alaska and West Coast commercial fisheries, due to oil content.” The 2024 US catch was 64 million pounds worth $96 million, about $1.50 per pound at the dock; Pacific cod landed 375 million pounds for $106 million, about 28 cents.
It lives deeper than 650 feet, can pass 90 years old, and is caught mostly on longlines and in pots, per NOAA. Alaska’s fresh season runs March through mid-November; frozen fish is sold year-round.
What is miso black cod?
The signature dish of chef Nobu Matsuhisa. Known in Japanese as gindara saikyoyaki, it steeps the fillet for two to three days in a marinade of white (shiro) miso, sugar, mirin and sake, then broils it until the surface caramelizes. Matsuhisa told Saveur, “My recipe has never changed in the last 30 years.” The dish works because of the fat: the sweet miso crust forms while the oily flesh stays silky underneath, a trick lean cod cannot pull off.
Smoked sablefish is the other classic. Alaska Seafood’s fact sheet calls black cod “perfect for smoking” and lists it as a premium whitefish for “smoking, sautéing, poaching or roasting.” Smoked “sable” is a deli-counter staple alongside lox.
How to cook black cod vs cod
Black cod forgives; cod does not. The oil keeps sablefish moist through a hot broiler, a grill or a 425°F oven, so cook it skin-on at high heat until the flakes separate, and pair it with sharp or salty glazes (miso, soy, citrus) that cut the richness.
Cod needs the opposite care. With under 1 g of fat, it dries out within a minute or two of overcooking, which is why it is baked with butter, poached in milk, or protected by batter in fish and chips. For other lean swaps, see cod vs tilapia and halibut vs cod; pollock vs cod covers cod’s cheaper cousin.
Which is more sustainable?
Both are managed US fisheries, with black cod the cleaner story. NOAA reports that both sablefish stocks are not overfished and not subject to overfishing, and that longline and pot gear have minimal habitat effects. The fishery has held Marine Stewardship Council certification since 2006, and Alaska Seafood states that Alaska holds the largest black cod population in the world. Pacific cod is not overfished; US Atlantic cod stocks are, with rebuilding plans running to 2026 and 2033.
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Which should you order?
- Restaurant splurge, Japanese or Pacific Northwest menu: black cod, broiled with miso or soy. Pick it over cod whenever the budget allows.
- Fish and chips, fish sandwich, tacos: cod. Lean flesh and batter belong together.
- Grilling at home: black cod, skin-on; it will not stick or fall apart the way cod does.
- Lowest calories and mercury, pregnancy: cod.
- Chowder: cod; black cod’s oil makes the broth greasy.
Fish On Fire does not serve either; our menu runs on Gulf grouper, mahi and shrimp, and our mild fish guide shows where those sit next to cod. Cod’s other naming puzzle, scrod vs cod, is a size question rather than a species one.
Bottom line
Black cod is sablefish, a deep-water Pacific fish with no family tie to cod, and the name is the only thing they share. Sablefish brings 15 g of fat and 1.4 g of omega-3 per 100 g, a velvety texture and a premium price; cod brings lean, mild, large-flaked flesh at a moderate one. Pay for black cod when the fish is the star of the plate. Choose cod when the batter, the crumbs or the chowder are doing the work.
More cod guides
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