A friend and I were talking the other day about eating fresh sushi. He made a comment that he likes to freeze his fish to kill any parasites that might be present. That got me thinking about it… I’ve always been hesitant to eat home made sushi from fish here. Is there any special way to prepare it when catching your own fish? I do make sure to either gut the fish first or careful not to cut into the internals to not get the meat tainted, but I have never really thought about parasites. So the questions are:
Do we need to worry about parasites on locally caught fish?
Is freezing them a good practice before eating as sushi?
What is the best way to prepare local sushi?
Obviously I am talking about fish we catch, not something purchased from Bi-lo.
I have eaten a ton of tuna and wahoo as sashimi and never had an issue. When the yellowfin were here, we usually had soy and wasabi in the fridge onboard.
I know that most sushi has been frozen before it is served in a restaurant, but I imagine that is a chain of custody issue, not really knowing how the fish was handled when it was caught.
My $.02 is to get the fish on ice (bleed if it is a tuna) as soon as possible after it is caught (a fish box with an ice/seawater brine really helps cool off the meat). If sushi is your intent, I would cut them 1st, with a clean knife, and bag the cuts separately. Wrap them in plastic wrap will help prolong the freshness (picked this up from sushi restaurants). Get the cuts on ice as soon as you can.
As far as preparation goes, the fish will be (obviously) really fresh, so you should not have to do too much to it, maybe a little soy and some wasabi to dip it in.
not sure about the occurrence of parasites in our waters but i think that freezing of sushi is mandated by the USDA or FDA to kill parasites. Also not sure what temp is required to kill said parasites. Lime curing fish like in ceviche does not kill all parasites. I have eaten a lot of raw wahoo and ceviches of all sorts, and never had any issues, that being said i do seem to have trouble putting on weight…
I have eaten a ton of tuna and wahoo as sashimi and never had an issue. When the yellowfin were here, we usually had soy and wasabi in the fridge onboard.
I know that most sushi has been frozen before it is served in a restaurant, but I imagine that is a chain of custody issue, not really knowing how the fish was handled when it was caught.
My $.02 is to get the fish on ice (bleed if it is a tuna) as soon as possible after it is caught (a fish box with an ice/seawater brine really helps cool off the meat). If sushi is your intent, I would cut them 1st, with a clean knife, and bag the cuts separately. Wrap them in plastic wrap will help prolong the freshness (picked this up from sushi restaurants). Get the cuts on ice as soon as you can.
As far as preparation goes, the fish will be (obviously) really fresh, so you should not have to do too much to it, maybe a little soy and some wasabi to dip it in.
I think to kill parasites by freezing, you have to get it to -20C or so, which you cant do with a kenmore… gonna need a lab freezer/ industrial setup
From what I understand it’s not just the temp but the time left frozen. I do a lot of venison jerky and was told a while back to give it at least 30 days before doing it. Have not always followed and done a lot on fresh kills with no bad effects.
On fish I was under the understanding that the outer skin slim and busted gut was what to watch for on sushi. A tough stomach will do wonders on most Parasites. There was a time in man’s history that fire was not used. or so I assume.
The FDA only gives a recommendation. The rule is NOT enforced. Ask all of the best ?SUSHI? fish suppliers and they will tell you that most of it that is considered high grade IS NOT Frozen! I have sold frozen Saku blocks (bright pink, gassed tuna) to 2nd rate sushi houses for years. The best places always took whole fish or whole loins. Also beware of Unagi (BBQ eel raised in china and Vietnam) and South American farmed salmon (very low quality) that is in most every chain sushi house. If they are not getting whole Scottish Salmon, then pass on the salmon. Local wahoo and tuna are fine as long as they are cooled correctly. Improperly cooled or stored tuna / wahoo will grow histamines very quickly and can cause Scombroid poisoning
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NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
I have been eating sushi for 30 years and find our local Dolphin and Wahoo (freshly caught) to be top notch. I will keep a nice “loin” in a paper towel/wrapped in saran in the fridge for a couple of days…never had a problem.
I had a friend get sick on “White Tuna”…it is a Mackerel type fish known as Escolar. It can give you a wicked case of the blow ****s…I avoid that stuff like the plague.
While variances can be obtained for almost every rule in the book…this what DHEC says about consuming raw fish in restaurants…
Parasite destruction in fish.
a. Before served in ready-to-eat form, raw, marinated,
or partially cooked fish, other than shellfish, shall be
frozen throughout to a temperature of:
(1) -4?F. (-20?C.) or below for 168 hours (7 days) in
a freezer; or
(2) -31?F. (-35?C.) or below for 15 hours in a blast
freezer.
North Carolina has a similar law, although it doesn’t apply to tuna or certain farmed fish.
Escolar…aka “Oilfish” has an indigestible wax in the meat. People of Asian decent posses the enzyme to digest it, but Anglos don’t and if you eat more than 4 or 5 ounces of it, you will get the screaming $^&*s! I love it, and learned the hard way!
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NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Sellsfish…I used to eat it and love the taste too…but after my buddy telling me about the orange colored screamers…I now don’t touch it. The fresh Yellowtail will have to make do.
We take special care to avoid the gut and table while cleaning. The cleaned fish never touches the table, knives are kept clean as possible. I do this with all fish whether I am planning on eating as sushi or not. Some people give me funny looks when I get worked up about them laying a fat filet on the table but I do not wash my fish in fresh water. In trimming, I clean up the fillets at the house on my big cutting board and pat them dry with a paper towel.
We take special care to avoid the gut and table while cleaning. The cleaned fish never touches the table, knives are kept clean as possible. I do this with all fish whether I am planning on eating as sushi or not. Some people give me funny looks when I get worked up about them laying a fat filet on the table but I do not wash my fish in fresh water. In trimming, I clean up the fillets at the house on my big cutting board and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Good advice…It kills me when I see people scrubbing or soaking fresh caught ocean fish in water. All the essential oils (and flavor I might add) go straight down the drain…
“Endeavor to Persevere.
Give,Give… Never Take.”
EC
try to gut all of your fish at sea. rinse out the body cavity with sea water and you will keep a clean cutting surface. We never wash our fillets in fresh water.
the Japanese chef that taught me to grade tuna use to say…“Would you wash a Ribeye”
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NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
