Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum
Fishing in British Columbia => The Fish Kitchen => Topic started by: weizen on September 13, 2006, 11:36:22 PM
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Has anyone made sushi out of fraser socs? I'd love to make some of my own sushi, but I'm a bit hesitant.
I know you have to pre-freeze the fish to make it safe, but once you thaw and rinse well, is there anything else I need to do, or just slice it up into my pieces and roll away?
Anyone out there ever done this? Is it safe?
Any info is appreciated.
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dude... dont take a chance... if you have ever been sick from sushi you know that its not worth it...
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Never been sick on Sushi, and don't want to either. But I really like it and would love to make some. Just want to make sure I do it safe, but if I can't get some advice from someone that's done it or knows there stuff, i'm not gonna take the chance.
Thanks for the warning though.
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If you've never made sushi with raw salmon (or any fish for that matter) before, definitely do the research to make sure that you know what you're doing. A little know how goes a long way to preventing a bad case of food poisoning. As to can you make sushi with Fraser sockeye? Why not? Would I do it personally? Sure. I've had sashimi made with Vedder salmon before and it's fine. Those salmon will also swim through the Fraser to get to the Vedder. Is it the best tasting salmon? In all honestly, probably not because of all the effluent and other waste material dumped in the Fraser. Not that it will make a fish toxic (or it may. But if you eat cooked sockeye, you're still taking it in so who what's the difference?). However, independent blind taste research have uncovered that fish caught in the chuck that don't swim in that crap (literally) taste better than those that did. But realistically, unless you have a side by side comparison and a decent palate, you're not likely to know that this salmon was caught in the Fraser while another in the Chuck. By the way, the research was done by some scientists in one of the small testing labs companies where my wife works. Not likely to be published material as these little companies only do lab testing for commercial purposes.
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Thanks Merc,
I'll definetly do some more independant research before taking the plunge.
The Sashimi you had from Vedder Salmon, did you do that yourself, or was it prepared by a friend?
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Family.
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i've made sushi with countless sockeye salmon.
fraser caught sockeye, especially chromers (with the occasional sealice) are perfectly fine. these wild fish are not year round residents, unlike the farmed salmon used in most sushi restaurants.
the secret is to inspect your fillets. look for smoothness and cleanliness of the flesh, consistent colouring and marbling of fat.
do not use fillets with evidence of brucing, welts, cancers, and of course parasites.
do not use salmon that have been sitting in a pool of water and have been baking in the sun.
before consuming any raw salmon, you must quick freeze it for a minimum of 48 hours. even better...vaccum seal it. thawout in the refridgerator and do not refreeze.
these instructions, were originally given to me by my neighbour, who happens to be a professional sushi chef, who trained for 5 years in japan....and yes he happens to be japanese.
just remember, proper food handling and prevention of cross contamination will minimize (though NOT eliminate) food poisoning.
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Thanks for the info blaydRnr,
I've done a bunch of reading online and found the following exert from a site about making your own sushi.
"The first rule of selecting fish for sushi is Do not use fresh-water fish, including fresh wild-caught salmon, which may have gone through one or more breeding cycles.
The reason for this is that parasites that fish are exposed to in fresh water are compatible with the human system, whereas those found in salt water are generally not.
Select farmed salmon can be eaten fresh (it's raised entirely in salt water), as can wild-caught salmon that's been treated by deep-freeze -- but your home freezer is not cold enough for this. Whatever you do, do not make sushi out of the salmon that you or your friends have just brought back from a fishing trip. "
I realize I might get away with it, and it might end up being ok, but i'm not going to take the chance. The Fraser soxs will continue to be cooked! My Sushi experimenting will have to wait untill I get out in the Chuck!
Thanks all for your thoughts!
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i think they may be referring to land locked salmon.
i'm not a marine biologist. so i won't dispute that exert. however, i've also read that farmed salmon have a higher concentration of pollutants and parasites. myself, i eat both.
the only true statement that i will confirm, is that most residential fridge freezers are not equipped to flash freeze fish.
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the only true statement that i will confirm, is that most residential fridge freezers are not equipped to flash freeze fish.
That's my biggest concern, is that my freezer doesn't get cold enough to kill all the paresites. I'm not so worried about the small amount of time the fish spent in the fresh water, but more about the freezer aspect.
Thanks again.
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Different reports I've read says a home freezer that can freeze your food between 0 degrees to 10 degrees Farenheit (-12 to -17 celsius I believe) for five days will kill all the parasites. But you have to have a decent freezer that does that. And home freezers are supposed to be capable of reaching that temperature. All the fish my family have ever prepared and eaten were all fish that were frozen for many weeks, longer than the 5 days minimum recommended.
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Merc,
Does that mean in my standard deep freeze, if the fish is in for a good couple weeks (already been that long) that it should be fine?
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From what I understand, a deep freezer that is operating AS IT SHOULD, will be able to reach the temperature necessary to kill the parasites. After some 35+ years of eating raw fish and never having had a problem I'm assuming my parents freezer worked just fine. Most freezers should be operating in that range to properly store frozen food anyways. Any less than that, and the food won't keep properly as the molecules and microbes won't enter the proper dormant stage to ensure that your food keeps properly. Also, just as another tip, if you smoke salmon, you might want to prefreeze your salmon first unless your hot smoked salmon reaches an internal temperature of 150-200 degrees farenheit for 4-6 hours. And if you do ceviche prefreeze your fish first at the prescribed temperature and time as the acid that "cooks" the fish won't kill the parasites.
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Thanks Merc,
35+ years of eating Raw fish and no problem are pretty good odds ;) I'll ponder this for a while, but If I end up making any i'll let you all know how it ends up.
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Most new home freezers can go below -18C. This is a food safety requirement for safe food keeping. At temps below -18C or +100C all parasites are killed. Parasites have cell membrane at such low temperature the cell wall will rapture killing the perasites and all bacteria. The only time you'll ever become ill by eating raw fish thats been frozen below -18C is if the fish has not been properly handled before freezing, and virus or toxin producing bacteria has been allowed to grow. As long as you keep your fish cold after catching and when your home try to minimize fish flesh comes into contact with 'dirty' surfaces and freeze the fillets as quickly as possible you'll be safe.
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Thanks BwiBwi,
I've actually got a couple small fillets of spring from up in the queen charlotte islands that were vacuum sealed and flash frozen by the guiding company when my uncle was up there and been in a home freezer since then.
I'm gonna use that for my sushi night (Whenever that is...still planning it).
I'll be sure to post some pics and share my experience when I get around to doing it.
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Great thread and something I've been thinking about lots.
My question is why is the flesh I get from a fresh spring (literally caught 1 hour before eating) so hard and chewy, when the stuff in the restaurant is so nice and soft?
Does it need to be left to go through the rigarmortis process before it becomes softer and nicer to eat?
cheers,
Paul.
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Or stupid ;D
but it didn't do me any harm, all though knowing what I know now I wouldn't try it again!
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Murkey, you're brave and stupid ;) (Glad to hear you've learned after reading in this post)
Anyway, I FINALLY DID IT! Made my family sushi for a Thanksgiving Appy! No one has gotten sick so enough time has passed to officially declare it a success!
Thanks to all who gave some advice here. Enjoy the pic!
(http://www.hireafan.com/images/sushi.JPG)
Oh, and BTW Murkey the stuff I made was nice and soft, tasted great.....not sure why your fresh stuff was hard ect, but probably the freezing/thawing proccess has something to do with it...just a guess though, anyone out there know a real answer to Murkeywaters question?
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Wow Weizen that looks great, my mouth is watering!
I have a feeling you are right about the freeze thaw process changing the texture of the meat, many foods change conistancy after being frozen so why not fish.
If your stuff was good I figure I'll pull a recent fillet out of the freezer and have a go myself.
I really crave the raw fish at times, I don't know what it is but it's like a strong craving for the whole deal, fish, rice and soya source. Once I eat it it'll leave me for a week or so then suddenly it comes on strong and I just have to have it.
I'll let you know if it works for me, assuming I'm around to tell the tale :D
cheers,
Paul.
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That's some very nice lookin sushi! :D
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Well thanks Weizen,
it worked a treat, that previously hard and chewy flesh (when fresh) was exactly as I get in the Sushi restaurant having pulled it from the freezer and slowly defrosted it.
I didn't have the ingredients to do Sushi properly this evening, so I just had a quick Sashimi fest from the 1 fillet and it was wonderful!
I had no wasabi, ginger or rice, but I found a bit of tabasco and lemon (and of course Soy Sauce) made a great alternative.
I did wash the flesh a lot to remove the "fishy" scent and what I would assume to be an accompanying flavour, but that was because it was frozen with other fillets so the fishy smell from the outside gets around - but easily removed.
While I am still a little nervous about it being from fresh water rather than the sea or "chuck" as you guys call it, the flesh was clean looked just prefect so I figured it was OK. Although from fresh water the fish was clean when I caught it so I can't see that any parasite would have had chance to get into the flesh. But if someone knows different please post,
but I'm sure it is fine and I'll be enjoying much more of this on a regular basis without paying restaurtant prices, although I'll still be going back for the Tuna from time to time!
what a great find,
cheers,
Paul.
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Some people will slice a thing layer off the fillet. To remove those 'fishy' smell.
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Yes Bwi I hear what you are saying,
I went through 3 fillet peices in the end tonight (I was having fun playing with it and eating it along the way) and I quickly realised that any fat or brown meat gave the stuff that horrible fishy flavour that Salmon smell like, despite being washed.
As long as the flesh was pure red it tasted good (no need to wash if the board and knife were kept clean to avoid x-contamintion so to speak), I ate 1 fillet as Sashimi and prep'ed the other 2 for tomorrow.
I also found the semi frozen flesh much easier to skin and cut, leaving the resulting semi-forzen meat to defrost naturally. The fully de-frosted was slippy and difficult to handle even with a very sharp knife.
I've taken some good pics to show but it's getting late so I'll link 'em up tomorrow.
cheers,
Paul.
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Murkey,
Great to hear your stories...looking forward to the pics. I'm glad I experimented with it and i've got alot of good info from starting this post. I'm more relaxed now and will be more likely to use my sockeye as you've done. The stuff I used was a spring from the chuck, but the next time will be sockeye for sure :)
Cheers
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Weizen it is was a clean Vedder Spring I used (frozen within a few hours of capture), not Sockeye - just so you know.
anyway I'll try and post some pics now, Ok I know it's only fish flesh at the end of the day - but I think it looks good!
http://www.anglingwriters.com/images/sushi1.jpg
http://www.anglingwriters.com/images/sushi2.jpg
http://www.anglingwriters.com/images/More_To_Come.jpg
I've been eating the stuff all day, god I love it! I think I actually prefer a little tabasco in with the Soy over Wasabi now I've tried it. Although I must get some ginger to cleanse the palette along the way.
And I'm feeling just fine and dandy,
cheers,
Paul.
Edit - how would I make those links bring the photo directly into the post? I tried [img width= height=]http://blahblah[/img] but didn't take the img tags as HTML and just put it in a text? Still you can see by clicking the links anyway so it's not that important, I was just curious.
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Mmmmmmm those look good :)
Good job ;)
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(http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j131/CAPTAIN_BONK_2006/SOCFILLETS.jpg)
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^ NOPE,I JUST TAKE MY TIME, AND I LOVE A NICE FINISHED PRODUCT ! ESPECIALLY BBQ SALMON, OR MY INDIAN CANDY ;)
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i love sushi..im hoping to turn my fraser socs into sushi too ;D