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How to freeze fish for sushi grade?

41K views 47 replies 29 participants last post by  Wreckless 
#1 Ā·
Anyone ever tried a homebrew method of freezing fish quickly and cold enough to make parasite free sushi?

Considering how cold you have to go, and how quick the freezing process has to be.

Maybe a dry-ice method?
 
#3 Ā·
When I prepare it for sushi I first look over the fish. You may not want to have sushi from a salmon with any growths, holes in its head, scars on it's flesh, or anything else that may seem different. I also prefer the brighter fish.


If I feel that the fish was healthy I fillet it as normal. Then I shave thin strips with about 45Ā° angle starting at the head. I place these slices on parchment and put in the freezer. They freeze in about 25 minutes and I leave them in for 3-5 hours. I've done it like this about 10 times and no one has gotten sick yet?:flowered:
 
#4 Ā· (Edited)
Without looking over my ServSafe booklet but going off my memory the fish has to be frozen and kept at 20 F for a minimum of 20 days, 10 days if its kept at 10 degrees or so. Once again this is just off my memory which is not all that good.

Most household freezers usually dont even go that low.
Any specific fish you are thinking of turning into sushi?

Ive had springers, albacore, bluefin (caught one last year and one this year hence my signature line) summer steelhead as well as fall TULE all raw without being frozen before. I think most of it is how you handle the fish once its killed and then how its dressed and processed into food. Least favorite of these species for raw consumption was the summer steelhead. With no ill effects from any that consumed the various species should I say. Not saying that this is the safe way to eat raw fish.

Top of the list was bluefin from last year and this year, followed closely by springer. Still have my fingers crossed for a yellowtail.
 
#8 Ā·
more than once ive straight cut large chunks out of my salmon fresh out the river on the bank and enjoyed! hope I don't got anything living in me. than again 3 years ago I was processing my deer and ate some meat from the back strap raw and probably ate too much at that. a friend of mine is a scientist/ doctor and he says the human stomach is best used to break down raw meats, hes got a long explanation for it but ive heard it a lot

shane
 
#9 Ā·
i will not be eating raw salmon anytime soon
read this

The short answer for the average person is...There is nothing to worry about. Parasites at the sushi bar are essentially non-existent. Continue on happily with your life and save your energy for worrying about terrorists, mutual nuclear annihilation, and if Paula Abdul is on drugs or just clinically insane; y'know, the important stuff. For the paranoid and hypochondriacs, read on...

Nematodes (a.k.a. Roundworms, hookworms, whipworms,) infect the body and become clinically known as anisakiasis. This is the infection of the body by the anisakis worm larva, a type of nematode. They only grow to about an inch in length, and within 12 hours of contracting one you would have terrible stomach pain, nausea, and diarrhea. It eventually moves to the intestine and sets up house. Survival in the human digestive tract is ā€œiffy.ā€ Most nematodes will die within 24 hours, but resistant ones can last longer and actually burrow into the digestive tract before they are finally overcome by the digestive process. In countries where eating raw, untreated fish is common, this malady is easily diagnosed and treated. In the U.S. where it is a rare occurrence, contracting anisakiasis is often misdiagnosed as appendicitis or an ulcer. Since the body of the larva has a chemically resistant exterior, treatment basically consists of going in, with a tiny camera, with a tiny flashlight attached, and a really long tweezers... if you get my drift. Unfortunately, there is no medicinal way to get rid of them.

Flatworms (Flukes and tapeworms) are a group of parasites that infest marine mammals and fish. They're more ā€œprimitiveā€ than nematodes, having only one hole as the only way in and out for their digestive system. Flukes don't even have a circulatory system. Flukes do have the ability, after being ingested, to use the bloodstream to travel throughout the host's body and to travel to other organs. They range in size from 1mm to 70mm but for the most part are considered as being microscopic. With over 6000 different types, flukes are everywhere in our ecosystem; avoiding them is impossible. E.g., you've heard of ā€œSwimmers Itchā€... it's flukes burrowing into a swimmer's skin. Tapeworms are a common parasite in freshwater fish and so any type of raw freshwater fish should be avoided. The good news with flukes and tapeworms is that most can be treated with simple medication.

Don't let anybody fool you: you cannot freeze fish at home to kill parasites, not even if you freeze it for months. This process simply puts the parasite to sleep until it is thawed. This cryogenic suspension was graphically demonstrated to me personally when some whole frozen bluegill (a freshwater type of fish) were thawed in my sink, and they proceeded to snap back to life and flop around the sink until they were humanely dispatched. These bluegills had been in my freezer for several months before this shocking event occurred. Needless to say, the even lower brain-stemmed parasites they might have had would be equally surprised at their new awakening. Another problem with home freezing is the freezing process takes too long and microscopic cell walls are damaged in this slow method making the fish taste fishy and have a poor texture.

Younger fish are less likely to have contracted parasites just due to the fact that they haven't been around a long time to catch them. Fish coming from the Pacific Ocean are more likely to have parasites than fish from the Atlantic Ocean because the Pacific has a higher population of marine mammals and so they spread parasites that they contract. The Atlantic has fewer marine mammals and therefore fewer parasites. Wild caught salmon are almost always found with parasites while their farmed cousins rarely are found with parasites. Most incidences involving a person contracting a parasite from sushi are from people preparing it at home and eating raw, wild caught salmon.

In all of my years of preparing fish, raw, cooked, marinated, you name it, we're talking about thousands of fish in my lifetime, I have only found two parasites in my fish, one was dead in a frozen snapper the other was alive in a fresh wild salmon filet.

Once again it looks like I have drawn a sad picture for the sushi eater striving to enjoy his meal but let me add this.

Let's start with the fact that fish are inspected by the initial processor to find the best specimens right at the start. You can translate that into ā€œLet's find the fish we can charge the most for first, and get them out of the masses and treat them better.ā€ When this batch of fish is set aside a couple of these fish will be sampled for parasites. If they are deemed as having low to no noticeable parasites they are then sent to be processed and frozen with a nitrogen blast freezer.

The FDA has required all fish (with the exception of tuna) destined to be served raw in the U.S. to be frozen at a minimum of minus four degrees Fahrenheit for seven days or minus thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen hours. Either process will kill any and all parasites inside of a fish. Freezing in this method happens so quickly that the ice crystals that form are very short and don't pierce through cell walls, and so the fish can legally be sold as ā€œFresh.ā€ Home freezers cannot freeze this quickly and so not only do parasites survive the process but the long time lapse of freezing creates long ice crystals that pierce cell wall after cell wall as they grow. Freeze a strawberry or onion in your home freezer and let it thaw and you will get a very dramatic example of what damage can occur.

You might ask why tuna are mostly free of parasites while something like catfish are not safe to eat raw. It's simple if you think of it this way. Tuna are like F-16 fighter jets, and catfish are like New York City subway cars. F-16s are rarely in the area that spray-painting graffiti vandals are found and even if a tagger saw an F-16 flying by he wouldn't have a good chance of catching it and spraying it. A New York Subway car on the other hand, is found in the relative vicinity of vandals and doesn't actually put up much of a fight getting away. Larger species of tuna are considered so low in parasitic incidence that the FDA does not require them to be frozen to kill parasites, however most are voluntarily frozen anyway just for shipping, freshness, and safety's sake. Also, most parasites are found close to the skin's surface, so sushi that comes from deep inside a fish like ā€œmaguroā€ is almost guaranteed to be parasite free.

If you want to make sushi at home and want to be confident that your fish is free from the danger of parasites, ask your fishmonger for ā€œSashimi Gradeā€ fish. These are fish that go through all of these FDA measures to guarantee your safety. Not only are they inspected and found to be at least very low in parasites, but then they are frozen to a point where no hidden parasites could survive.

Your chances of becoming infected with a parasite in a U.S. sushi bar are so low that it could reasonably be dismissed as an issue in our modern times. Sushi in other countries is still at risk, but many of these other countries are picking up our ā€œFreeze the parasites to deathā€ program. Even sushi bars in Japan, with their obsession of the freshest seafood possible, are becoming safer to eat at.
 
#10 Ā· (Edited)
JMURPHY the statements considering the FDA's requirements are not correct, or at the very least outdated and no longer true.

I'm something of an expert in critical controls of seafood processing. The FDA does not claim that ALL fish have a parasite hazard or that ALL tuna are parasite free. In addition the explanation of why tuna are parasite free is absurd and flat out dumb.

In addition "sashimi grade" is a qualitative discernment, in no way does it mean "safe to eat raw".

The perpetuation of misinformation is dangerous and irresponsible.

I know you did not write the opinion, not on your butt about it. Just reminding people to know your source before listening to any "facts".
 
#12 Ā·
So...starting off...

1. Once you catch the fish it needs to be gutted and cooled quickly.
2. When processing, clean surface and clean tools. A lot of food born illness outbreaks will come from equipment or improper handling, not the fish it self.
3. Get a high quality freezer and lower the temp as far as possible. Leave the fish in there for a week. (I like to have it vacuum sealed).
4. Buy dry ice and a smaller cooler. Pack fish in the dry ice and leave in cooler IN the freezer for 24 hours. Don't worry the cooler and freezer will not blow up. It will slowly vent.
5. When processing fish for eating, again make sure clean surface and hands.
 
#16 Ā·
I have a family member who apprenticed as a sushi maker in Japan before coming to the main land . I caught a bright chinook bled it gutted it instantly took it home filleted it and put it on ice for a half hour or less before going over to BBQ at his house . He cut a strip off the fillet and eat it raw and said it was sashimi grade salmon and that the wild salmon are best because the fat and they excersize more than hatchery salmon ... I said ok and thought he was crazy but I'm sure it wasn't his first rodeo
 
#18 Ā·
Anyone ever tried a homebrew method of freezing fish quickly and cold enough to make parasite free sushi?

Considering how cold you have to go, and how quick the freezing process has to be.

Maybe a dry-ice method?
Sorry I know this comment isn't helping you.
I don't do Sushi. NO WAY! No raw Salmon for this wimp. One thing I never intend to try either. Way to many Parasites!
If it ain't cooked I ain't eatin it.
 
#25 Ā·
Here is some that I made at home from a beautiful fall fish caught at B10.

It was cleaned, we kept the nicest grade (red, fat content, etc) and labeled it sushi, vac packed, then frozen at -2 degrees for a few weeks. Thawed it in cold water for the better part of the day then carved it up.

This was my first attempt and it was delicious. I made salmon poke, salmon belly nigiri, & philly rolls for the kids. I know that the knife work on the nigiri isn't right but still tasted awesome!!
 

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#27 Ā· (Edited)
My favorite sushi is the Lion King Roll made at a Sushi Restaurant close to where I live.....basically it's a California roll topped with baked salmon sliced thin on top, Japanese Teriyaki sauce, green onion and Tobiko..... yummm. :) Better than raw :twocents:

sorry it's a bit blurry....
 
#32 Ā·
Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. I've had Sinju and it was good. I also like to go to Umi in Tigard/Lake O area. Good quality fish! I'm always on the lookout for new places that are legit!! Heading over to the siletz next week to fish. If we bonk any nice fish I'll post up some more sushi pics!!
 
#33 Ā·
First of all.
To whoever post that large block of text about the nematodes. Clearly this was not published by a physician. You will not get sick in a matter of hours. Whipworm, Hookworm and Ringworm are all easily treated and usually just cause upset stomach and minor anemia. In fact, all three are now commonly used around the globe as a therapy plan for certain auto immune diseases and can be purchased online and self administered. Tapeworm would be the most severe and even then would take weeks before truly noticing the problem. The nematodes are fairly easily treated if contracted and if you have selected the proper meat to consume raw are pretty rarely an issue. Bottom line you should be slicing your salmon sushi thin enough that you would see signs of a worm infection prior to consumption.

I say go for it. pick the nicest freshest fish you catch, bleed, gut and ice it. Slice it thin, serve over rice. Enjoy.
 
#36 Ā·
Bottom line you should be slicing your salmon sushi thin enough that you would see signs of a worm infection prior to consumption.

I say go for it. pick the nicest freshest fish you catch, bleed, gut and ice it. Slice it thin, serve over rice. Enjoy.
I follow this guy's thinking. If it doesn't look right, I don't eat it raw (or at all for that matter).

Another really good sushi place is Syun Isakaya in Hillsboro of all places.
 
#43 Ā·
We made awesome sashimi in Mexico. I think it was prepared on the same surface that we were cleaning fish on a few minutes before. While I don't want to INVITE any extra parasites into my system, I like raw fish enough to properly prepare it and eat it at home or in nice restaurants. It fact, just about the only time my wife & I go out is for "sushi". BTW - Syun Isakaya is GREAT!!

My version of a great day is to fish with Salmon eggs during the day, then EAT THEM in he evening....NOT the same eggs!!!! "sushi grade" eggs!!!:palm:
:meme:
 
#44 Ā·
Salmon sashimi has to be my absolute favorite. Those who refuse to give it a try are seriously missing out. I have eaten my own home-prepared nigiri several times without ill effects, although it is certainly taking a risk for parasitic infection. Getting "sick" or spending extra time in the bathroom is really more of a cleanliness issue. This is caused by bacterial infection, usually "gram-negative" enteric pathogens such as E.coli, Shigella, Proteus and the like. Wash your hands after taking a dump and keep your food prep area clean! I have never gotten sick from sushi and have eaten it hundreds of times. Of course, I don't eat grocery store or gas station sushi either!
The nice thing, if there is a nice thing, about parasitic infections is that they can generally be easily treated with drugs. Eating a well reputed sushi restaurants should be reasonable insurance against such parasites. In the Albany area, I like Ginza, momiji, Aomatsu (corvallis), and the new-ish restaurant next to big river.
 
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