Would you still eat it - Tuna Q

[Keeper]

An acquaintance purchased six tuna from a guy selling it out of his garage. The boat goes out until it is full, the guy blast bleeds the tuna and then throws them in a cooler.

When she picked them up they were frozen solid! She had asked my husband to fillet them so she left them sitting out in a shed. They were thawing at room temp from 10am until 4pm and hadn't thawed enough for carking. We told her to put them in the fridge and continue thawing them.

She plans on canning the tuna but we were hoping for some sushi pieces. Would YOU still eat these? If so, would you freeze the tuna before sushi prep?

[Freakwater]

I freeze my tuna at the coldest setting on my chest freezer for at least 30 days before eating raw. I do this on the advice of one person, so I have no real scientific justification for doing this. That being said, the main qualifier for me is: is the loin firm enough to cut sashimi style?(which would also be a general indicator of the quality) If moderately firm, it goes on the grill. If softer, in the canner. The fact that your tuna was already frozen, freezing again might soften it more.

Freakwater

[HiTekRdNek]

I would not concider those fish to be Sushi grade fish.
They have been at room temp too long.

[Chrome Bumper]

I heard freezing it kills a parasite they may carry. If is firm pinkish and smells good I'de go fer it. Should get a bit of pretty good grade from the middle of the loin. Kids like it mixed with rooster sauce too, spicy tuna.


BTW, sushi, is rice,
Spelled Pronunciation[soo-shee]
–noun Japanese Cookery. cold boiled rice moistened with rice vinegar, usually shaped into bite-size pieces and topped with raw seafood (nigiri-zushi) or formed into a long seaweed-wrapped roll, often around strips of vegetable or raw fish, and sliced into bite-size pieces (maki-zushi).


sashimi is the raw fish on top.
sa·shi·mi
n.
A Japanese dish consisting of very thin bite-size slices of fresh raw fish, traditionally served with soy sauce and wasabi.

yer makin me hungry

[wthr4d]

its edible certainly but is it sashimi grade...only the preparation will tell if it cuts and feels right. if not itll BBQ just fine and 20min in a smoker then 100 min in a canner will make a nice sandwich.

Paul

[Threemuch]

Not me. Mainly because I can get better catching it myself or from a friend, where I KNOW what has transpired with that fish.

Whole frozen fish are really difficult to thaw. It takes a LONG time, and during that time, bacteria can do it's thing.

I don't think it is unsafe, but you can do better.

Uwajamaya has decent sashimi grade fish. If frequently buy hamachi and tako there. Most sushi restaurants around here do a decent job. Ichiban, across from sunset high school is my favorite out beaverton/hillsboro way.

Try to avoid the ones where the Maguro is the color of watermelon. This is fish likely treated with carbon monoxide. Good examples of this can be seen at Sushitown. Maguro should be dark red, and will fade to brown as it ages, which is why they brighten it up with carbon monoxide. It won't hurt you, and is actually FDA approved, but it is deceptive, and less fresh than you think.

[wthr4d]

I would not wait until its thawed acctually. I would carkit frozen. It may be a little tougher to cut and all but last time I carked a tuna that was almost frozen it was the easiest one to cut and you dont have the nasty "IF" of bacteria developing while it was defrosting.


Paul

[Threemuch]

I would not wait until its thawed acctually. I would carkit frozen.
Paul

That's good advice, and exactly what we did with one of my friends long range fish. Sawzall makes a goood tool.

[thehunt]

no thanks, that ain't fresh fish in my book and that's about the only thing I want to eat raw.

[SeaSparrow]

We bought blast frozen tuna off the F/V Way To Go II (or is it III?) in Newport a few weeks back. They were also frozen solid. We thawed them in the fridge for 24hrs, but were still frozen, so we left them at room temp for about 4 hours until we could make headway carking them. Sliced some thin from mid-loin and they were very tasty! We are still here to tell the tale!
Bottom line is, if you don't know how they were cared for before they were frozen, then be leery about diving in for sashimi. Bacteria will take longer to grow at lower temperatures such as would be found on a frozen tuna sitting on a counter for 4 hours. If the tuna were already at room temperature, then I'd worry about bacterial growth over 4 hours. In fact I wouldn't eat tuna or other sashimi that is at room temperature. It has to be cold. I am not a doctor of bacteriology, so take this advice with a grain of wasabi and soy sauce. .

[jigmaster]

Philosophy or mathematics

[jigmaster]

Uwajamaya has decent sashimi grade fish

[Keeper]

He carked the tuna this evening and we chose to skip the sashimi. Even after two days in the fridge it was still frozen in the middle but the meat texture was squishy on top.

Thanks for all of the good input.

[doryfisherman]

frozzen tuna should be thawed in cold water takes about 24hours . keeps bacteria from growing this was told to me from county extension

[FishFood]

er.

Try to avoid the ones where the Maguro is the color of watermelon. This is fish likely treated with carbon monoxide.

Another factor here is that if tuna is labeled as 'Ahi' it most likely is skipjack, a low grade of tuna. The term Ahi is a BS term that markets use when they are selling a low grade of tuna--most people think Ahi is yellowfin or bigeye, and though it could be, often it isn't--that's the nonsense that people have been sold.

Try asking the meat manager what exact tuna the 'Ahi' is and you won't get an answer. 'Ahi' is a general term for tuna in Hawaiian.

The 'watermelon' coloring is another way of disguising skipjack, since skippy meat looks more like bluefin.

True yellowfin meat is indeed, yellowish-pinkish, and far lighter than bluefin or skipjack, though darker than albacore.