sea bass freshness question?

[jmurr711]

was not sure where to post this 1 so i'll leave it to you tyrannical moderators to move.(j/k:p ) My little cousins graduation party is saturday and her,her mom and her friends are on this sushi craze and they keep asking me to bring them fresh fish to use as they all got "how to" sushi books and non sense at home. they also are always asking me to make ceviche. well i got a ton of sea bass frozen and i also got a good amount that i just caught on monday and i just froze today along with a ton of ling. i was wondering if anyone knew if it would be ok to make ceviche from the fish i caught on monday or even from the older fish since i know the acid "cooks" the fish. mucho thanks as always in advance

[MartyS]

Frozen is fine for sashimi, sushi or ceviche. The vast majority of sushi and sashimi served in the US has been frozen since it is required by law. The freezing kills any parasites.

I don't know if ceviche would be that much different.

Personally, the fish I catch is used by the next day or vacuum sealed and frozen. If you want stinking, decaying fish, you local supermarket has plenty.

[GregV]

I frequently make ceviche from my catch. Ceviche doesn't keep well, It's best eaten as soon as it is ready. I have used fresh fish a few days old , but Mon to Sat is probably pushing it. Personally, I would not take a chance with my wife and daughter. I have never tried making it with frozen, but I don't see why recently frozen seabass would not work. Sea Bass does make great ceviche. Just my 2 cents, hope it helps

[reonainoue]

Hi,

I would try not use frozen fish for sushi nor sashimi, nor even Ceviche.

When I freeze fish for sashimi or sushi, I just clean the inside of the body and wrap with kitchen paper. Then use vacuum packing and freeze it.

When defrosting, leave the frozen fish into refregirator for about 12hrs. Do not leave the frozen fish at room temp to defrost....too much fluid comes out from its body and lose the taste.

Also, do not use frozen fish for sashimi or sushi if the fish is frozen more than 3 weeks.

For Fluke, Seabass, Blackfish, and Tuna, it should hold for 4-5 days in the refregirator for sashimi or sushi. However, you need to bleed it as soon as you catch, and put into a cooler box. When you get home, clean the inside and wrap it with kitchen paper and wrap it. Then, store the fish in the refregirator. When you put the fish in the refregirator, keep the fish where the temp change much (ie. put into tapperware or end of regregirator).

For Ling and COd, there's no way to eat them in raw....parasite issue.
Porgy...3 days is the most.

[ALS Mako]

joey, i would not use frozen fish for sushi or sashimi. when you freeze fish at home (even vacuum sealed) the water in the cells of the meat expands, breaking the cell walls. notice if you thaw the fish out, there is always extra water from the fish. the fish is still edible but i would not suggest eating raw.

marty- just to inform you, it may be law- but seldom is fish from sushi restaurants from frozen fish. most of the fish is just plain old iced down fish that the restaurant buys from a purveyer. only fish that come from far away are frozen for shipping, and that fish is blast frozen to preserve the texture of the meat. if properly handled and cleaned, there should be no problems.

when i make sushi or sashimi, 1) rinse off the fish and wipe away as much slime as i can with paper towels, 2) gut the fish, make sure you get all the blood out (especially the kidneys) and rinse well and pat the fish dry. 3) filet the fish. 4) rinse the filets in heavy salted ice water (depending on how "dirty" the filet is and what kind of fish, i might skip this step and just wipe the filet with clean paper towels)- then dry fish with more paper towels.
5) on a clean cutting board/ cut fish into portions and serve. 6) if you are doing this ahead of time or are worried about getting sick, this is when i would freezed the fish (already portioned out and on a plate- throw the whole thing in the freezer covered with plastic wrap)

[frugalfisherman]

Much of the fish such as yellowtail comes in frozen to the sushi bars from the west coast or Asia. The best way to tell how mondays frozen fish will turn out is to take out a piece and try it. Just make sure you defrost it in the refrigerator not out on the counter. Just got a better idea. The weather is shaping up for tomorrow. Go bottom fishing again and serve fresh seabass!

[sportfishingusa]

marty- just to inform you, it may be law- but seldom is fish from sushi restaurants from frozen fish. most of the fish is just plain old iced down fish that the restaurant buys from a purveyer. only fish that come from far away are frozen for shipping, and that fish is blast frozen to preserve the texture of the meat. if properly handled and cleaned, there should be no problems.


Thats not correct i am sorry... 90 percent of your sushi is flash frozen and defrosted in their sushi capsules! Majority of their foods and fish come from true world products.

[reonainoue]

Here in the U.S, Tuna is mostly frozen and shipped to the restaurant.
However, Fluke, Seabass, Porgy, Skipjack, Yellowtail, Jack Mackerel, Mackerel, etc are not.

For some cases like Tuna, they are frozen right after being caught at least -40C degrees to preserve freshness.

And ALS Mako is correct, unless you have a rapid freeze freezer, the cell wall got broken during frozen process. This destroys the taste.

By the way, if you make sashimi or sushi on the same day you catch, it's not that tasty. You need to keep in the refregirator for a day or 2 to age.
I usually wait a day for porgy, 2 days for fluke/Seabass, and 5-6 days for blackfish. Trust me, this is the best way to enjoy full flavor of fish....I was born and raised in Japan.

Oh, as for getting sick from fish, there are several rules to prevent.
1. Never eat fish in raw where there are whales...such as Cod.
2. Never leave the fish on room temp or outside more than 10mins...instead, put them in a cooler box right after bleeding.
3. Bleed all the fish...........even Mackerel.
4. Use ginger or wasabi....these sanitizes.

As for the parasite, the only parasite you have to be carefuyl is the worms called Anisakis, typically found on COd, Monkfish and Mackerel.
This causes serious stomachache.........
They live in the organ of fish but somewhat they live in the flesh for Cod and Monkfish....

[jmurr711]

thanks for the input guys. i'm not a big fan of sushi myself but i love ceviche but i've only made it from fresh bonita ,macks and yellowfin, i'll give the sea bass i vaccum sealed tuesday night a look to see for ceviche, besides with all the booze we'll consume on saturday that can be blamed for any stomach issues lol thanks again for all the input.

[MartyS]

By the way, if you make sashimi or sushi on the same day you catch, it's not that tasty. You need to keep in the refregirator for a day or 2 to age.
I usually wait a day for porgy, 2 days for fluke/Seabass, and 5-6 days for blackfish. Trust me, this is the best way to enjoy full flavor of fish....I was born and raised in Japan.

Interesting, I didn't know that. I'm surprised, because I was on a party boat with a group of what appeared to be three young Japanese anglers. As soon as they got their first keeper fluke, they stopped fishing, filleted the fish, and brought out a bunch of sashimi fixin's. They proceeded to eat the fish which wasn't more than 20 minutes out of the water.

I know when it comes to meat, it takes a few days for it to tenderize and develop flavor, I didn't think that was the case with fish.

[reonainoue]

Hi Marty,

Probably these 3 folks were enjoying the texture, not the flavor.
It's just a delicacy of eating the freshest fish.

[jmurr711]

well i took a chance and used da frozen sea bass and it turned out great. i just hrew da cut up pieces of frozen sea bass into boiling water real quick to make me feel better lol. used 8 limes, 3 lemons, 2 jalapeno's, 2 tomatoes, 1 red onion, and cilantro. kept t in da fridge overnight with stirring ccasionally. put on tostitos wit a lil avocado and it went like hot cakes at my cousins party. thanks for all da help