"Sushi grade" fish, in this case salmon, simply means that the salmon meets a number of specific criteria before it can be consumed safely in a raw state. If you like Tuna your risk of parasite infection is none. Quality yellowfin (and sometimes albacore) tuna can be chopped up for use in maki (rolls) or poke with fewer concerns than salmon.
#1- The salmon cannot be wild it must be farmed. It also cannot be farmed in Scotland as they farm raise their salmon in the ocean. Look for “farmed Atlantic salmon” or “farmed Alaskan salmon.” It’s essential that you only use farmed salmon for sushi, since salmon—especially wild salmon—is a high risk for parasites. True farm raised salmon consume pellet food thus a lower risk of parasite infection.
#2- Salmon must be kept cold from purchase to home
#3- Must be portion prepped and frozen for 7 days then slow thawed for 24 hours in the fridge. USDA recommends freezing at −20°C (−4°F) for 7 days insuring that any parasite that might be in the fish has been killed off. Then place the portioned salmon in the refrigerator for 24 hours before slicing and consuming.
Take a cooler with Ice to the location you are buying your fish.
Place it in the cooler. The fish needs to stay cold at all times. Slightly warming will start breeding bacteria that would otherwise be cooked off. But we aren't cooking this so COOLER, ICE! 😀
When you get home you need to portion the fish properly. Think about how much you will want in a serving. The idea here is to portion so you don't have unused fish sitting in the fridge OR you don't have enough to satisfy the sushi craving and you end up going to a sushi bar anyway!
If you purchased fish with the skin on now is the time to remove the skin with a sharp fillet knife. Place the skin side up and work the knife between the skin and the flesh. While sliding the knife along the length of the fish gently lift up on the skin. DO NOT TOSS THIS!! You can totally eat it! No really! Most people just toss it because they don't know how to cook it. The easiest way is in the form of Salmon Bacon. It is an AWESOME addition to salads or just as a side.
Recipe here---> Fried Salmon Skin
Your welcome!
Portion the fish to your liking removing any scales or pin bones you may come across. I average 5 oz cuts. Cut across the short length of the salmon making "steaks"
Once you have your meal portions done place them in vacuum seal bags and remove all the air. If using a Ziploc bag place the fish in a bag and slowly place that bag into a bowl of water to help push out the air in the bag. Poor mans vacuum sealer! 😀 When the water reaches the zip portion of the bag seal it shut. Don't let any water get inside the bag, that will make a super mess and ruin your lovely fish.
Place your vacuum sealed bags into the freezer and let them set for at least 7 days. For those bags that will be in the freezer longer I like to wrap them in butcher paper (I ask my fish monger nicely... usually I walk away with enough to wrap my portioned fish no prob. Then again I have a good rapport with Herring. No lie his last name is Herring... aaaand he works with fish. I just need a butcher named Pig now and life will be complete!)
The day before you are ready to chow down on your sushi grade fish pull it out and place it in the refrigerator and let it thaw there for 24 hours.
Give the fish a quick wash in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a clean cutting board.
There are a few ways to cut your fish depending on how authentic you want to be with your sushi making. usually it is just me so I keep it simple. If you want to learn more about official cutting style for authentic sushi a quick google search will land you a ton of videos.
I start by cutting the darker middle section out of my salmon steak. Just to the left and right where the striations of the salmon join in the middle of the fish. (BTW the white stripes there are connective tissues that hold the meat together. Now ya know! :D) It is super important to cut across the grain of the fish for maximum tenderness. Look at your salmon. you should see those white lines forming a 'V' pattern. If you want you can cut down the center of that 'V' giving you multiple pieces of salmon with a singular grain.
Slice your salmon against the grain preferably at a 45 degree angle. Again with the against the grain thing... what exactly does that mean?!? Think of it like this, you want to maximize the number of white lines touching the knife. At this point you can cut any thickness you need. I average a 1 centimeter thickness for sushi (rolled), nigiri (fish over small rice ball) or sashimi (fish pieces no rice) sometimes I go really super thin and roll the salmon up to look like a rose as a garnish OR, for a Poke bowl, I will slice the salmon into quarter inch pieces then cut those pieces into small cubes. Keep in mind that each slice of fish is a single bite so you don't want them to large.
You are ready to wrap your sushi or place ontop of a puck of sushi rice as nigiri, strait up sashimi, or top on top of your Poke bowl and enjoy.
Aaaand just in case you wanted to look professional in your sashimi consumption check out this video. You and your sushi chef will thank me later...
Eating Sashimi in Public!.
AND if you want to have a killer party or impress the boss and those Japanese buyers they are trying to wine and dine check this out!
Proper Sushi Making.
This one is great to see how to best cut your sashimi
Nutrition info from: https://www.verywellfit.com
0 servings
Ingredients
Directions
Take a cooler with Ice to the location you are buying your fish.
Place it in the cooler. The fish needs to stay cold at all times. Slightly warming will start breeding bacteria that would otherwise be cooked off. But we aren't cooking this so COOLER, ICE! 😀
When you get home you need to portion the fish properly. Think about how much you will want in a serving. The idea here is to portion so you don't have unused fish sitting in the fridge OR you don't have enough to satisfy the sushi craving and you end up going to a sushi bar anyway!
If you purchased fish with the skin on now is the time to remove the skin with a sharp fillet knife. Place the skin side up and work the knife between the skin and the flesh. While sliding the knife along the length of the fish gently lift up on the skin. DO NOT TOSS THIS!! You can totally eat it! No really! Most people just toss it because they don't know how to cook it. The easiest way is in the form of Salmon Bacon. It is an AWESOME addition to salads or just as a side.
Recipe here---> Fried Salmon Skin
Your welcome!
Portion the fish to your liking removing any scales or pin bones you may come across. I average 5 oz cuts. Cut across the short length of the salmon making "steaks"
Once you have your meal portions done place them in vacuum seal bags and remove all the air. If using a Ziploc bag place the fish in a bag and slowly place that bag into a bowl of water to help push out the air in the bag. Poor mans vacuum sealer! 😀 When the water reaches the zip portion of the bag seal it shut. Don't let any water get inside the bag, that will make a super mess and ruin your lovely fish.
Place your vacuum sealed bags into the freezer and let them set for at least 7 days. For those bags that will be in the freezer longer I like to wrap them in butcher paper (I ask my fish monger nicely... usually I walk away with enough to wrap my portioned fish no prob. Then again I have a good rapport with Herring. No lie his last name is Herring... aaaand he works with fish. I just need a butcher named Pig now and life will be complete!)
The day before you are ready to chow down on your sushi grade fish pull it out and place it in the refrigerator and let it thaw there for 24 hours.
Give the fish a quick wash in cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a clean cutting board.
There are a few ways to cut your fish depending on how authentic you want to be with your sushi making. usually it is just me so I keep it simple. If you want to learn more about official cutting style for authentic sushi a quick google search will land you a ton of videos.
I start by cutting the darker middle section out of my salmon steak. Just to the left and right where the striations of the salmon join in the middle of the fish. (BTW the white stripes there are connective tissues that hold the meat together. Now ya know! :D) It is super important to cut across the grain of the fish for maximum tenderness. Look at your salmon. you should see those white lines forming a 'V' pattern. If you want you can cut down the center of that 'V' giving you multiple pieces of salmon with a singular grain.
Slice your salmon against the grain preferably at a 45 degree angle. Again with the against the grain thing... what exactly does that mean?!? Think of it like this, you want to maximize the number of white lines touching the knife. At this point you can cut any thickness you need. I average a 1 centimeter thickness for sushi (rolled), nigiri (fish over small rice ball) or sashimi (fish pieces no rice) sometimes I go really super thin and roll the salmon up to look like a rose as a garnish OR, for a Poke bowl, I will slice the salmon into quarter inch pieces then cut those pieces into small cubes. Keep in mind that each slice of fish is a single bite so you don't want them to large.
You are ready to wrap your sushi or place ontop of a puck of sushi rice as nigiri, strait up sashimi, or top on top of your Poke bowl and enjoy.
Aaaand just in case you wanted to look professional in your sashimi consumption check out this video. You and your sushi chef will thank me later...
Eating Sashimi in Public!.
AND if you want to have a killer party or impress the boss and those Japanese buyers they are trying to wine and dine check this out!
Proper Sushi Making.
This one is great to see how to best cut your sashimi
Notes
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