Freezing fresh fish for sashimi is super easy and is definitely a process anyone can do. Moreover preparing sashimi takes absolutely minimal time. Moreover, it is much cheaper than eating sashimi in restaurants and guarantees the safety of your food.
Introduction to Freezing Fresh Fish
Beyond just simply a delicious food that is enjoyed for its pure and delicate flavor. Additionally sashimi contains tons of health nutrients for your body.
Moreover, the great source of omega-3 from sashimi alone can enhance your heart and also your brain function.
Is sashimi frozen in Japan?
Although sushi is an international cuisine, eating the ingredients raw actually contains a huge amount of risk.
Hence taking precautionary measures against bacterial or parasitic infection by cold temperature is important. Furthermore, frozen fish does not affect the preferability of the sushi.
Besides protecting the brand of the restaurant, it also ensures the freshness of the fish from ocean to the restaurant. Moreover, although high-grade tuna are non-frozen, they undergo “sushi grade” inspection for their quality.
Consequently, to ensure freshness and high price for their tuna, flash freezings are done immediately on the boat after the tuna is caught.
Sushi Freezing Requirements:
Instead of being a high liability for eating restaurants, there are general requirements that restaurants must follow to maintain health safety..
Since in each state generally there are health inspections that are done 1–4 times every year. And additionally before a restaurant’s grand opening.
For example, in New York the DOH requires chefs to serve raw/undercooked fish only after going through a freezing fresh fish process. Thus forcing restaurants to invest in freezers that will freeze raw fish at -31 degrees.
Contrastingly this is a huge health issue in Japan to beware of for travelers. Because in recent years Japan has been the leading country for parasitic worm cases of Anisakiasis.
Although there are low percentages of intestinal worm instances in most countries(2000–3000 Anisakiasis cases/year in Japan). Nonetheless, it’s important to maintain awareness and understanding of the health process of your food.
What is the shelf life of tuna after it is thawed?
Following, raw tuna can last in the freezer for up to 2 to 3 months in top quality in the freezer. But make sure that the meat is frozen at 0 degree Fahrenheit.
However, it should only be left for no more than 2 hours at a temperature over 40 degree Fahrenheit. Since leaving defrost meat in room temperature will increase bacteria growth.
Subsequently, after-thaw meat from defrosting can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 days before cooking. And stands in good condition for 4 days after cooking in the fridge.
How to tell if raw tuna is bad?
Firstly, the best indicator is the best foul sour smell of the meat. Following, if there is a large appearance change of the tuna from the usually bright red rosy hue.
Secondly, another indicator is if there is a slimy texture to the meat. Because the meat should be free from any milky slime.
But these factors can depend on how tightly the fish is package by plastic wrap to limit water accumulation and oxidation.
Meanwhile another detail is the size of the fish before placing it in the freezer. Since smaller fish have smaller surface area for bacteria to attach and initiate decay.
Is Frozen Tuna As Good As Fresh?
Contrastingly, the sushi and sashimi are not served with fresh tuna. But instead these wild ingredients used by restaurants are frozen at some point of the journey.
However, this doesn’t in any way affect the general taste of the tuna. Because even by those who eat sushi frequently, it is still difficult to tell the differencein the taste between fresh and frozen tuna.
Moreover, this common occurrence of freezing fresh fish beforehand is actually a great practice to reducing health risks.
Sashimi Freezing Process
Next you will learn the method to properly store the fish. So to enhance the short shelf life of fresh fish to remain top-quality for months.
How to Freeze the Fish You Caught
1. Plastic & Aluminum Packaging
After you have already gut and clean your catch, the next step is to package it in a way that limits contact with air. Hence for those who catch a lot of fish, a vacuum-sealer will come in handy for wrapping the package tightly.
Generally the wrapping is done with the help of plastic wrap or aluminum foil. So with plastic sealers you layer double wrap to the fish, meanwhile squeezing as much air/water out as possible.
Finally zip things shut before freezing fresh fish with the use of aluminum foil. Reasonably the aluminum foil comes last because with the help of the plastic foil can prevent the taste of aluminum leaching into the food.
Additionally this reduces the health risks of brain issues of the aluminum foil coming in contact with the meat.
2. Freezing Procedure
Lastly comes the freezing procedure, and the most common method is through simply freezing the fish in ice or in the fridge.
Though the former is not as common of a freezing method among small scale fishing. But it is a lot more convenient. Because by directly putting the fish in ice removes the need for a vacuum sealer and stops freezer burn.
But this method has the downfall of requiring a large container to be fill with water. After putting the fish in the container, you will also need a freezer handy to solidify the water.
Subsequently, with the other freezing method you only need to place the already tightly air-sealed package in the freezer to save the flavor.
Flash Freezing VS Frozen
Obviously the biggest development to containing the freshness of seafood is the invention of flash freezings by Clarence Birdseye.
Though slow freezing is still what is popularly used worldwide to freeze food. And slow-freezing works by freezing with natural circulation and electric fans. So it doesn’t stop as much bacterial growth.
Along with the long process time of slow-freezing that creates large ice-crystals that damages the cell of the seafood.
Here’s an introduction to the two freezing process:
Flash Freeze Fish for Sushi
First of all, blast freezing is done very quickly to lock in all the flavors and benefits of fresh fish. Thereof by retaining the freshness of the red meat color and lean firmness.
Furthermore, this is all done through a technologically low temperature freezer(-40 degree F) which prevents quality degradation.
In comparison, the slow freezing ice crystals that are formed between the fibers of the meat breaks the fiber of the meat and ruins the nutritious juice.
Whereas, the blast freezing process happens so quickly which prevents ice crystal formations. So it doesn’t affect the fish during the thawing process.
As well as prompting the growth of microbial growth, besides sealing the nutrients and juices. Above all, guaranteeing against freezer burn and discoloration.
How to Defrost Sushi Grade Fish
The best way to safely thaw sushi grade fish if you’re not in a hurry is to place it in the fridge(35 degrees) overnight beforehand. Therefore, the fish can gradually defrost while preserving the texture.
Apart from this, make sure that the fish you buy is had undergone flash freeze and not slow freezing. Which you can tell by the amount of frost that is covering the fish and the way the package is sealed tightly.
Secondly, if the fish is not already in a tightly sealed bag, place it in a ziplock bag to seal inside. Then place the bagged fish into a tub of water in cool temperature of 60 degree Fahrenheit for an hour.
Finally, use some handy paper towel in your kitchen to absorb the moisture of the fish.
However, if you’re looking to thaw smaller fillets, it follows similar steps you could learn from in this video:
Can You Refreeze Sashimi?
But what about fish sashimi that has already thawed, can you still refreeze it?
Subsequently sashimi can be refreeze, though you will lose the quality of the fish. Because a second thawing will after the new formation of ice crystals will break down even more of the meat.
Along with the increase in bacterial growth since bacteria will multiply at a warm room temperature. Thus your second thaw will produce a cooked fish of less-than-perfect quality.
Here’s a video that answers similarly:
Curing Sushi Fish
What Does Curing Do?
Curing is a process done to better preserve meat. Through the use of salt as a major part to draw out the moisture from the meat.
Therefore the less moisture that is still in the meat, the longer it can last. Additionally, ingredients like nitrites are part of the curing process to insure against bacterial growth.
Although it doesn’t fully guarantee spoilage, some food that are preserved through the curing process is beef jerky and sausages, hot dogs.
Furthermore it adds flavor to the meat through introducing certain desired ingredients of curing agents.
Curing Process:
There are two important parts of the curing process: 1) Addition of salt, 2) Absorption of salt into the meat.
So there are many ways this can be done, two popular curing methods is to massage the salt into the meat. Or through placing the fish into a solution of large quality of salt(20%).
Without doubt, both methods seek to use salting to slow down enzymatic decay of the meat within the muscle tissue of the fish.
Although we only talked about using salt, further curing methods can be complicated to understand. These videos will help explain the process better if you’re looking to cure your fish before cooking:
Is Cured Sashimi Safe?
Firstly, there is always risk that is inherent in any method of preservation. But a safe and effective curing method will make the sashimi safe.
Curing sashimi is like giving the sashimi additional insurance. Since it helps halt the bacterial growth as you thaw you sashimi. Additionally more than making the seafood safer, the dehydration makes it harder for bacteria to survive.
However, the downside is that when sodium nitrite/nitrate is used ineffectively it can risk your health. Because when the sashimi curing contains over 200ppm of sodium nitrite it can be lethal for your body.
Hence there’s a limit to the healthy dosage of this popular preservative method. So instead of using sodium nitrite/nitrate as the preserving ingredient, substitute it with sea salt for curing.
Sashimi Preparation
How to Prepare Sashimi At Home
Before you decide to prepare sashimi at home, you will need to buy sushi-grade fish like salmon, tuna, or yellowtail from the supermarket.
Now all you got to do is fillet and skin the fish. And if it’s already prepared you only need to do some cutting.
First, you want to cut the fillet into rectangular slices, with each slice one centimeter apart. Which is a method for cutting big fish like tuna and kingfish.
Second, you want to make thinner slices to these blocks of fillet, to create a very thin diagonal slicethat is common for sashimi.
Finally when you’re all done with the cutting, you can prepare your dish of sashimi with condiments such as wasabi paste or soy sauce.
How to Make Sushi Grade Salmon
Furthermore the process for making sashimi from salmon follows a similar general process.
Because after you follow the steps from this post of thawing the salmon. The only part that is different is for you to cut away the fish skin of the salmon. Before following with smaller slice cuts to the meat.
Once you’re done preparing the fish, the ingredientscan now be used for creating sushi rolls or for sashimi.
