There's been some talk about how to source fish for eating raw in the US and I thought I'd share some of my experience since that's a big part of my job. I tend to break this down in to two big criteria: what's important regarding food safety and what's important regarding it being delicious.
There's a lot of misinformation out there and in general the seafood industry is pretty opaque, so I'll try and pare this down to the most important bits. I'll start with general tips first and then go in to some details with more common fish later. Firstly, "sushi grade" doesn't actually have a meaning. Purely a marketing term as there's no standardization across the industry for what that means. It might be good? It might not. While the easiest choice is to find a Japanese market that has a dedicated section for sashimi fish, not everybody has that luxury. It is totally possible to eat fish you find at a regular market raw, but there are some important pieces of knowledge you need. Regarding safety the four big concerns in my opinion are parasites, toxicity, degradation, and contamination.
1) If you're not sure if a particular type of fish can be eaten raw, its best not to experiment. For example, while eel is often used as an ingredient in sushi, raw eel blood is toxic. Don't eat eel raw. While you're starting out, stick to fish you know. There's also a lot of fish can can be eaten raw but taste like garbage (see: bluefish).
2) Not every fish meant for raw consumption has to be super frozen. I see that touted on the internet a lot as one of the important factors, but as someone who works with a lot of fish wholesalers and restaurants, I promise you that most of the time your high-end restaurants are using fish that's never been frozen. There are fish where that can be a desirable step if you have a super freezer, but it's not a requirement. Please don't use your regular freezer. Both you and your fish will regret it.
3) The FDA publishes a document called the "Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Control Guidance" available for free via quick google search. I'll save you some time: see chapter 3, table 3-2. If something has a parasite hazard then I would probably not try it on your own unless you feel really comfortable spotting worms or have a super freezer.
A great example of this is hirame. Hirame usually have a lot of worms. I have no problem eating hirame raw because I'm very comfortable with my ability to handle that particular fish. Usually the parasites are in the guts but migrate to the flesh after the fish dies as a survival mechanism. I get very fresh hirame, and I gut them quickly, so there's usually no issues but I do still check the flesh of each one to be safe. I don't recommend hirame for the average home cook. I would extend this bit of advice to all fish where parasites are a potential problem.
Also, just because something has a check in a box on this table doesn't mean it can't be eaten raw, just that potential problems have been identified and that additional care should be taken. There's a lot of variation here, so DM if you need specific guidance on a particular fish.
4) Regarding things you can control: degradation! If possible buy whole fish. That way you can check the gills, eyes, firmness, scent, etc for freshness. Really nice fish doesn't smell fishy. The skin also shouldn't be slimy. The eyes should be clear. The flesh should be firm. The gills should be bright and not dull and discolored.
5) Contamination - while something like a frozen yellowfin tuna block would probably be okay to eat raw from a safety perspective, I tend not to like to buy pre-cut fish. It's different if you can see the butcher and the space where they cut the fish, but if you're buying a frozen tuna steak from walmart then I would probably avoid it. The reason being is that large scale commercial fish processors are great at avoiding things like cross-species contamination, but I've spent enough time in large commercial fish processing plants to tell you that they're kinda gross. Hence my advice to avoid mass processed fish.
6) Here's my steps to achieve tasty fish buying for the home cook:
- First see what's available in your area.
- Reference the FDA list mentioned above to see what you feel comfortable working with.
- Preferably buy the freshest whole fish you can find and remove the guts and gills as soon as you're able to.
- Butcher, slice, and eat.
I don't think it's as hard as many people think it is. Just do a little bit of reading, trust your own senses, and enjoy. Most of the popular sashimi fish aren't going to kill you or make you sick unless you're buying a worm-infested, 2 week old filet from a fishmonger who doesn't wash their hands.
There's a lot of misinformation out there and in general the seafood industry is pretty opaque, so I'll try and pare this down to the most important bits. I'll start with general tips first and then go in to some details with more common fish later. Firstly, "sushi grade" doesn't actually have a meaning. Purely a marketing term as there's no standardization across the industry for what that means. It might be good? It might not. While the easiest choice is to find a Japanese market that has a dedicated section for sashimi fish, not everybody has that luxury. It is totally possible to eat fish you find at a regular market raw, but there are some important pieces of knowledge you need. Regarding safety the four big concerns in my opinion are parasites, toxicity, degradation, and contamination.
1) If you're not sure if a particular type of fish can be eaten raw, its best not to experiment. For example, while eel is often used as an ingredient in sushi, raw eel blood is toxic. Don't eat eel raw. While you're starting out, stick to fish you know. There's also a lot of fish can can be eaten raw but taste like garbage (see: bluefish).
2) Not every fish meant for raw consumption has to be super frozen. I see that touted on the internet a lot as one of the important factors, but as someone who works with a lot of fish wholesalers and restaurants, I promise you that most of the time your high-end restaurants are using fish that's never been frozen. There are fish where that can be a desirable step if you have a super freezer, but it's not a requirement. Please don't use your regular freezer. Both you and your fish will regret it.
3) The FDA publishes a document called the "Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Control Guidance" available for free via quick google search. I'll save you some time: see chapter 3, table 3-2. If something has a parasite hazard then I would probably not try it on your own unless you feel really comfortable spotting worms or have a super freezer.
A great example of this is hirame. Hirame usually have a lot of worms. I have no problem eating hirame raw because I'm very comfortable with my ability to handle that particular fish. Usually the parasites are in the guts but migrate to the flesh after the fish dies as a survival mechanism. I get very fresh hirame, and I gut them quickly, so there's usually no issues but I do still check the flesh of each one to be safe. I don't recommend hirame for the average home cook. I would extend this bit of advice to all fish where parasites are a potential problem.
Also, just because something has a check in a box on this table doesn't mean it can't be eaten raw, just that potential problems have been identified and that additional care should be taken. There's a lot of variation here, so DM if you need specific guidance on a particular fish.
4) Regarding things you can control: degradation! If possible buy whole fish. That way you can check the gills, eyes, firmness, scent, etc for freshness. Really nice fish doesn't smell fishy. The skin also shouldn't be slimy. The eyes should be clear. The flesh should be firm. The gills should be bright and not dull and discolored.
5) Contamination - while something like a frozen yellowfin tuna block would probably be okay to eat raw from a safety perspective, I tend not to like to buy pre-cut fish. It's different if you can see the butcher and the space where they cut the fish, but if you're buying a frozen tuna steak from walmart then I would probably avoid it. The reason being is that large scale commercial fish processors are great at avoiding things like cross-species contamination, but I've spent enough time in large commercial fish processing plants to tell you that they're kinda gross. Hence my advice to avoid mass processed fish.
6) Here's my steps to achieve tasty fish buying for the home cook:
- First see what's available in your area.
- Reference the FDA list mentioned above to see what you feel comfortable working with.
- Preferably buy the freshest whole fish you can find and remove the guts and gills as soon as you're able to.
- Butcher, slice, and eat.
I don't think it's as hard as many people think it is. Just do a little bit of reading, trust your own senses, and enjoy. Most of the popular sashimi fish aren't going to kill you or make you sick unless you're buying a worm-infested, 2 week old filet from a fishmonger who doesn't wash their hands.
