Sushi, what's safe?

Obviously a nice salmon or tuna makes good sushi, but I'm wondering if any of the white fish can be safely consumed raw?  Rockfish aren't exactly bottom fish, would they be safe to eat nigiri style?

Obviously a nice salmon or tuna makes good sushi, but I'm wondering if any of the white fish can be safely consumed raw?  Rockfish aren't exactly bottom fish, would they be safe to eat nigiri style?

I wouldn't, I've seen worms in them before...

Obviously a nice salmon or tuna makes good sushi, but I'm wondering if any of the white fish can be safely consumed raw?  Rockfish aren't exactly bottom fish, would they be safe to eat nigiri style?

FYI, salmon have a lot of parasites that need to be killed by a hard freezing before it can be consumed raw. You can get seriously ill eating fresh raw salmon. The one rule of thumb is freezing fish at −20°C (−4°F) for 24 hours kills parasites. I believe that you want the meat at that temp, thus the time for the center of the fish to get that temp depends on the size of the fish. I think that there is a continuum of temperature/time combinations. I believe that tuna can be safely consumed fresh. With proper precaution (freezing to kill parasites) almost any fish can be consumed raw.

Obviously a nice salmon or tuna makes good sushi, but I'm wondering if any of the white fish can be safely consumed raw?  Rockfish aren't exactly bottom fish, would they be safe to eat nigiri style?

Rockfish is a staple of sashimi.  Different species seem to have different qualities.  Almost every fish is ok to eat raw.  Its just a matter of risk.  Wild salmon is iffy if not frozen.  The stuff you see in the sushi shops is farmed Atlantic Salmon for the most part.  Never been exposed to freshwater parasites.  Most freshwater species aren't good due to parasites.  Last year I had raw herring it was amazingly good.

Certain species of flounder and sole are prized for sashimi.  Halibut it ok if they are the small one..smaller the better.  Japanese pay a premium for the "frilly" meat around the edges of a halibut or even arrowtooth flounder.  It's called Engawa and is considered the best part of the flatfish.

Its amazing what you can eat raw.  Just as an example, in Japan one of my favorite "sashimi" is beef liver.  FDA would have a cow (pun intended) if a US restaurant served that.  It has to be super fresh but I have NEVER gotten sick on it.

When in doubt, freeze it.  It loses texture but its a lot safer.

There are a pile of different things to worry about when eating raw fish. The most common food poisoning you can get from raw fish is from bacteria that grows after the fish is killed and filleted. If you want to eat your fish raw be very conscious of the the temperature at which it is being stored. Anything over 38 degrees will increase bacteria growth. There is bacteria on most fish before you cook it. Heat kills that bacteria.

The second issue is parasites. I am not an expert on what fish parasites can be carried by humans. Bottom fish carry more parasites than pelagics.  If you really want to eat bottom fish raw freezing fish to -20 and holding for 24 hours will kill most parasites. Most residential freezes will not get fish that cold.

The only fish I would eat raw, that I catch myself in the northwest, would be ocean caught salmon, Tuna, sardines and mackerel.

But feel free to try others I know plenty of people that think it is ok.

So if I caught a relatively young rockfish, kept it alive until I was heading in, then threw it in the cooler under some dry ice overnight...

Sounds like a lot of trouble.  I'll get my fix at the Blue island in Fed Way tonight. 

Is it ok to grill or fry my sushi?  Thats my favorite way to eat it

So if I caught a relatively young rockfish, kept it alive until I was heading in, then threw it in the cooler under some dry ice overnight...

Sounds like a lot of trouble.  I'll get my fix at the Blue island in Fed Way tonight.

Just bleed it, keep it chilled. You'll be fine. Leave the skin on to avoid contamination. If you are worried, just freeze for a few days. My advice is to freeze pretty much everything. Just to be safe.

The only issue is most species we catch aren't all that good as sashimi. Most rockfish and halibut would be subpar when compared to red snapper for example. In the pacific northwest the seafood best served as sashimi in my opinion is ocean salmon (freeze if wild or anywhere near freshwater), spot prawns, squid.


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Is it ok to grill or fry my sushi?  Thats my favorite way to eat it

technically yes .... Sushi only refers to a dish served with vinegared rice.
Sashimi is a different story =)

ok then, technically I was asking about nigiri.

ok then, technically I was asking about nigiri.

I'm glad you were able to notice that I was not quoting your post ....

I know you didn't, but I named the thread "sushi" and it should have been nigiri or sashimi or something more specific. 

BUT - fried nigiri is pretty awesome.  Blue island has a 'black pepper seared tuna nigiri'.  By far my favorite.

Obviously a nice salmon or tuna makes good sushi, but I'm wondering if any of the white fish can be safely consumed raw?  Rockfish aren't exactly bottom fish, would they be safe to eat nigiri style?

Yellow Eye a.k.a. Red Snapper is the only rockfish i've had nigiri style. It's amazing too!

Obviously a nice salmon or tuna makes good sushi, but I'm wondering if any of the white fish can be safely consumed raw?  Rockfish aren't exactly bottom fish, would they be safe to eat nigiri style?

FYI, salmon have a lot of parasites that need to be killed by a hard freezing before it can be consumed raw. You can get seriously ill eating fresh raw salmon. The one rule of thumb is freezing fish at −20°C (−4°F) for 24 hours kills parasites. I believe that you want the meat at that temp, thus the time for the center of the fish to get that temp depends on the size of the fish. I think that there is a continuum of temperature/time combinations. I believe that tuna can be safely consumed fresh. With proper precaution (freezing to kill parasites) almost any fish can be consumed raw.

YEP, I hear That, Some one needs to tell Survival Expert ( Bear Grills ) He ate Raw Salmon on one Show in Alaska, Not a Smart move as Then He smelled like BEAR Bait too. LOL

i like sashimi or ceviche for local saltwater fish. salmon, pink fin perch, or rock greenling are my favorite, although we will eat other perch or kelp greenling as well as some smaller ling or brf sliced very thin. except for salmon, I like to hold the fillets up to the light to check for parasites. i always freeze salmon for sashimi. Probably wise to freeze all fish before eating it raw, but we don't always do that. Haven't got sick yet. Did get some gastro-intestinal discomfort from oyster shooters once. Best & freshest local oysters I've found are from the Winchester Bay Triangle. http://www.umpquaoysters.com/. Always fresh, never had a problem with them. Their yearling oysters are the best raw.