Columbia River King Sushi

[pickardjw]

Anyone turn their upriver brights into sushi? Been reading about it some and obviously saltwater salmon is preferable, but wondering if anyone has any expert food safety knowledge as far as upriver bright kings for sushi.

I've eaten a couple fillet's off this king and another in the past month. Caught below McNary, bled, well iced and frozen below -4 for more than 7 days. Thawed, dry brined for an hour, rinsed, cut and down the hatch.

[pd]

That looks very good.

Bled is great, this shows quality care on your part.  Frozen for 48 hours is the norm, but 7 days will not hurt the quality of the meat (as long as you avoided freezer burn).

The fat content looks pretty good for mid-latitude salmon.

There is an expert on this forum.  I look forward to his response.

[pd]

@pianoman9701

[Blacklab]

I like it🤑🤑🤑

[pickardjw]

That looks very good.

Bled is great, this shows quality care on your part.  Frozen for 48 hours is the norm, but 7 days will not hurt the quality of the meat (as long as you avoided freezer burn).

The fat content looks pretty good for mid-latitude salmon.

There is an expert on this forum.  I look forward to his response.

Thanks, I'm pretty picky in terms of care from field to table with fish (and game for that matter). Bonk em, bleed em, into the ice ASAP covered on both sides. I like to gut and fill the cavity with ice if possible. If not I gut before filleting to prevent any gut contents from touching the meat.

Once filleted and home I pat dry and vac seal. Try not to hose em down with any fresh water per Reed the Fish Monger's instruction. Though I'm not exactly sure if that advice translates to freshwater caught salmon. No issues with freezer burn yet. Haven't had any last more than 6 months anyway.

I do hang over the boat to bleed, but only for the amount of time it takes for me to mark a catch card, rebait and reset the rod. Maybe a few minutes.

[pianoman9701]

Your food safety is spot on. That looks delicious. Now if we can get some chanterelles to pop,...

[wadu1]

You need to add a little nori wrap and some wasabi on the side. 

[pickardjw]

You need to add a little nori wrap and some wasabi on the side. 

We've done a couple rolls as well. One really plain, but the other has smoked cream cheese and cucumber in it. That one was pretty killer. Rice was better on that one too. Rolling skills could use some work!

[pickardjw]

Your food safety is spot on. That looks delicious. Now if we can get some chanterelles to pop,...

Any thoughts on the fish being upriver and having spent time in freshwater? About the only info I've found is below from an old ifish post. The poster's account is no longer active.

It is true that the longer the fish is in freshwater the higher the odds are of parasites. That being said, salmon obtain parasites through feeding, not through dermal contact. And since they are not truly actively feeding when in fresh water, I would say that any caught below bonny have the same risk as ocean caught.

This is for parasite destruction. It does nothing for pathogens so proper icing and handling of fresh catch is important.

I would suggest freezing for 7 days in your chest freezer and make sure you chill fresh caught fish down as low and as quick as possible.

Steelhead have a higher risk as they are active feeders when they are in the rivers, so be sure to freeze them as well.


No mention of an opinion for further upriver. Wouldn't try it with a colored up, softer flesh upriver fish. Just not sure if there's a greater risk with a bright, firm fish from say Wells.

[wadu1]

You need to add a little nori wrap and some wasabi on the side. 

We've done a couple rolls as well. One really plain, but the other has smoked cream cheese and cucumber in it. That one was pretty killer. Rice was better on that one too. Rolling skills could use some work!

That looks great Rolling and sticky rice takes a knack and skill that I don't have. Smoked salmon skin also makes a great filler and daikon.

[pd]

Your food safety is spot on. That looks delicious. Now if we can get some chanterelles to pop,...

Any thoughts on the fish being upriver and having spent time in freshwater? About the only info I've found is below from an old ifish post. The poster's account is no longer active.

That's a great question.  In the trade we don't deal with any freshwater caught salmon (in the PNW, what would only be river-caught tribal gill netted fish), so I don't have any specific knowledge of changes to the flesh quality upon entering fresh water.  Hmmm.  Very interesting.  PMan should know better.

As for parasites, all salmon in the salt should be assumed to have them.  For this reason, all salmon must be deep frozen before use in raw cuisine.  I can't see why river borne fish would be worse than that.

Bleeding is quite the subject.  For salmon, my understanding is the current "best" method is cutting gills to let the fish bleed out, which also avoids any contamination via the guts (do not cut there).  I wonder what Skillet says about this.

[pd]

@Skillet

[Skillet]

Beautiful fish,  the sashimi and sushi is on point! 

Agree with the advice given - bleeding is a must for the best product.  Cut the gill arches at the least.   I really prefer to pressure bleed,  the difference is significant.  Did a little tutorial over on the commercial fishing thread. 

Good fishin everybody -

[pianoman9701]

Your food safety is spot on. That looks delicious. Now if we can get some chanterelles to pop,...

Any thoughts on the fish being upriver and having spent time in freshwater? About the only info I've found is below from an old ifish post. The poster's account is no longer active.

It is true that the longer the fish is in freshwater the higher the odds are of parasites. That being said, salmon obtain parasites through feeding, not through dermal contact. And since they are not truly actively feeding when in fresh water, I would say that any caught below bonny have the same risk as ocean caught.

This is for parasite destruction. It does nothing for pathogens so proper icing and handling of fresh catch is important.

I would suggest freezing for 7 days in your chest freezer and make sure you chill fresh caught fish down as low and as quick as possible.

Steelhead have a higher risk as they are active feeders when they are in the rivers, so be sure to freeze them as well.


No mention of an opinion for further upriver. Wouldn't try it with a colored up, softer flesh upriver fish. Just not sure if there's a greater risk with a bright, firm fish from say Wells.

I'm not sure about them being further upriver. If they're still brights, I don't think it makes a difference in texture or flavor. Water temperature may have some effect. Possibly higher mercury levels???    All salmon consumed raw should be frozen at least a week.

[pickardjw]

Your food safety is spot on. That looks delicious. Now if we can get some chanterelles to pop,...

Any thoughts on the fish being upriver and having spent time in freshwater? About the only info I've found is below from an old ifish post. The poster's account is no longer active.

It is true that the longer the fish is in freshwater the higher the odds are of parasites. That being said, salmon obtain parasites through feeding, not through dermal contact. And since they are not truly actively feeding when in fresh water, I would say that any caught below bonny have the same risk as ocean caught.

This is for parasite destruction. It does nothing for pathogens so proper icing and handling of fresh catch is important.

I would suggest freezing for 7 days in your chest freezer and make sure you chill fresh caught fish down as low and as quick as possible.

Steelhead have a higher risk as they are active feeders when they are in the rivers, so be sure to freeze them as well.


No mention of an opinion for further upriver. Wouldn't try it with a colored up, softer flesh upriver fish. Just not sure if there's a greater risk with a bright, firm fish from say Wells.

I'm not sure about them being further upriver. If they're still brights, I don't think it makes a difference in texture or flavor. Water temperature may have some effect. Possibly higher mercury levels???    All salmon consumed raw should be frozen at least a week.

 

Got skunked this morning at wells. Threw everything I had at them on both sides. Going out for the evening. Another 3am wake up tomorrow though.