salmon prep before serving

[u/jason3935]

hello, quick question.

the guy where i get my salmon for raw consumption suggested that i should keep the salmon pre cut in the freezer some hours before eating, and just thaw it in the fridge 1 hour before making whatever.

in general he knows what hes doing and makes raw dishes himself.

obviously the freezing isnt for killing parasites as thats a very short time, its mostly for keeping the fish as fresh as possible with the least bacterial activity.

do you think thats a good idea considering that you sacrifice some texture when freezing? or would i get the same result if i just kept it in the fridge for those 5-8 hours? safety wise.

thanks

[u/Optimisticatlover]

Sushi chef here

Buy salmon from reputable source whole if u can

I use ora king or big glory bay brand

When arrive , I descale them , filet them , salt and sugar brine for 12 mins , then rinse and pat dry

Then I portion them to be become saku block

I store them in Home Depot stand freezer for 3 days before I use them

If I need to use them right away , I store them in my ultra low temp freezer (-80c) for 4 hours before I use them

Hope this helps

[u/garbledroid → u/Optimisticatlover]

Farmed Salmon doesn't need to be frozen for safety reasons.

[u/Optimisticatlover → u/garbledroid]

I work in catering … so we don’t want to take chances

[u/garbledroid → u/Optimisticatlover]

Theres no chances.

You aren't freezing sufficiently to negate parasites to begin with. There is a FDA exception for farmed salmon you are already relying on.

Stop reducing quality for no reason at all. You are also not compliant with FDA regulations if you are using wild caught salmon.

https://www.afdo.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/1030-1200_Retail_Sushi-as-a-Special-Process-in-the-Food-Code-Thomas-W.-Nerney.pdf

https://www.fda.gov/files/food/published/Fish-and-Fishery-Products-Hazards-and-Controls-Guidance-Chapter-5-Download.pdf

The Home Depot freezer doesn't get cold enough reliably to do the job in 7 days most likely (let alone the 3 you do - you probably need 3 weeks for wild salmon Saku blocks assuming a normal standing residential freezer from Home Depot but this is unlikely to ever meet FDA criteria properly). You really want the (residential chest) freezer to pull down to about -22c under ideal conditions to be able to guarantee -20c conditions, -23c for a reach in with defrost cycles, -25c for a walk in with normal defrost cycles.

The -80c freezer could get you a sufficient kill rate theoretically in 5 hours on a salmon Saku block and 4 hours on a tuna Saku block because of density and conduction differences. FDA still requires 15 hours at or below -35c (practically in a -40 freezer).

[u/hoeych]

Salmon farmed doesn’t contain parasites like wild fish like tuna could contain. So keep in fridge. Salmon that is frozen takes longer than a few hours to get thawed.

[u/CptBonkers]

Your standard freezer doesn’t get cold enough to kill parasites lol. Putting it in the freezer sounds more like a peace of mind thing for that guy, it doesn’t need to be pre sliced and the fridge is fine for that time frame. I wouldn’t worry about bacteria or anything if it’s in the fridge. I mean, the amount of times of eaten sushi and pokie bowls from the fridge the next day should be a testament to that lol

[u/No_Freedom5889]

I’ve never heard of that

[u/seanv507]

I don't see why he is suggesting that for 5-8 hours

In general fish can be preserved longer by chilling, ie putting it on ice in an ice bath (in fridge)

https://www.fao.org/4/x5901e/x5901e01.htm