Hi! i bought a pair of whole mackerel from H-Mart in Boston, and i would love to break them down and have some mackerel sashimi. Is this safe without refreezing? Should I take the "FROZEN" on the label as "this has been frozen in a commercial freezer long enough to kill parasites"? Thank you for any advice.
by wensistrans
25 Comments
I definitely would stay away.
Mackerel is notorious for carrying parasites. Unless processed properly. Sushi quality mackerel costs about 10x as much.
you gotta « shime » them
Absolutely not
Sushi fish is expensive for a reason
This is more likely for grilling
At hmarts sushi section, well the hmarts I go to, have mackerel sashimi. This packaged stuff could be the same mackerel they use for their own hmart branded sashimi. Could ask the people at the seafood section if it is. And if it is, if they’d eat it raw.
Mackerel sushi requires preparation. Not eaten straight up.
This is for grilling or fishing bait.
In general that is not fish I would make sashimi out of. It’s for cooking, grilling is the best option as others have said.
Grill, not sushi
They have the prepared mackerel very close to the fish you’ve found. I get it there all the time.
They have vinegared mackerel in the sushi fish section, it comes frozen on a little wooden plank
Grill and serve with grated daikon radish + soy sauce.
Mackerel is my favorite budget fish for this.
no
i thought those were tire tracks
Grill it or broil it
Mackerel is not a matter of parasites or bacteria – it is a matter of it goes rancid in hours, even in the freezer. In other words – even without it “going bad” in the sense of bacteria making it unsafe to eat, the biochemicals naturally in mackerel meat spontaneously break down on their own to make a very bad smell and taste.
I don’t know how sushi restaurants manage to pull it off, honestly. This is why mackerel is always served pickled/marinated, the acid helps neutralize the odor compounds. But even then… the only time I’ve made edible mackerel sashimi is when I caught it myself and ate it literally straight out of the water, ikizukuri style. Even using the pickling method by the time I got home, about 4 hours on ice, it was hard to stomach.
Funny enough i bought the exact same fish from h mart boston around the same date as you. I soaked them in sake, soy, and Koji for a day before grilling and then freezing again for later hand rolls
I haven’t used the plain mackerel, but I bought 3 three pack of salted mackerel filwts, added vinegar and sugar and it cane out well (not quite as tender but flavor was solid)
No this needs cooking
Don’t listen to the blanket statements saying don’t eat it raw. If you know what to look for and how to prepare it, you’ll be fine.
First, selecting frozen mackerel is perfectly fine. Typically you would look for red gills and bright clear eyes, and nice looking skin. For example, the skin looks good in this picture. You won’t be able to see the red gills but the eyes and the skin has always been good enough for me for confirmation that it’s fresh. It is further confirmed when I find the bright red gills when thawed.
Next you’ll have to prepare the mackerel. After filleting, salt and sugar cure for 30 minutes, rinse, followed by 30 minutes of rice vinegar soak. Rinse one more time and then you can start cutting your sashimi.
I’ve made it this way no less than a dozen times so maybe I haven’t hit statistical significance for this method to be safe. But I feel good about it and stand by it.
Everyone says grill but just broil them. Way better than
Sometimes they’re used for a spicy soup.
https://shop.yamaseafood.com/products/shime-saba-cured-mackerel?variant=43258281197757&country=US¤cy=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvtfRxoiiiwMVYCrUAR3p3ScLEAQYASABEgLs5vD_BwE
This vinegared mackerel is $5 a pop at the H Mart in Dallas and Plano Tx. Just thaw and eat.
Do not eat the packed mackerel raw- it isn’t prepped correctly and the quality suffers
Please don’t most likely carry parasites