Thread: Fresh Sushi

My wife and I are big sushi fans but trapped up here in the north where it's a big no no to make freshwater fish into sushi/sashimi. Are there saltwater fish (off the pier/surf) that are good / safe to eat raw?

I know one of you has a sushi kit I just remember who...

Thanks folks!

Mike

Sheepshead, flounder, ground mullet and whiting all make great sushi. I have not tried croaker but I bet its good too. I bet barely legal reds would be fine as well.
Most oily fish don't make good sushi, exception is Spanish macs, but it must be marinated in vinegar first. Look for my recipe in this section or google Saba sushi.

Lots of fish make great shashimi. A big surprise to me was jack crevalle and bonita both of which are really good. I enjoy both king and Spanish mackerel without soaking in vinegar. Flounder is wonderful and my favorites are yellowfin (everyone's favorite..) fresh caught salmon (sadly none to be caught from the pier) and triggerfish if you can get it. And if you ever have the chance, fresh conch is right up there at the top.

The shashimi below that Kyle is about to dig into is jack crevalle. Add soy sauce, sesame seeds and lots of wasabi. So good....

Cucumber slice + cold piece of fresh king + drizzle of soy + wasabe = happy mouth

I will have to try king a/o jack if I ever get back down to the pier and catch one!

Note on salmon, it must be deep frozen (sub-zero) for a certain amount of time to kill any potential parasites it might have. If not, you can end up nasty sick.

Salmon only became a fish used in sashimi/sushi in Japan after deep freezing became available to kill the parasites. This is very different from most marine fishes which don't have any parasites which can survive in mammals.

Thanks for all the input and yes it was Kyle's pics that were in mind about pier fresh sushi haha. Now I'm hungry and its 4 hours to lunch thanks a lot guys!

You can catch some pretty nasty parasites off Tuna as well. By law/reg they have to be frozen before served raw commercially.

Snapper is great, too.

Info on freezing fish to kill parasites.

http://seafoodhealthfacts.org/seafoo.../parasites.php

Never had parasites, but from all I've read and one guy I knew who got them, you do not want them.

Looking for parasites is probably the reason sashimi is sliced so thin. Most, but by no means all, common parasites are visible if you know what you are looking for.

Well last year we struck out on eating fish, but if we do better this year I'll just have to hunt one of you down on the pier. In August I've read you can catch Mangrove Snapper off the pier is this correct?

Mangrove (grey) snapper are around most of the time. But getting the picky SoB's to bite before something else (like pinfish) eats your shrimp or baby LY is another matter altogether.
Years back, I caught them round the Perdido pass bridge piles on really small LYs with some regularity, but mostly shorts. Caught them offshore by chumming them up & using light tackle with no weight, small hooks. That was a blast.

The mangroves are tasty but the majority of the ones you catch close to shore are shorts. I've probably caught 10-20, 11.5in mangroves for every 12in mangrove