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Message
Buying "Sushi" Grade Ahi Tuna
Posted on 6/12/16 at 7:04 pm
Posted on 6/12/16 at 7:04 pm
One of our favorite foods is the simple poke bowls you find all over Hawaii.
While I know Sushi grade is not a real classification, places like whole foods use it to mean a standard on how the fish was frozen.
We have had great luck buying Sushi grade from our local whole foods, and I have not been adventurous enough to buy the cheaper Ahi you find at other markets. However we were informed that our local whole foods while still will be making Sushi for the masses, they now want $40 dollars a lb.
So anyone have an alternative?
While I know Sushi grade is not a real classification, places like whole foods use it to mean a standard on how the fish was frozen.
We have had great luck buying Sushi grade from our local whole foods, and I have not been adventurous enough to buy the cheaper Ahi you find at other markets. However we were informed that our local whole foods while still will be making Sushi for the masses, they now want $40 dollars a lb.
So anyone have an alternative?
7
Posted on 6/12/16 at 7:10 pm to UltimaParadox
Whole foods is absurd. I'll never shop there. I'm usually able to find good tuna here at local shops and one of my friends occasionally gets me some that he has caught
Posted on 6/12/16 at 8:28 pm to UltimaParadox
I buy the frozen steaks from Rouses. They vacuumed packed and if defrosted properly are fine to eat raw.
A month or so ago I was in Whole Foods, their fresh Jumbo Gulf Shrimp were on sale for $18.99#. I laughed, at the thought of someone paying that much for shrimp in New Orleans and sure enough a woman walked up and ordered 3 lbs.
A month or so ago I was in Whole Foods, their fresh Jumbo Gulf Shrimp were on sale for $18.99#. I laughed, at the thought of someone paying that much for shrimp in New Orleans and sure enough a woman walked up and ordered 3 lbs.
This post was edited on 6/12/16 at 9:36 pm
Posted on 6/12/16 at 8:35 pm to CHEDBALLZ
Whole foods tuna is now coming previously frozen at $27 lb in Baton Rouge. 
Posted on 6/12/16 at 8:40 pm to UltimaParadox
New Orleans Fish House is supposed to be adding a retail consumer online ordering system. If you are in New Orleans you can stop in and get whatever you need even though they mainly do wholesale.
Posted on 6/12/16 at 9:25 pm to UltimaParadox
Sushi grade is a classification. There is #1, #2+, and #2 or #3 grade tuna which is a classification of fat content of the meat when a sample is drawn, color, freshness, outside appearance, etc. #1 tuna should be very expensive honestly. I've seen wholesale as high as $28-30 a lb. A lot of sushi restaurants in the Baton Rouge area use #2 grade IQF tuna that has been preserved with carbon monoxide to deliver that super pink/rose color to the meat, called saku blocks. The texture is usually a bit more firm than fresh #1 and not nearly as flavorful.
LINK
LINK
Posted on 6/13/16 at 6:58 am to UltimaParadox
quote:
While I know Sushi grade is not a real classification, places like whole foods use it to mean a standard on how the fish was frozen.
Frozen has nothing to do with tuna being "sushi" grade. This is the FDA's recommendation to kill parasites in the fish to make it safe for raw consumption The FDA recommends freezing at -31 °F for 15 hours, or at -4 °F for 7 days to kill parasites. Just like with raw oysters, tons of people every day eat fresh tuna that has never been frozen and do not get sick.
All in all this is a big farce in my opinion. Majority of Japanese sushi chefs will not accept any "fresh" tuna that has been frozen. Freezing can alter the color, taste, and the texture of the fish.
Some do use frozen treated (with CO2 gas or similar processes) but the more traditional chefs to not prefer this.
When my family was in the tuna business (for over 20+ years), we had to put in our HACCP plan (dictated by the FDA) that we would sell tuna with the intention it would be cooked. This put the burden on the restaurant to adhere to FDA's regulations. In reality, we could never sell our tuna to sushi restaurants if we would have froze it. The sushi chefs would have rejected it every time.
This post was edited on 6/13/16 at 7:13 am
Posted on 6/13/16 at 7:09 am to lilwineman
quote:
classification of fat content of the meat
Fat content only comes in to play on Bluefin and to a lesser extent with bigeye tuna. There aren't a ton of fatty bigeye tuna and hardly ever any fatty yellowfin tuna. Yellowfin tuna are usually pretty lean.
I can go more into the grading process if anyone is interested. It might be too TLDR for most people.
Your link covers a lot of it but not all of it.
quote:
I've seen wholesale as high as $28-30 a lb.
Are you talking about whole fish (H&G-headless and gutted), loined (skin on, blood line in), loined (skin on, blood line out), loined (skin off, blood line out), or portioned (skin off, blood line out-think tuna steaks)? All of the above alter the price obviously. I've never seen tuna that high unless it was steaks (no skin, blood line trimmed).
This post was edited on 6/13/16 at 7:12 am
Posted on 6/13/16 at 7:33 am to JasonL79
quote:
can go more into the grading process if anyone is interested.
Yep... please continue.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 7:58 am to JasonL79
quote:
All in all this is a big farce in my opinion. Majority of Japanese sushi chefs will not accept any "fresh" tuna that has been frozen. Freezing can alter the color, taste, and the texture of the fish.
There's no way this is true, fish is frozen the second it is caught.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 8:57 am to lilwineman
quote:
Sushi grade is a classification.
Nope. It's marketing. Every restaurant and retailer could add "sushi grade" to their product description without having to meet any product standards.
This post was edited on 6/13/16 at 9:17 am
Posted on 6/13/16 at 8:58 am to reb13
quote:
There's no way this is true, fish is frozen the second it is caught.
Not true either. Fish is put on ice. That =/= frozen.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 9:20 am to reb13
Definitely not true that all tuna are frozen on landing. Especially untrue for tuna landed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 9:32 am to JasonL79
quote:
I can go more into the grading process if anyone is interested. It might be too TLDR for most people.
I love raw tuna. Please let me bask in your knowledge.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 9:40 am to colorchangintiger
Same here go on. I have gotten both the wild fresh tuna and the previously frozen sashimi tuna from fresh market. The wild fresh cost more and it wound up having that silver skin in it that I could nut get through with a knife and the sashimi was awesome. I thought that sashimi meant it was frozen for the parasites but would like to know more.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 12:10 pm to NOLAGT
quote:
I have gotten both the wild fresh tuna and the previously frozen sashimi tuna from fresh market. The wild fresh cost more and it wound up having that silver skin in it that I could nut get through with a knife and the sashimi was awesome. I thought that sashimi meant it was frozen for the parasites but would like to know more.
Same here. I go to Fresh Market once every other week and buy the sashimi grade and love it. I might do that tonight.
Posted on 6/13/16 at 12:51 pm to Janky
I have only gotten each once and I enjoyed the sashimi MUCH more but that could have been that skin in the other. 700 on the primo for a few seconds a side...mm mmm. Makes me want to do that again
Posted on 6/13/16 at 7:25 pm to reb13
quote:
There's no way this is true, fish is frozen the second it is caught.
This may be the case with some (not all) big shrimp boats but it is not the case when it comes to fish caught in the gulf of mexico.
Here's some old (25+ years old probably) pics from one of our old seafood docks. It's basically done the same way now except now they have more imported tuna coming into the US and a lot less domestic boats.
Tuna Boat
Unloading the boats
Storage of fish before shipped to cities all over the US
Posted on 6/13/16 at 7:33 pm to Janky
quote:
Same here. I go to Fresh Market once every other week and buy the sashimi grade and love it. I might do that tonight.
Lots of good information in this thread and glad to see a lot of people enjoy tuna like me.
We are getting a fresh market very soon. Obliviously prices are regional, but what prices have you been getting.
As far as the Sushi grade discussion, I was under the impression that tuna does not have to be frozen immediately. However places like fresh market or whole foods require it to sell it as Sushi grade.
That being said I am not an expert, so thanks for all the info.
Plus I believe all fish besides tuna must be frozen correct?
Posted on 6/13/16 at 7:41 pm to UltimaParadox
quote:
Plus I believe all fish besides tuna must be frozen correct
No, not at all, I have read a few times people have that misconception and I am wondering where it came from?
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