Sushi Mistake - Near Tasteless

[Vision]

Hi all, I made basic salmon sushi yesterday, salmon on top of rice pillows. Picked up wonderful looking, fatty, farm raised salmon from an great asian grocery. The rice came out perfect but the salmon was bland boarding on tasteless. Even the belly. Disappointing. I could have purchased wild salmon but find it hard to believe every low end purveyor of sushi who turns out tasty salmon sushi uses wild caught salmon.

 

So I'm wondering why is every generic salmon piece I get from cheapo grocery store or happy hour taste great. If I go to a local supermarket and spend $5 on a 6 pack of salmon sushi setting in the refrigerator case for a few days, why can I taste the salmon and richness of the fat there but not yesterday? Are they cutting strips of salmon and seasoning them ahead of time with msg?

[weedy]

To ME, anyway, the pleasure in great sushi* and sashimi is in great fish... not in any trick that might make lesser fish 'work'

 

the fish I buy from my Japanese market is great right as is... with nothing at all done to it or put on it. 

That is, to me, where it needs to always start. 

 

If yours is bland, you need to find better fish. 

And it's likely to cost you. 

 

*i only eat out for sashimi and sushi at the super high end restaurants (the Morimoto and Nobu and Masa types of the world) in the US.  

I am spoiled by eating in Japan too many times. 

The average local place in North America is just too much as you describe your own effort: bland and boring. 

 

I'd rather buy great fish and cut it myself. 

 

[FeChef]

Can't say ive tried it when making sashimi, but maybe brine your salmon in salt/ice water (1/4 cup kosher salt, 1 Quart ice water) an hour before slicing. I do this when making sous vide salmon and it always comes out perfect. Try on a small portion first and rince and pat dry before slicing.

[dcarch]

22 hours ago, Vision said:

Hi all, I made basic salmon sushi yesterday, salmon on top of rice pillows. Picked up wonderful looking, fatty, farm raised salmon from an great asian grocery. The rice came out perfect but the salmon was bland boarding on tasteless. Even the belly. Disappointing. I could have purchased wild salmon but find it hard to believe every low end purveyor of sushi who turns out tasty salmon sushi uses wild caught salmon.

 

So I'm wondering why is every generic salmon piece I get from cheapo grocery store or happy hour taste great. If I go to a local supermarket and spend $5 on a 6 pack of salmon sushi setting in the refrigerator case for a few days, why can I taste the salmon and richness of the fat there but not yesterday? Are they cutting strips of salmon and seasoning them ahead of time with msg?

 

May be you can put some Old Bay Seasoning on the salmon? 

I have found that sometimes when I was hitted by some cold germs, under the weather, everything would taste flavorless.

 

dcarch

 

[gfweb]

I think the sushi place we go to brines it in a little salt and sugar. Is this standard or a trick...I don't know.

[scubadoo97]

18 hours ago, gfweb said:

I think the sushi place we go to brines it in a little salt and sugar. Is this standard or a trick...I don't know.

I think it's a common practice.  I think I remember reading, salt, sugar and sake from some article.  

[TicTac]

I have never heard of any Japanese (see; Japanese owned/run - unlike - sadly -  most 'sushi' places out there) place which brines their salmon.

 

Then again I typically do not get Salmon when out for sushi...

Edited June 20, 2017 by TicTac (log)

[olofliddin]

wow I've always wanted to make sushi but I cant find fresh fish here at my town.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

10 hours ago, olofliddin said:

wow I've always wanted to make sushi but I cant find fresh fish here at my town.

 

The Lobster Place?

 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

12 hours ago, olofliddin said:

wow I've always wanted to make sushi but I cant find fresh fish here at my town.

 

You might be interested in this thread. I believe you can find just about anything you desire in NYC if you look for it.

[weinoo]

3 words - farm-raised salmon. Equals lousy salmon.

[TicTac]

21 minutes ago, weinoo said:

3 words - farm-raised salmon. Equals lousy salmon.

This.

 

One of the main reasons why I don't get salmon at Japanese restaurants (or anywhere, for that matter).  I have had some great wild salmon sushi in Vancouver @ Tojo's, but rarely do you see it far from home and when you do it is very seasonal.

 

On the flip side, the other week I had a sublime piece of Ocean Trout sushi (far cousin of Salmon!) which he grated some yuzu on top of - so rich and unctuous. 

 

Why bother with Salmon when there is Blue Fin Tuna / Toro!

 

[weinoo]

50 minutes ago, TicTac said:

Why bother with Salmon when there is Blue Fin Tuna / Toro!

 

 

I actually avoid Blue fin as well, not because of the flavor (which is awesome), but because they're pretty damn near gone.

 

Any number of other species work well for me.

[btbyrd]

On 6/19/2017 at 10:18 AM, gfweb said:

I think the sushi place we go to brines it in a little salt and sugar. Is this standard or a trick...I don't know.

 

On 6/20/2017 at 4:57 AM, scubadoo97 said:

I think it's a common practice.  I think I remember reading, salt, sugar and sake from some article.  

 

I do this every time I prepare fish.

 

 

[btbyrd]

The sugar/salt dry brine and rinse technique is nice because not only does it pull out moisture and firm up the texture, the salt and sugar help bind the albumen so you won't have problems with gross white fish ooze if you cook it.

[Auro]

 

Tokyo Sushi Academy is a Sushi school in Japan.

I believe apply salt in the fish can avoid bacteria proliferation. 

 

[daveb]

I pay the premium for wild or forego the sashimi.  Can do farm raised for sushi rolls or cooking salmon.  In either case will do the salt/sugar brine.  This was shown to me by a couple Sushi Chefs in a Japanese food group I belonged to and it seems to do well by the fish.

[FeChef]

I wonder what every ones take on what is considered "safe" sushi salmon. Even the Asian market i buy all my ingredients from doesn't carry Salmon. Only Tuna, and i am not a fan of Tuna for sushi. The only other option is Wegmans. The have a sushi bar and i was told i would have to buy the entire Frozen fillet which cost $30/lb

[ojisan]

Salmon was not a fish traditionally used for sushi or sashimi*. I don't know if it was natively found in Japan.

Salmon was not considered safe for raw consumption due to parasites because it's not strictly a saltwater fish. I don't know if farmed salmon is affected.

I recall that when salmon was used, it was lightly smoked or salted, supposedly to kill parasites.

 

Sushi rice, and its preparation is very important to the final taste of great sushi. I think home cooks underestimate its importance.

 

* There is a wonderful book, "Sushi" by Masuo Yoshino (1985 published by Gakken) that lists 40 fish toppings and salmon is not one of them. However, there is mention of chirahshi-zushi that includes smoked salmon as an ingredient.

[scubadoo97]

Agreed ojisan, the rice is very important and not easy to get right.  I struggle with it.  And no doubt salmon for sushi has to be a western influence but has become very popular.