High quality sushi fish makes all the difference for any true sushi-lover. When buying sushi fish, you want to be looking for what is called “sashimi-grade” or “sushi-grade” fish. But what does sashimi-grade really even mean? In its simplest definition, sashimi-grade means that the retailer intends for this fish to be eaten raw.
Sashimi-grade is a marketing term used to describe fish that is suitable to eat raw, but this term is actually not regulated by any governing agency and is used primarily to promote products for raw use by retailers. This term is usually measured by retailers in terms of food safety processes applied to the fish rather than descriptors like taste, colour or smell, though you should check your sushi fish for these qualities before preparing as well. If handled properly, your frozen-at-sea sushi fish should come out tasting as fresh as it would have straight from the open seas.
Typically, sashimi-grade should refer to fish that has been flash-frozen to kill any potential parasites that you are at risk of from eating any raw fish. Once this freezing process is complete, the fish can be thawed to eat raw. Most sellers will keep these products frozen so the consumer can choose when to thaw and consume their raw seafood product, keeping the product’s quality intact. Raw seafood is best eaten the day of thawing and can be eaten the day after thawing as well.
At Finest at Sea, flash-freezing fish at-sea is what we do best. This process is the ideal handling and best practice for sushi-grade fish, as the quality of the fresh fish is preserved when it is stunned, bled and flash frozen within an hour of catching. Sashimi grade is often used by sellers to denote that the product being sold is of the utmost quality. Purchasing frozen-at-sea fish ensures the quality of the fish when thawed will be the same as the quality of the fish when it was caught.
Flash-frozen or frozen-at-sea fish should be stored vacuum-sealed or airtight to preserve the high quality until the time when you want to thaw the fish for consumption. In our retail market, everything you find in our display freezers will be sashimi grade and will come vacuum-sealed for best storage. We boast a selection of prawns, scallops, Pacific octopus, uni, ikura, shrimpmeat, crabmeat, whitefish, tuna, salmon, and smoked fish for sushi. You can also ask our retail staff for sushi fish from the fresh case and we can help direct you to our fish that came from frozen-at-sea and was cut that morning, making it a wonderful option for sushi as well.
Generally, freshwater fish are not consumed raw due to their high risk for parasites. At Finest at Sea, we catch local and ocean-run or saltwater fish, including salmon and albacore tuna, which are very popular for sushi. Tuna is highly regarded as a sushi fish due to its low risk for parasites and sweet, fatty flavour, and some larger species of tuna such as yellowfin tuna can actually be eaten raw without any freezing process required. We always keep our albacore tuna frozen for a pristine quality product and these portions and loins can be thawed in cold water for a workable product within an hour. If you enjoy the ‘toro’, the fatty belly cut from the tuna, be sure to ask our staff when purchasing and we can help select pieces with belly as opposed to the backstraps.
Our retail market has a lovely selection of sushi shelf items to complete your meal. Sushi rice, sashimi soy, Kewpie mayo, yuzu kosho, seaweed jam, inari, wasabi, ponzu, tataki dressing, sesame oil, house-made shichimi togarashi, mirin, chili oils, nori sheets, local kelp seasonings, artisan chopstick sets and top-of-the-line black garlic shoyu are just some ideas of how you can get creative with a local sushi night. When available, we offer a house tuna tataki and ebi (shrimp) sunomono salads with local kelp which make for perfect sides or snacks. Sashimi? Chirashi bowls? Spicy tuna roll? Your wildest sushi dreams can be made true at home with the help of the Finest ingredients. Ask us about sushi today!
And it doesn’t have to stop with sushi: any dish that requires high quality raw seafood products can be made with sashimi-grade fish. Try dressing our raw products with olive oil, flaky sea salt and citrus for a beautiful Italian seafood crudo, or try a refreshing Peruvian ceviche with a lime juice dressing, corn, onion and fresh vegetables.