Cold Smoking vs. Hot Smoking Fish

[atomicsmoke]

Hope this helps, It's only what I do and know, and I'm by no means an expert.
My thoughts are in red.
Chris

You are saying that all fish sold as "fresh" in supermarkets was previously frozen (non local fish)?

 

[gmc2003]

You are saying that all fish sold as "fresh" in supermarkets was previously frozen (non local fish)?

I'm not saying all, but most of it has been frozen. Along the coasts you can probably still get fresh off the boat caught fish, but most of the fish in super market's have been frozen. I believe it's illegal to sell sushi in the US that hasn't been previously frozen. Again I'm not an expert only going by what I've read and learned over the years.


Chris

 

[atomicsmoke]

I know there are unscrupulous retailers out there but i doubt the industry commonly labels thawed fish frozen at sea as "fresh".

Costco has been in the news a lot about customers finding live worm in their fish. That couldnt have been frozen.

Don't get me wrong, i have no problem with frozen at sea...i buy all the time.

 

[gmc2003]

Atomic, this is a good discussion. That I can learn something from - thanks. Let me clarify my thoughts. If the fish was caught by a commercial fishing boat then yes I believe it has to be frozen. If it was farm raised then it doesn't have to be frozen. However farm raised fish has a much shorter shelf life then previously frozen, and with the advancement of flash freezing technology today there isn't any real loss of nutrients in frozen fish.

Chris

 

[atomicsmoke]

One of the costco stories i was referring to was about wild cod (with worm inside).

I also found live worms in halibut - i live nowhere near the ocean.

I am not concerned about loss of nutrients in fish frozen at sea. I am concerned with thawed fish sold as fresh that folks might freeze again at home - in which case there will be a loss of quality and potentially food safety issues.

 

[gmc2003]

Haven't heard about Costco, that would turn me off in a heartbeat, and I guess I'll consider myself lucky as I haven't found any worms in the fish we've bought. Agree with the refreezing and quality. However we only buy fish that will be cooked that day. Halibut is farm raised in Canada so it may indeed be fresh.

Chris

 

[daveomak]

Some wild caught Alaska Salmon is flown direct to the market.... not frozen...

 

[Bearcarver]

I need some help...I've smoked some salmon and steelhead previously - using a 4:1 sugar:salt dry brine and then smoking starting at 100* for an hour, and slowly bumping it up to 200* until IT was 145* (I think). So I've done this method a couple times and it turned out OK, but I want to try other brines/smokes to figure out what my wife likes best. So, my questions are:


2) If I buy a fresh unfrozen filet (which may have previously been frozen, but assume I don't know) - can I just cold smoke, or do I need to be concerned about parasites...and if I am concerned about parasites, what I can I do to kill them without going through a multi-day freeze?
I've done plenty of searching, but most posts are just saying the process they smoked their fish - but I haven't seen anything on the "what not to do" when cold/hot smoking fish.

This should answer your #2 Question:
All living organisms, including fish, can have parasites. Parasites are a natural occurrence, not contamination. They are as common in fish as insects are in fruits and vegetables. Parasites do not present a health concern in thoroughly cooked fish.

Parasites become a concern when consumers eat raw or lightly preserved fish such as sashimi, sushi, ceviche, and gravlax. When preparing these products, use commercially frozen fish. Alternatively, freeze the fish to an internal temperature of -4°F for at least 7 days to kill any parasites that may be present. Home freezers are usually between 0°F and 10°F and may not be cold enough to kill the parasites.

Fish is also safe to eat after it is cooked to an internal temperature of 145°F for 15 seconds. Normal cooking procedures generally exceed this temperature.

Link to The Rest of the Seafood Health Facts:
https://www.seafoodhealthfacts.org/...and-consumers/seafood-safety-topics/parasites


Bear

 

[smoking4fun]

One of the costco stories i was referring to was about wild cod (with worm inside).

I also found live worms in halibut - i live nowhere near the ocean.

I am not concerned about loss of nutrients in fish frozen at sea. I am concerned with thawed fish sold as fresh that folks might freeze again at home - in which case there will be a loss of quality and potentially food safety issues.

I can understand the loss of quality if you re-freeze the fish...but what would be the potential food safety issues that you would be concerned about? If the initial flash-freeze kills the parasites, then they shouldn't be an issue with thawing and re-freezing (right?), since any potential parasite should have been killed in the initial freeze...especially if you keep it in the original plastic sealed package (which I'm assuming it came in).

 

[atomicsmoke]

I can understand the loss of quality if you re-freeze the fish...but what would be the potential food safety issues that you would be concerned about? If the initial flash-freeze kills the parasites, then they shouldn't be an issue with thawing and re-freezing (right?), since any potential parasite should have been killed in the initial freeze...especially if you keep it in the original plastic sealed package (which I'm assuming it came in).

The safety concern appears when the thawed fish is kept at above fridge temps.