Curing Your Own Mackerel Sashimi/Sushi?
Is making my own cured mackerel for use as sushi or sashimi safe to do? I guess plenty of people cure their own salmon for lox, so would mackerel be any different? Mackerel is also pretty cheap compared to tuna/yellowtail/salmon, so if it's safe I figure it would be an economical way to satisfy the occasional sashimi craving.
Also, can anyone suggest a good recipe for the curing solution? It's some combination of vinegar and salt, right?
Humbucker
Aug 15, 2007 05:56PM
Never made cured mackerel, but fish is fish, so why not? There are lots of recipes online, but it's basically a dry rub of sugar and salt (equal proportions works for me), with optional dill or other herbs. No vinegar, that's pickling. Not to say you couldn't pickle mackerel, but that's a different dish (might make decent sushi, though).
As for safety, salmon and mackerel are both salt water fishes, and mackerel are not farm raised, far as I know, so the health risks shouldn't be greater than for any other wild caught fish. But personally, I think mackerel are best sprinkled with lots of kosher salt and grilled over very hot coals.
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There are a ton of recipes out there, all different, because everybody has their own preferences. I tend to use the same vinegar mixture that I use to season the rice. That means two cups of vinegar (preferably rice) to one cup of sugar to a quarter cup of salt. Put the fish fillets in a flat container, and pour enough of the marinade over to cover. Cover with plastic wrap, and put in the fridge overnight. If the fillets are overlapping each other, you should turn/rotate them a couple of times. Take them out, pat dry, and they're ready for oshizushi (pressed) or for cutting for onigirizushi.
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I found this recipe, too:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bi...
I'm wondering if I should use fresh mackerel or frozen mackerel? Will frozen be safer? There aren't really any places around that sell sashimi-grade mackerel, so the fresh mackerel I have access to is just the stuff they display on ice at the local chinese market.
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Fresh or frozen doesn't matter too much - the fish at the local Chinese market will probably do just fine, as long as it really *is* fresh. Don't fall for the "sashimi grade" mystique, either. As a label, it has as much meaning as "all natural"....mebbe less.
And looking at the recipe, I realize I forgot to mention the pin bones!
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Shimesaba( vinegared mackerel)
http://dietmodificationsinjapan.blogs...
Yeah I just bought some Spanish Mackerel today. I made fillets out of it, salted it and put them in the fridge. I am planning on using them for sushi.
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OK, way too salty...
Well, I had originally planned to salt the fillets and leave them in the fridge for 3-4 hours then marinate them in rice vinegar for 30 min.
I saw another recipe which seemed to be a more traditional sushi method that mentions to cover the fish with salt. I did, and since something came up and couldn't make sushi that same night, I left the fillets in salt for a whole day+.
The fillets were too salty for sushi. But I think this preparation is perfect to have with bread, butter, chopped onions and capers.
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