When is sea bass not sea bass?

Well E-raq, you have a way with words, I rarely eat salmon or cod but I think that i will pass now. I will only eat worms in a well done cheese or fruit but fish...no thank you!

brigitte wrote:Well E-raq, you have a way with words, I rarely eat salmon or cod but I think that i will pass now. I will only eat worms in a well done cheese or fruit but fish...no thank you!

No fears here Brigitte those baby seals aren't down here. That was in the frozen north.

Besides, those worms do die when the fish is frozen. Just a bit of extra protein!

seisdedos wrote:

David wrote:I have no fear of the dye, only the overuse of antibiotics. Then too, the taste just doesn't compare to wild. So, I don't buy it. The wild fish I got a couple of weeks ago was SO good and rich. We grilled some, smoked some, and made Lox of some. Yum!

You were unkowingly buying farm raised until recently.

Nope. I knowingly bought some years back but no more. Haven't bought any of that stuff from Chile for years. In season one can get Alaska fish at Costco.

David wrote:

seisdedos wrote:

David wrote:I have no fear of the dye, only the overuse of antibiotics. Then too, the taste just doesn't compare to wild. So, I don't buy it. The wild fish I got a couple of weeks ago was SO good and rich. We grilled some, smoked some, and made Lox of some. Yum!

You were unkowingly buying farm raised until recently.

Nope. I knowingly bought some years back but no more. Haven't bought any of that stuff from Chile for years. In season one can get Alaska fish at Costco.

Do you have a good recipe for Lox? A friend of mine does something similar with salt and other ingredients, which she will not divulge. It is fabulous and she always does one for our parties. It's gonzo in minutes.

Thanks Cheenagringo , frozen worms sounds so uch better!

[quote="E-raq
Do you have a good recipe for Lox? A friend of mine does something similar with salt and other ingredients, which she will not divulge. It is fabulous and she always does one for our parties. It's gonzo in minutes. [/quote]

My wife does. I'll have her dig it out and get it to you.

David wrote:[quote="E-raq
Do you have a good recipe for Lox? A friend of mine does something similar with salt and other ingredients, which she will not divulge. It is fabulous and she always does one for our parties. It's gonzo in minutes.

My wife does. I'll have her dig it out and get it to you.[/quote]


Thanks David.

Brigitte:

While I won't claim my experience to be extensive, I did know a Chinese Sushi chef in Portland who worked at a number of the finest Japanese restaurants. To give me an education, he took me on a tour of Portland fish markets while he was buying sushi fish and other seafood. He said he never purchased certain fish like salmon, halibut, tuna and some others that I don't remember if they were not flash frozen. It was really interesting since he went into detail on each fish or piece of seafood how he could tell freshness and quality by color, the appearance and the smell if not one of the ones he required to be frozen. Given the reputation he had in the Portland International District, I am fairly sure that I was getting a good education. He was great fun to go out to dinner with as even in the restaurants where he didn't work, they usually comped our meals just in case he might want to switch employers.

Yes a lot of the large fish have parasites and the real sushi chefs study for years to learn about fish and their dangers, they know how to look for the worms and remove them, I heard...
One of the doctor I used to go to told me that with the growing popularity of sushi prepared by inexperience and untrained people he saw the increase of parasites from fish into people.

A trained sushi chef told me that raw sardines were also very dangerous, again I do not know if it is true, we used to eat raw sardines all the time when were were fishing them and I never got sick.

Most Sushi restos only serve fish products from frozen cause the freezing kills the parasites, especially nematodes. I would suggest buying seafood from that new place that is a branch outlet out of a Guad biz. It's all about not what you want, but what is freshest. Go in, give em the steely eye, and say - "What's fresh ?" . THEN, and only then can you build a menu. Flash frozen at sea is excellent product. Slow thaw in the fridge. Plan accordingly. Never try to hurry this process. Like most things, you get what you pay for. High quality protein is expensive unless ur into lentils and garbanzos. I was a troll caught salmon cash buyer for 5 yrs here in BC in the good old days, then I segued into oysters for another 3 as the farm raised thing exploded. Gave a talk at the NFI convention in Honolulu back then on oyster farming in BC. Questions re seafood, please PM me. I'll do my best.

borderreiver wrote: It's all about not what you want, but what is freshest. Go in, give em the steely eye, and say - "What's fresh ?" . THEN, and only then can you build a menu. .

That is the best piece of advice anyone has given so far. That is the way we shop in France , I also have to see the fish and check it no matter what the fishmonger says. I usually have the fish scaled and cleaned but I prepare it myself otherwise as I never know ahead how I will cook it.

I worked as a teenager and through college whenever I could oystering in the Bay of Arcachon where they first had belons until they disappeared then Portugese oysters were cultivated and then in the 70´s came the Japanese oysters as the Portugese disappeared..I have no idea what they have now, maybe now that the polution has decrease they still have the Japanese oyster?
Back when I was a kid we used to catch the spawn (or whatever it is called in English)on spanish tiles covered with lime they we had baskets with oystershells which saved a lot of labor. In that bay we had underwater oyster fields that were out in the open on dry land for part of the tide and we had mud shoes to work in the fields,,,those were the good old days...
Boy do I miss oysters here, fresh out of the ocean, when I go home I go crazy.

Is the Bay of Arcachon the one that has the sand dunes? If so, it's on my "bucket list". You have been a lucky lady. The oyster types back home (France) transitioned mainly cause of over fishing and pollution (remember the oil spill ?). The Jap oysters can take a beating and keep on ticking. Survival of the most fit, I guess. The native oyster of the Pacific NW was the Olympic. They were called "silver dollars" cause of their size and cost. They were sublime. Haven't seen one in years. If they're still out there nobody's telling.
There are oyster farms in the Baja -Jap oysters-perfect growing conditions. LA market. These are what are available Lakeside. Put in an order with "that place". Search "Kaki oyster recipe".
I fondly remember initiating my dear wife to be (a francophone) to her first oyster on the half shell. New name - "LOUISE - THE HALF SHELL JUNKIE"

Yes Arcachon Bay is the one with the sand dunes and the dangerous pass to go into the Atlantic.
I t seems that the oysters would disappear every 20 years , I have also heard that the Belon are coming back to the bay.
The japanese were also introduced into the Mediterranea and they grow larger and faster there. I like the smaller 3 year old from the Atlantic. I also love the kumimoto if I remember the name correctly, the tiny ones from the Seattle area, those are so much fun. I am not familiar with the Olympic but I am sure I would love them.

I was appalled by the size of the oyster in the gulf of Mexico when I got to New Orleans in 70 and the large size of the oysters from Tamales Bay when I arrived in California in 72, they sure have improved over the years.

I never had oysters in Ajijic, I had some in Guadalajara that were very good but as I do not eat much shellfish here, I rather wait to go home and then go crazy.
I will have to check the Kaki oyster recipe although my favorite way to eat them raw with our country bread and butter or without anything and I can eat dozens of them!