# Eating Kokanee Raw



## billybob (Oct 27, 2008)

So, can you do it? Is it safe? I love sushi and would love to try making a Kokanee Roll. 

Otherwise, any suggestions or favorite recipes for Kokanee would be great. Got a couple in the freezer waiting for the right recipe.


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## lunkerhunter2 (Nov 3, 2007)

Smoke them or wrap in foil with butter and garlic and BBQ them. Dash with lemon pepper when it flakes.


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## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

I wouldn't eat any fresh-water fish raw. The risk of ingesting a parasite is too great. Even some salt-water fish is never eaten raw in sushi due to parasites and bacteria. I say smoke 'em!


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## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Gumbo said:


> I wouldn't eat any fresh-water fish raw. The risk of ingesting a parasite is too great. Even some salt-water fish is never eaten raw in sushi due to parasites and bacteria. I say smoke 'em!


I didn't know that.


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## Bax* (Dec 14, 2008)

I would at least smoke the fish. But thats just my personal paranoia speaking


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## Nor-tah (Dec 16, 2007)

Gumbo said:


> I wouldn't eat any fresh-water fish raw. The risk of ingesting a parasite is too great. Even some salt-water fish is never eaten raw in sushi due to parasites and bacteria. I say smoke 'em!


+1. Only Bear Grills eats raw freshwater fish. And he's crazy. The salt keeps the parasites out.


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## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

There are still parasites in salt water--and lots of bacteria. Fish like shrimp, mackerel, squid, and a few others I can't think of are always cooked before being used in sushi. Most sushi-grade salt-water fish is checked for parasite larvae before making it to your plate.


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## willfish4food (Jul 14, 2009)

> There are still parasites in salt water--and lots of bacteria.


I will definitely agree with that. However, I've had Mackerel, Squid, and Shrimp raw on sushi. In the states, squid is quite common raw and raw mackerel is very common in Japan (don't know why, it's kind of gross). Shrimp is almost always cooked and I've only had it raw once; it was in Japan. The shrimp was still twitching when it was brought to me. Unagi or freshwater eel is the only "fish" I know of that's always cooked for sushi.

Back to the topic. If you want to eat raw fish that you caught yourself the FDA recommends freezing to -4 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 days or -31 degrees Fahrenheit for a full day to kill the parasites. Most fish except tuna is treated this way even for sushi restaurants. There is no real FDA requirement but it's still kind of the industry standard. I guess if you had some dry ice ready for right after you caught the fish you could do it. But it seems like a lot of effort for some homemade sushi.

Of course you could always throw caution to the wind and just make it anyway. I've done that with some really fresh stuff I've gotten from Costco and haven't felt any ill effects yet. :shock:


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## billybob (Oct 27, 2008)

Thanks for the insight guys. Gonna trying smoking one and see how that turns out. 

Still thinking about trying the raw route since I have had it frozen for almost three weeks... but I'll probably do some more research before I give it a try. Some of these comments have me a bit too nervous and if Mr. Grills did it, well that just makes me more nervous about trying it.


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## Dodger (Oct 20, 2009)

Of all of the fish mentioned on this page, eel is the only one that is cooked every time before eating. Why, you ask? Because not even the Japanese will eat a freshwater fish raw.

It is a freshwater eel. That's why it is cooked.


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