Source for sushi-grade fish in Brooklyn

February 8, 2009 5:40 PM

I'm going to make sushi at a dinner party in Brooklyn on Saturday night. Any advice as to where I can get fish fresh enough for sushi?

Note that I have never made sushi before. Looking to make simple, tasty rolls. Any advice would be appreciated.

posted by davidvan to food & drink (14 answers total)

Smoked salmon is a nice safe alternative. And just veggies works, too.
posted by fish tick at 5:43 PM on February 8, 2009

Carrots, cucumber and avocado is amazing in a roll. I also like using veggies and fake crab.
posted by Science! at 5:50 PM on February 8, 2009

Fish Tales on Court St is a good bet. If that's too far away specify a neighborhood.
posted by overhauser at 5:52 PM on February 8, 2009

Katagiri (59th b/t 2nd and 3rd) or Sunrise Mart (Stuyvesant and 3rd above the bookshop)
posted by spec80 at 5:59 PM on February 8, 2009

Oh sorry, just read the title.
posted by spec80 at 6:01 PM on February 8, 2009

As far as safety goes, just so you know, freshness is only half the battle. Even fresh fish can carry infectious organisms like worms (!) or bacteria. Homemade sushi prepared by novices is notorious for carrying parasites.

Legally at least, fish being served raw in restaurants must be deep-frozen for certain amounts of time in order to kill parasites like worms. Once people tell you who the reputable fishmongers are, ask the sellers if they have sushi-grade or sashimi-grade fish that has been deep-frozen. Freezing and thawing fish yourself doesn't work very well. Most home freezers don't reach low enough temperatures, and once the fish thaws the texture changes, usually for the worse. (I've tried anyway. Not usually worth it.)

Some fish are more likely to carry worms than others. Deep-sea tuna are virtually worm-free and, IIRC, are the only class of fish that are not required to be frozen. It's fairly easy to sear a tuna steak and cut or slice for use in maki or as nigiri. Just about all salmon have worms. Most freshwater fish are more likely to contain worms.

Smoked fish and avocado is nontraditional but flippin' delicious. Maybe you can find barbecued eel or grill your own cod. Cooked shrimp. Cooked scrambled egg or omelet. I have also used rare steak in both maki and nigiri to good reviews.

I'm not a 'fraidy-cat about this stuff, as I happily take the risk of eating raw eggs and medium-rare burgers when I know the ingredients are good, but having seen roundworms crawl out of a piece of fish on my kitchen counter (you can't usually see all of them, by the way), I decided that I'd rather not inflict that on my friends...
posted by jeeves at 6:23 PM on February 8, 2009 [5 favorites]

Seconding Fish Tales
Also Sea Land at 7th & Flatbush
posted by kid_dynamite at 6:23 PM on February 8, 2009

Smoked salmon+cream cheese, wrapped in rice covered nori (rice outside) rolled in sesame seeds.
posted by hortense at 6:52 PM on February 8, 2009

Catalina Offshore Products will FedEx sushi-grade fish to you.
posted by nicwolff at 6:56 PM on February 8, 2009

2nding Sunrise Mart as I know they have sushi grade tuna (pre-frozen and beautiful), but I'm personally too much of a scardey cat to use it in sushi.

They also have pickled daikon, ume plums, shiso leaves, and tiny mushrooms which I've used for veggie sushi. Besides smoked fish, you could also use cooked shrimp, scallops or fried softshelled crab for other tasty variations.
posted by abirae at 7:15 PM on February 8, 2009

I think they also have tamagoyaki, the sweet japanese omelet which you could include in your sushi. Or you could make it yourself.
posted by abirae at 7:18 PM on February 8, 2009

I've never once seen a fishmonger say their fish wasn't sushi grade, so I'd take jeeves comments seriously, and maybe ask some sushi chef.
posted by jeffburdges at 7:49 PM on February 8, 2009

Seconding the suggestion to look into sushi rolls that do NOT require raw fish, if you haven't ever made sushi before. And I hope that doesn't sound belittling -- it's more like, since it's a lot to fiddle with already as it is, why give yourself the ADDITIONAL agita of trying to get all USDA-inspector on the fish? You can just go with vegetables or crabmeat this first time out and do just fantastic.

Besides, those in the know say that the key to really good sushi is the rice itself, rather than the fish...
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 10:20 PM on February 8, 2009

My girlfriend makes sushi rolls using slices of avocado and cheap fish roe caviar, and she says if she closes her eyes she can imagine she's eating maguro tuna. The avocado provides the oily texture that comes with the most expensiove cuts of tuna. She's from Tokyo, so this keeps our home sushi bills low.

Home style sushi in Japan often doesn't use fish at all - Japanese tamago omelet, dried gourd, surimi fish pastes, canned crab...
posted by zaelic at 3:17 AM on February 9, 2009