cooking fish

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
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Was just watching the Man vs wild marathon on discovery (needed a laugh) anyway I noticed bear always eats freshwater fish raw....I'm not nec opposed to this idea if safe... but I remember watching a nat geo special a while ago called eaten alive where this cat in northern canada ate an undercooked fish and picked up a nasty parasite...What are your thoughts on this. Also I suppose the fish bear is eating were flown in from the nearest hatchery and put there just prior to filming.
 
I don't have anything to back me up on this, but I'd think that if you can get sick from drinking untreated water you could also get sick from eating uncooked fish from that same water.
 
When I went to USAF survival school I was taught that it was risky business to eat anything other than deep water ocean fish raw. Inside the reef fish frequently carry toxins and freshwater fish carry dangerous parasites. There's no guarantee that deep ocean fish are safe. Most of them are.
 
Freshwater fish can definately carry zoonotic (animal to human) parasites. You also have to be careful with fresh/salt water species as their parasites may be able to survive both environments. In general salt water parasites cannot live in freshwater or terrestrial animals but don't use this as a solid rule. After all tapeworm eggs can remain viable for decades after the tapeworm is killed and placed into formaldehyde/ formalin.
BTW- This info is gleaned as a result of my Biology degree and time spent as head lab technician at a meat processing plant in the arcitc.

But if it is possible worms or starvation......
 
i was told by a friend who works for a worldwide produce supplier in asia. she told me to never eat fresh water fish raw. she did say that anything coming from the sea can be eaten raw.
 
Cooked meat is easier to digest. I'll cook just about every kind for that reason. I do love fresh tuna that was swimming only hours before.

If you really want to get the most out of fish/seafood, make a stew or soup. Very little wasted and mmm mmm good!

HPIM0088.jpg


Blatant excuse for fishing photos.

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Tasty

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As far as i know the main problem with fresh water is that most lakes or creeks are too small and its easier for the fish to pick up parasites. With the water polution now days. we got more parasites and more sick fish. If you ever find a very clean lake its o.k. But unless you are in Tibet or a place like that its not recommended. Bottom line is dont eat raw fresh water fish.

Sasha
 
Hey K that Tuna looks good. You should cut the belly or the Tuna in small chunks dip it in soy and wasabi. YUUUUMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYY. That i eat raw many times, even people that dont like fish would eat it.

Sasha
 
You can't get parasites and other things from salt water fish ? Nonsense. Understand that fish may have intestinal parasites and when caught the parasites may immediately go into the meat.To prevent that put in on ice immediately ! When aw fish became a fad I asked a friend of Japanese background about raw fish .In his native Hawaii they ate only a very few types of fish raw and that had to be very fresh ! Barracuda contain some nasty and possibly deadly things !...BTW the Spanish like their 'escabeche' where the fish is "cooked " [protein coagulated ]by acid. I have no idea what effect that has on parasites.
 
thats a pretty unique fishing rod. Ive been fishing obsessivley all my life and ive never seen anything like that.

good stuff.
 
I would never eat freshwater fish raw unless it was the direst of emergencies. It can be done, but if you happen to consume a parasitic cyst, you just made a bunch of new friends--you may now refer to yourself using the royal 'we'. For the most part, worms are usually asymptomatic or produce only minor symptoms (at leat the ones we have here) and it does take some time for them to appear. So if it is raw fish or starvation it should be an easy choice. I think there's an over the counter medication (combantrin?) that treats worms in humans. Still, I don't risk it. My butt itches just thinking about worms.

Edit: You can often spot signs of a parasite infestation by candling the fillets over a light source. Still, no guarantees you'll always be able to see them. Also, how's the emmrod? I've been thinking of ordering one, but I haven't found anyone who's ever used one.
 
What, bad advice from MvW ?

Oh, and Jason....
Thx buddy, I just spent that much yesterday(!!) on a different pack rod. I would have ordered an Emmrod. Please tell me you actually hate yours...:D

No, taking mine back isn't an option...
 
i would love to try some guaranteed fresh caught tuna but i dont trust any of the large chainstores enough to eat it raw. the closest i have came was rare cooked tuna.
 
Understand that consumers in the world of uncooked food, we are a few thousand years away from most of it, and as such have lost our resistance to a lot of things wild critters deal with every day, With most any small fire, fish are easy to cook in the wild, and should be cooked if at all possible.
 
Fresh water fish need to be cooked. I don't care how safe you think it is. Salt water, Like sasha said tuna chunks soy and wasabi sauce. Yummmy!!!
 
Campfire, aluminum foil, butter, onions, lots of salt and pepper, one whole gutted trout. No parasites. :thumbup:
 
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