Rockfish Ceviche -- To Freeze or Not To Freeze

I enjoy making/consuming/sharing fresh local rockfish ceviche almost as much as I like catching them (almost).  I do not generally freeze the fish prior to the lemon/lime bath; although I do slice the meat into small cubes less than .5 inch across.  I also carefully sift through the meat and remove all worms and stuff that I can see.  Then I give the fish an initial 24 hour soak in lemon/lime juice, then strain this old juice, and replace with fresh juice.  Only then do I add peppers, tomatoes, ect.  I then allow the dish to sit for another half a day or so before pigging out.
Never have I, or anyone I have ever fed had any problems. So my question is this.  Do you think I am living condominium for those nasty little worms?   

matt, search the archives for a high volume of prior posts on this topic, which has been sliced and diced in more ways than a rockfish fillet intended for ceviche lol.

i always freeze for at least 3 days before going ceviche on rockcod.

you only think you haven't had any problems . . .   

j/k. 

Freeze


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Good info....  I was not aware of this myself.

Definitely Freeze!!!

 

Freezing from now on.  I will attempt to kill them with tequilla tonight.

Freezing from now on.  I will attempt to kill them with tequilla tonight.

Yeah...as my wife and her family want to just gobble them up fresh after marinating I have been a stick in the mud and insisted on freezing first. Would feel real bad if someone got sick after eating at my house.

 

Some tequila will definitely help you though!!

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

i use to never freeze any fish,until the fall run last year one of the stripers i caught last year as i was slicing the red blood line from the meat this huge worm fell onto the cutting board.ewww after that i freeze also the discovery channel doesnt help.ever see monster in me ughhh.but if your soaking it in citrus juice 24hrs prior i think its ok.

Based on the things I've read there's a pretty slim chance of one of the critters making it past your teeth, and then digestive acids.  And if you're careful, there's not much chance of one making into the ceviche to begin with.

But still there's a chance.

a chance? 

Freeze the fish to an internal temperature of -4°F for at least 7 days to kill any parasites that may be present. Home freezers may not be cold enough to kill the parasites.