Is it safe to eat raw halibut meat?

Hi,

I caught a halibut at Bean Hollow near Pigeon Point, Pacifica Coast. I am wondering whether it is safe to eat raw meat as sashimi/sushi. or what is the limit on frequency of eating raw meat. The meat looks good/white, but I am not sure how healthy it is.

Anyone would like to share knowledge of it or to point out articles that talk about the safety of eating raw or cooked meat. Thanks.

Halibut is LOADED withh worms.  I would highly reccomend cooking it.

I heard someone say bleeding the fish the second you secure it will minimize the worms distrubution into the meat.

you can eat raw halibut meat prividing you have frozen it for about 4-6 days. then let it defrost in the fridge. that will kill parasites.

however, eating it raw off the fish is not a good idea. there have been reports of people pulling hand over hand the infamous tapeworm as a result of sashimi halibut.

i always cook em.

I heard someone say bleeding the fish the second you secure it will minimize the worms distrubution into the meat.

Reduce yes, minimize...nope.  Less will migrate from the gut to the muscle if you gut the fish, but there are already plenty of fish in the muscle with all flatfish.

Thanks for the knowledge. I will cook Halibut for sure.
What about these fish - are they safe to eat raw?

Greenling
Lingcod
Vermilion

Thanks.

Parasitologists don't eat sushi....

But seriously, inshore fish are always more dangerous than pelagics.

I defer to those with more knowledge on the species you listed.

MolBasser

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/parasites.html

Good primer on the subject of parasites...

...if you guys want my expert advise (since I'm a big consumer of sashimi).....simply smear enough freshly made wasabi on the sashimi and watch the parasites take a hike  That green stuff will burn any living organism within a "smell" range 

....I'm kidding of course

Any serious sushi eater knows that you are seriously insulting the chef if you use wasabi to any great degree.

MolBasser

Brendan has reported that he eats a ton of halibut sashimi, including fish from Cowell's and the lane in santa cruz.  Whatddaya have to say on this topic, BC?

Thanks for the knowledge. I will cook Halibut for sure.
What about these fish - are they safe to eat raw?

Greenling
Lingcod
Vermilion

Thanks.

man, i don't eat nothin that sits on a rocks underwater. too high risk. i dont remember a rockfish that did not have a parasite. have you seen the isopods that climb out of ling cod gills whne they get caught? i have seen some large ones and they give me the heebie jeebies.

Brendan has reported that he eats a ton of halibut sashimi, including fish from Cowell's and the lane in santa cruz.  Whatddaya have to say on this topic, BC?

Mario Korf who freedives and hunts along our coast and all over ate sashimi and was nice host to a parasite himself. Halibut was among one of the suspects.

I don't think its worth it. I will eat sashimi now but I want it frozen first.

worms....thats stuff from scary movies.

the sand Dabs we caught during the Moss Landing Tourney were full of Isopods--even some amazingly big ones for the size of the fish. I cannot but wonder if they sufficiently blocks teh gills and damage them to result in sever emaciation if not morbidity in fish so small as a Sand Dab. Still, there were Sand Dabs everywhere from 50 feet to over 200. Couldn't get away from the voracious little flatties.

Brendan has reported that he eats a ton of halibut sashimi, including fish from Cowell's and the lane in santa cruz.  Whatddaya have to say on this topic, BC?

I was lucky enough to live for many years n Japan and work with some great sushi chefs so I thought I'd add my 2 cents. Like you can read in the link that KzReelRods posted http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/parasites.html (great link!!) parasites can be taken care of easily and safely. Meaning if you are to eat any fish raw it's a good idea to give the fish a once over to see if it's sashimi or sushi material. Not all are! Some are clean and very tasty and others are far from it. So if you're planning on eating sushi, select a good specimen when you catch it (a nice, clean, pretty fish ) and get it on ice within an hour! Maybe have a cooler on the back of the yak full of ice just for the occasion. Halibut is one of the best fish raw in my opinion so try not to be afraid.

After a long time eating prepared raw fish I have realized that in the USA we are still leery of many raw things because they have such a short history in our culture. With some simple education on the selection and preparation of raw fish I think there are many raw fishes we can enjoy.

And Mbasser, mixing your own soy sauce and wasabi is ok. A good sushi chef or "Shokunin" usually puts a touch on the rice before placing the fish on top so it's not usually needed. But in my experience if you wanna add more cool, just not the amount that Mooch suggested