Fresh Verses Frozen Tuna Steaks

[Brendon Alexander]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what taste and nutritional benefits Fresh Tuna Steaks have over Frozen Tuna Steaks bought from the supermarket?

Cheers,

Brendon.

[ironchef]

as far as nutritional value, I have no idea. as far as taste, frozen tuna tastes like crap compared to fresh tuna. try buying both, and then eating them raw, or seared rare, and you'll be able to tell the difference

[-DEADLY SUSHI-]

Raw? They have to be sushi-grade to do that. Nothing like food poisoning... I should know. :x

[ironchef]

no you can use frozen ahi for sushi or sashimi, as long as you handle it and store it properly once it is defrosted. most lower end sushi places use that instead of fresh tuna, stictly because of the cost. that is the only way they can sell maguro nigiri sushi for less that $2.00

[-DEADLY SUSHI-]

Oh! Wow, that IS cheap!! I wish a place around here had $2 rolls. :? I would be there a lot! :D

[btone88]

Although taste is more dependant on the quality of the tuna rather than rresh vs. frozen, fresh is generally going to be much tastier. There is one *near* exception - I love to make tuna tartare at home but due to the dismal quality of the 'fresh' tuna at my local supermarkets I was rarely able to...until I discovered that they sometimes carry ahi tuna that, from what I understand, is vacuum sealed and flash frozen shortly after being caught. I have to ask for it at the seafood counter since for some reason they tend not to display it. Once defrosted, I can always count on it to be of a high enough quality to eat it raw or rare and although not as flavorful as sushi grade tuna that can be found at gourmet markets it's very very satisfying.

[BubbaGourmet]

I will agree that fresh tuna is hard to beat BUT unless you live within 50 miles of the ocean...well...you just ain't gonna get any! Example: WQe have a tuna run off our coast every year. Bluefins and yellowfins. The absolute BEST that are brought to the dock are spoken for and immediately whisked off to Japan...at exorbitant prices. So don't turn your nose uip at flash frozen "Sashimi grade tuna". While it is only about 95% as good as fresh (I have tried both) the good news is that it is 95% as good as fresh!

[Jermosh]

99% of all large fishs are already frozen on the boat already. If you find a tuna or swordfish at a fish counter in a supermarket, I am almost 100% sure it was frozen then thawed, might even have been twice. I would rather just get them frozen and thaw myslef useing a better technique then a supermarket fish "monger" would. Almost all Sushi grade fish is frozen as well.

This goes for shrimp as well, unless you are at a dock. Most shrimp are frozen at sea in 5lb blocks. If you buy them in frozen blocks in shell that you are going to get a good chance on freshness. Its when you buy the precooked, cleaned, IQFed shrimp that you are going to run the chance of over handled and thawed and refrozen product.

[ironchef]

Not so. We get fresh tuna right at the fisherman's auction that are fresh. The only thing is, you need to be there at 4am. For boats that stay at sea for extended periods of time, they do flash freeze the fish, but because fresh raw fish is such at a premium in Hawaii (lots of Japanese buyers) and on the West Coast, and because there is so many knowledgable buyers, we do get the fish very, very fresh.

The best place to buy your shrimp is live from a shrimp farm. You don't have to worry about them even touching a freezer, and you can beat the taste and texture of fresh shrimp.

[Jermosh]

Originally Posted by ironchef

Not so. We get fresh tuna right at the fisherman's auction that are fresh. The only thing is, you need to be there at 4am. For boats that stay at sea for extended periods of time, they do flash freeze the fish, but because fresh raw fish is such at a premium in Hawaii (lots of Japanese buyers) and on the West Coast, and because there is so many knowledgable buyers, we do get the fish very, very fresh.

The best place to buy your shrimp is live from a shrimp farm. You don't have to worry about them even touching a freezer, and you can beat the taste and texture of fresh shrimp.

Yes but the key is if you are buying from a supermarket, there is little to chance that a big fish is fresh. Also I would argue that even fresh fish on the docks was infact held at the frozen range of 28-36f till it got to auction.

Shrimp farms are great, but most could not get to one easily. There is a differance in fresh or frozen Shrimp, but unless you live on a warm coast, your best bet is to seek those 5lb blocks for taste.