Too much fish, am I safe for a few days?

[CraigC]

That's fine for you. Again, most of us here are trying to provide a realistic and reasonable answer to the poster's question, not something as silly as "if you want good fish, walk down to the ocean and shoot it."

The OP is in NH, therefore has a lot more access to fresh, whole fish. If you read what I said, you would have noticed my recommendation about whole fish. Shooting the fish, is just an option I happen to have.

 

[Cooking4to]

I'm pretty sure I know what he meant. However, I live smack dab in the middle of the country. When we see salmon here, it's almost never whole, even at the "upscale" fish market where the price is double.

I would trade locations with you right now, lol You are in one of the best hunting states in the country {IMO}. The largest Buck I ever took was in Fillmore {south east, I think its the furthest town in that direction}, I have never shook when looking at an animal but when I seen them antlers pushing through brush making all kinds of noise, my bow was visibly shaking. I had to put it down take a few breaths and regroup, I knew it was going to be the best deer I ever seen, and then when I measured and it was still outside of a record animal, I remember thinking if this was in my yard back on the east coast it would make national news, and shatter every record in the books. I had to donate the mount to a local organization {that was the deal for me to get the tag} and my heart broke a bit, but it was worth it...

 

[Cooking4to]

SE Florida. I use a speargun, kinda like archery, so to speak.

I was only 1600 miles off, lol, OK I take that back I have shot a fish, with a spear gun, well no I take that back again, I have been spear gun fishing and never shot a fish... Sorry..

I am envious of you, that is some of the best fishing in the country, I sadly have to fly somewhere to really get excited about fishing, I catch bluefish and stuff like that when we go to block island or south ct, but nothing crazy..

 

[Mad Cook]

I can see that as these are considered oily/fatty fish. Even when frozen the fat can go rancid. Mako shark, as with all sharks, urinate through their flesh. That is a big reason they start to deteriorate quickly. I've heard soaking in milk (base) helps, but I won't eat shark for the above reason.

I will not buy fish fillets. If I didn't shoot it or see it whole before purchase, I won't eat it.

I would jolly well think not! Shark are protected species in many far less developed countries than the USA.

 

[Mad Cook]

I'm pretty sure I know what he meant. However, I live smack dab in the middle of the country. When we see salmon here, it's almost never whole, even at the "upscale" fish market where the price is double.

That's one of the advantages to living on what Bill Bryson called "A Small Island". Nowhere in Britain is more than 75 miles from the sea. And salmon and trout are available farmed as well as out of rivers (which is more expensive). There is fish available that's imported from the rest of the world but I try not to buy it as British fishing fleets need all the help they can get and the fish is great too.

We have a proper fishmonger in the village. He gets his fish straight off the fishing boats at Fleetwood, an hour and a half away. It's so fresh it that it lifts its head off the slab and says "Good morning" to you as you're choosing it in the shop!

 

[medtran49]

Well, that's great if you happen to live near the Atlantic Ocean, but for the remaining 99.9% of us who have little choice but to buy fillets, it's more realistic to judge by sight, smell, and touch. I get the impression the original poster probably doesn't have access to his own fishing boat.

Um, US Census data states over 30% of US population lives in coastal COUNTIES. So, given that it's just counties that are mentioned, you've already got way more than your 0.1% and if you count in the counties that are adjacent inland to the coastal counties within say 100 miles, you've got a heck a lot of more people. Any place that's less than a day's drive should have fresh fish at a reasonable price for an extremely large portion of the US population; plus, let's not forget about that newfangled invention, airplanes, that can bring in just about anything from anywhere same day or next day, albeit pretty pricey, depending on what/where.

 

[Steve Kroll]

... plus, let's not forget about that newfangled invention, airplanes, that can bring in just about anything from anywhere same day or next day, albeit pretty pricey, depending on what/where.

Oh my goodness. Seriously? So you're suggesting that people who don't live near a coast should just have fresh fish overnighted to their homes whenever they have an inkling??

I don't know what your food budget is like, but that doesn't really fit into mine. But hey, why stop there? Maybe we should all just buy our own Learjet, so we can fly out there and shoot our own.

 

[Silversage]

That's fine for you. Again, most of us here are trying to provide a realistic and reasonable answer to the poster's question, not something as silly as "if you want good fish, walk down to the ocean and shoot it."

Oh my goodness. Seriously? So you're suggesting that people who don't live near a coast should just have fresh fish overnighted to their homes whenever they have an inkling??

I don't know what your food budget is like, but that doesn't really fit into mine. But hey, why stop there? Maybe we should all just buy our own Learjet, so we can fly out there and shoot our own.

+1
+1

This thread is another that has turned into the same few with 'everyone needs to do it my way because I do it better than everyone else.'

The OP bought fish on Friday. On Saturday he asked us if it would keep for 2 more days. None of the bravado about shooting fish or living on the ocean contributes to that answer.

 

[medtran49]

Oh my goodness. Seriously? So you're suggesting that people who don't live near a coast should just have fresh fish overnighted to their homes whenever they have an inkling??

I don't know what your food budget is like, but that doesn't really fit into mine. But hey, why stop there? Maybe we should all just buy our own Learjet, so we can fly out there and shoot our own.

AND you're deflecting from the main point of my post, you made an erroneous statement about 99.1% of Americans not having easy access to fresh fish, which simply is just not true. I noticed you didn't bother quoting that... or commenting on the census data.

As well, most, if not all, dedicated fish markets FLY in (or truck in depending on how close to coast they are) at least some of the products they sell at least once or twice a week (if not more), so you don't have to do it on your own (an assumption). Even close to the coastline here, our local dedicated fish markets fly in product from the West coast or Northeast coast. All you have to do is ask and they'll tell you which days and which products. And those products tend to be more pricey than locally sourced seafood. You made the leap/assumption about doing it on your own or buying a Lear jet.

And, no we don't have a huge food budget, but we buy in bulk, buy from a wholesale place, Costco, and shop the sales at the supermarket, making use of the deep freeze. Two or three times a year, we'll treat ourselves to something special (usually not seafood), even if that means having it overnighted or 2nd day, which usually adds no more than $30-35 dollars... about a tip from a dinner with wine at a very nice restaurant, which again is a rare treat since we can do better at home than a lot of restaurants.

 

[Mad Cook]

+1
+1

This thread is another that has turned into the same few with 'everyone needs to do it my way because I do it better than everyone else.'

The OP bought fish on Friday. On Saturday he asked us if it would keep for 2 more days. None of the bravado about shooting fish or living on the ocean contributes to that answer.

That's a bit unfair. I don't think that, because I say that it is MY choice not to buy fish which has been airfreighted from the other side of the world, that I should be interpreted as saying no-one else should buy it. Each to his own.

 

[Cooking4to]

I really hope the op has cooked that fish by now

 

[CWS4322]

I get my fish the same day it is killed from the fishmonger. Properly stored, it usually has a shelf life of 7 days. Most fish (sold fresh in the grocery store) has been frozen and thawed. A lot of fish that is "on special" has been warehoused (frozen) for awhile. I assume the fish had an expiration date? If it was on special because it was close to it's expiration date, then you probably would have wanted to eat it up before that date. Portion wise, I plan 5 oz per person dressed weight. If it is a whole fish sold hanging weight, I have to factor in how much is lost when dressing it if I want the whole fish to figure out the # of portions I'm getting. I try to buy the # of portions I need (I portion it at home, but get a slab of salmon that weighs 10 oz, for example, if I want to make two adult-sized servings). In the future, I'd suggest asking some questions about the fish on special--where caught, when caught, when killed, if it was frozen (on the boat or on land), when the store got it, etc.


My fishmonger's prices are pretty competitive, as long as the fish is sustainable and in season. Here in Canada, the mark up on fresh fish in the store is 100-105% (based on the auction price--which is where our local fishmongers get most of the fish sold). Local fishmongers pay an auction # fee to attend the auction in Montreal. The ships come in with the fish in tanks, alive, one night, are government inspected the next day, kept in the tanks, sold the following day (auction starts at 0-dark hundred) and killed before they are packed on ice and refrigerated trucks bring them to Ontario. This is why fishmongers here are closed M-Tue and offer discounts of Sundays, that is usually fish Wednesday or Friday and should be eaten that day or the next.


If you have a local fishmonger, a visit when fish is on sale at the supermarket might be worthwhile for comparison shopping purposes.


I can't eat oily fish or fish that is too fishy...supposedly you can use lemon juice before cooking it to remove the fishy smell and salt the fish before cooking it to remove the oil. I stick with fresh fish and fish I know I can stomach. Smoked eel is not on my list, nor is fresh eel or mackerel.

 

[RPCookin]

I would jolly well think not! Shark are protected species in many far less developed countries than the USA.

Yeah. They are protected in the Bahamas. No spearing for them, and no taking of sharks period, even by hook and line. Spearfishing in the Bahamas is by sling and free diving only.

I fished there a bit during the 2 years we lived there, and when you fish there you are guaranteed to see sharks. In fact, the challenge after the first couple of fish is to land them before the sharks get them. I've lost tackle to lemon sharks several times, and fish I was trying to land went too. I've also landed fish with fresh bite gashes from sharks hitting the fish as I was fighting it.

This is a photo of a friend and his buddies after a trip down south to the Diana Banks. Note the wahoo lying on the dock that's only half there. He told me a big tiger shark took the rest in one bite.

 

[Mad Cook]

I get my fish the same day it is killed from the fishmonger. Properly stored, it usually has a shelf life of 7 days. Most fish (sold fresh in the grocery store) has been frozen and thawed. A lot of fish that is "on special" has been warehoused (frozen) for awhile. I assume the fish had an expiration date? If it was on special because it was close to it's expiration date, then you probably would have wanted to eat it up before that date. Portion wise, I plan 5 oz per person dressed weight. If it is a whole fish sold hanging weight, I have to factor in how much is lost when dressing it if I want the whole fish to figure out the # of portions I'm getting. I try to buy the # of portions I need (I portion it at home, but get a slab of salmon that weighs 10 oz, for example, if I want to make two adult-sized servings). In the future, I'd suggest asking some questions about the fish on special--where caught, when caught, when killed, if it was frozen (on the boat or on land), when the store got it, etc.


My fishmonger's prices are pretty competitive, as long as the fish is sustainable and in season. Here in Canada, the mark up on fresh fish in the store is 100-105% (based on the auction price--which is where our local fishmongers get most of the fish sold). Local fishmongers pay an auction # fee to attend the auction in Montreal. The ships come in with the fish in tanks, alive, one night, are government inspected the next day, kept in the tanks, sold the following day (auction starts at 0-dark hundred) and killed before they are packed on ice and refrigerated trucks bring them to Ontario. This is why fishmongers here are closed M-Tue and offer discounts of Sundays, that is usually fish Wednesday or Friday and should be eaten that day or the next.


If you have a local fishmonger, a visit when fish is on sale at the supermarket might be worthwhile for comparison shopping purposes.


I can't eat oily fish or fish that is too fishy...supposedly you can use lemon juice before cooking it to remove the fishy smell and salt the fish before cooking it to remove the oil. I stick with fresh fish and fish I know I can stomach. Smoked eel is not on my list, nor is fresh eel or mackerel.

If the fish smells "fishy" then it is past its best. Good fresh fish does not smell fishy, it smells "of the sea" and if you have smelled very fresh fish you'll know what I mean. It should have shiny skin and bright eyes. If the fish has dull, sunken, dry eyes, walk on by. It's been dead too long.

 

[Addie]

Boston and Gloucester used to have very large, active fishing fleets. Sadly, due to all the regulations, little by little the fleets have been dwindling. So now most of our "fresh" fish in Boston, comes out of Canada, mostly Nova Scotia. But we still have a very large fleet of lobster trappers. When the warm weather comes around, our fair weather friends take out their boats and take up lobster trapping. But only if it is warm out there. Fortunately around October the put their boats up and the folks who lobster year round for their living, continue. But there are fewer and fewer of them each year. So up go the price. We were able to bet lobsters during the summer for $3.99 a pound. Today, it is $5.99.