In Japanese cooking, it’s considered a delicacy to be separated out from the rest of the fish. It’s served raw in sushi.
Nutrition
Like many kinds of fish, halibut is susceptible to worms and parasites. Roundworms and flukes can be transferred to humans, causing a disease called “anisakiasis”. Their larvae can burrow into the lining of your stomach wall. They used to have to removed by very invasive surgery; now they can be removed with fibre optics inserted into you.
Marinades won’t kill the critters, nor will curing or pickling, so even ceviche dishes aren’t safe. The Halibut must be smoked, cooked or frozen.
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- To be safe when smoked, they must be smoked at 150 to 200 F for 4 to 6 hours. (65 C to 93 C).
- To be safe when cooked, cook to 145 F (63 C) for 5 minutes to kill any larvae.
To be safe to eat raw, it must have been frozen for 48 hours below 0 F (-17 C). 15 hours at the colder temperature of -40F/C will also do the try, as will 5 days in the range of 0 to 10F (-17 C to -12 C). Generally these temperatures can only be reached in commercial freezers.
Language Notes
Called “engawa” in Japanese