Dry aging fish

starting to see this pop up at fishmongers and restaurants. A way to get rid of old fish? Seems a bit hazardous. Will google to learn more.

Very curious as to the application compared to smoked fish (which I use in various ways from fish cakes to fish pies as well as appetisers of course).

answered my own question: Everything You Need to Know About Dry-Aged Fish

It’s common at high-end sushi places in Japan, and perhaps some in the states. Done properly, it can add an extra dimension.

I’ve only done it on accident. Never ended well.

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I think Chef Nan does it at KinKan in LA

they just buy it from Li Wei

Pretty much everyone in CA (if not further) buys it from Li-Wei at the Joint. It’s a great set up there.

It’s done in a similar way as dry aging beef and done in a custom Dry AGER branded fridges - it’s anywhere from 5 to 40 days dry aged and it’s done with fresh fish. The amount of oil that glistens off the 30+ day dry aged Toro/Ora King is incredible. Just handling it, your hand is covered in fish oil.

I’ve shipped some of his fish to friends across the country during the height of the pandemic to get the word out, right before Li-wei really blew up. I usually get some of the collars for my wife and kid to eat. Took steve and Phil there in January and LW prepared a sashimi plate for them to try - they really enjoyed it.


p.s. The Joint has a distribution agreement with Astrea Caviar but I consider LW a friend prior to him ever discussing caviar with me and I’ve been a big promoter of his work prior to any caviar deal.

9 day dry aged O Toro
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3o day dry aged Ora King Salmon raw + cooked
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packages I shipped to some friends
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Ora King Head + body
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10 day dry aged Hamachi collar
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not quite the same - the edomae style is aging cut fish but not the whole fish like a beef carcass but the idea is the same.

Saint Peter in Sydney is a restaurant that will dry age fish. The results are spectacular.

The fish has to be immaculate to do this. Otherwise, it’s just bad. Fish has to be ikejime’d (pithed) immediately and bleed well. It’s the blood in the tissues which cause degradation.

It all looks amazing, but the salmon is a knock out

As much as I appreciate the effort and want to love it, I generally like the fresh fish better, especially when I consider it’s less expensive.