I recently learned that a lot of people use Costco’s farmed salmon fillets for making salmon sashimi at home. I don’t know if it’s completely safe, but I learned that Costco's salmon is from Norway, which has some of the strictest fish farming regulations in the world. I found a lot of documentation online which I will go through in this post.
Is Costco's farmed salmon safe?
To be completely honest, I don't know. I've read countless threads on Reddit of people claiming they've never gotten sick from it, but no one knows for sure. And most likely we will never know unless Costco releases some official statement themselves.
However, I did find this document from the FDA that says that farmed salmon (aquaculture fish) is generally safe to eat raw safe as long as the fish are raised under certain conditions. Most fish need to be frozen to a certain temperature for a specific time to kill all parasites, but apparently farmed salmon is exempt from this rule (as long as it's raised under certain conditions).
Another interesting point is that the Costco salmon I bought was imported from Norway. According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, Norwegian salmon is safe to eat raw. The reason is because they have extremely strict farming conditions and their water is very clean.
How to prepare the salmon?
Firstly, I like to cut the salmon into 8 smaller portions. The size and shape of the portions do not really matter too much since we are not cooking them. This is how I cut them:
Once the salmon is cut, you want to cure the salmon in a 1:2 ratio of salt and sugar for about 45 minutes. What this does is it firms up the salmon and adds a little bit of flavor as well. Once the 45 minutes is up, just rinse off the salt and sugar, pat it dry with paper towels, and you can slice it and eat it.
For the leftover salmon, I wrapped each portion in plastic wrap and placed it on crushed ice in my refrigerator. They stayed fresh for about 3 days afterward. In my experience, the crushed ice keeps the salmon fresher for a lot longer.
Salmon Sashimi (with Costco salmon)
Ingredients
- 1 fresh farmed salmon (I'm using the one imported from Norway)
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Slice the salmon fillet into 8 smaller portions. I did this by slicing once through the middle lengthwise, then cutting each half into 4 smaller portions. The exact size and shape of each portion does not really matter too much.
- Combine the salt and sugar in a small bowl.
- Apply a thin layer of the salt and sugar around each piece of salmon. Place the salmon pieces on a wire rack and refrigerate for 45 minutes.
- Rinse the salmon pieces under cold water then pat dry with paper towels.
- Slice the salmon into ¼-inch thick slices. I usually slice them at an angle so they look prettier.
- Serve with soy sauce and wasabi and enjoy!
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