Might be true that there’s more fat, I could be wrong, I don’t want to argue either. But I wouldn’t be so quick to trust anyone who claims it’s “soft.” It’s like a bunch of coiled rubber bands held together by a string. Whoever wrote that is also wrong in saying it’s by the dorsal fin – it’s by both the dorsal and anal fins.
These misstatements are leading me to believe that he isn’t really familiar with the fish.
It says “fattier” not “fattiest”. The belly is usually the fattiest part of a fish. I haven’t filleted my own halibut enough to know if halibut belly meat is fatty though.
Sushi chefs often score engawa to make it less chewy.
Also when torched or cooked it actually becomes much more tender.
The noxious taste torching imparts on sushi has become the proverbial squeaky bike-wheel for me - something that I never really noticed (or just accepted as part of the deal) until it was (failry recently) pointed out to me. It is ubiquitous at sushi bars, from high to low end. It is quick but I wonder if there are other ways to sear that may be more time consuming but tastier; or sushi masters that eschew the torch.
My limited research Torch Tastes - Modernist Cuisine suggests if the chef is patient and burns off some uncombusted dirtier hydrocarbons (sorry @ Paris #COP21 agreement) to get a purer-bluer flame some of the bad-taste can be ameliorated, but I have not perceived much difference - torched is torched.
Mori doesn’t torch but takes the time to sear between 2 heated metal grills in the kitchen.
In Japan many of the old school sushi masters I’ve asked look down upon the torches, preferring grilling over binchotan (if fire is needed).
… but then again, we live in L.A., not Japan. Flame on.
Somebody get on that ethanol sushi torch asap.
Thus, the Searzall.
California Halibut is prized for Sushi. They’re even sold to Japan.
But, California Halibut needs to be aged or handled using Ikejime, otherwise it goes into tremendously stiff Rigor Mortis. This applies to the Engawa in my experience catching, cutting, and selling California Halibut. Engawa off of large California Halibut generally isn’t used - it’s too thick and chewy. But, off of smaller fish, it can be delicious. Engawa from the top side is thicker and chewier, vs. the bottom side which is thinner and softer in my experience.
A lot? Yes. Most? Definitely not.
After 14 hours of cooking, there can still be plenty of fat in a barbecued brisket. There’s are differences between fats - intramuscular, fats between muscles, soft and hard fats. A lot of the fat in a brisket isn’t edible and won’t completely render, e.g. the deckle. Most briskets seem to not have a lot of exterior fat because most of it has been trimmed away. I’ve trimmed up to 3 pounds of fat off of briskets before cooking.
[quote=“secretasianman, post:7, topic:2176, full:true”]
developing rapport with a chef over a period of time can have a tremendous impact in your experience; i have often enjoyed a meal more with a good chef who i’ve known over the years over a meal from a ‘great’ chef, but with whom i have no relationship [/quote]
BINGO!
That’s awesome info, thanks!