Thread: Sushi Gallery
View Single Post
(#12 (permalink))
Old
yuujirou's Avatar
yuujirou (Offline)
Busier Than Shinjuku Station
 
Posts: 1,645
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Houston, Texas
Send a message via AIM to yuujirou
Otoro - Fatty Tuna - 08-28-2008, 08:30 AM



First off, I would like too start by apologising for the EXTREMELY poor quality picture. It is one of the few I snapped, the best of that few, and for some reason my camera had a mind of it's own for the shots.

Otoro has a property more like beef than any other fish I have encountered. Like beef, Otoro CAN be TOO fresh. Fresh beef, right after the cattle is killed, is extremely tough and relatively flavourless. This is called Green Meat. Most beef that the typical consumer purchases at the local mart has been 'aged'. Yes, that's right 'aged'.
The reason for this is because immediately after death, the cattle goes through rigor-mortis. A process in which some chemicals go all wonkers and causes the meat to toughen up. After a few days to a week, the meat begins to rot, or break down. This is desirable.
This process also applies too Otoro. Otoro is (from personal experience) sometimes frozen just before exporting while the meat is still really fresh.
The only reason why I brought this up is so that you guys might know WHY your apparently really fresh Otoro doesn't taste as succulent and scrumptious as your tab says it should (Just a note, the pictured block of Otoro has a value of about $60 USD).

In regards too the taste of Otoro, it's sweet and buttery. When aged (too perfection) it literally melts in your mouth and provides an indulgence some dietarily concerned consumers might feel guilty of. However, some people might find this overwhelming sensation of buttery goodness a little overbearing and opt for Chutoro, a less fatty version (closer too the loin) of Otoro.

For a good fusion suggestion, have your Itamae-san lightly sear just the upper portion of the Otoro and finish off with a pinch of hon-wasabi (real wasabi). For a more traditional touch, leave out the searing.

Here is a BETTER quality shot of the Otoro.

Probably price it near $100 for this particular block.



In the shadows beneath the trees he waits.
In the darkness under the moon he plots
In the silence of the night he kills.

Last edited by yuujirou : 11-20-2009 at 09:56 AM.
Reply With Quote