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Hi my name is Dan, and this video supports my online sushi course on Udemy.com
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And you can learn more about the video lectures in the link below.
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There's nothing quite like the vibrant color of tuna.
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And sublime taste is one of the reasons why it's a favorite among sushi eaters.
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In this lecture, you'll learn how to buy a sushi grade tuna,
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learn how to break it down,
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and understand the differences of each unique cut.
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And before we get started, I think it's important first that you learn some basic purchasing guidelines.
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One of the most important factor is understanding the color.
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Fresh tuna will have a beautiful deep red shade.
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And as the tuna ages and gets exposed to the air,
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the meat will start to turn darker and eventually to a brownish tint.
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This doesn't mean the tuna is spoiled, it just means his past his prime and no longer sushi grade.
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And second unknown to many people,
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there's a lot of processed tuna in the market that sometimes advertise as fresh.
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These tunas have been treated with carbon monoxide gas to retain a color
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and then vacuum-sealed.
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And to on experience eyes it can be quite difficult to tell the difference between treated versus natural tuna.
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And in the comparison, you can tell that the CO treated tuna has a bright pinkish color,
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compared to fresh tuna whereas the meats more of a blood red.
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And normally, when you're buying tuna at the store, it's already been broken down into different cuts.
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And to help you understand, here are a couple of illustrations.
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This is a cross-section of the belly quarter and this is where the most desirable part of the tuna is located.
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Known as the O'Toro.
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This part has the highest concentration of fat and commands the best price.
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Now, here's a different cross section cut without the belly tag,
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and the part above the skin, is known as the Chutoro.
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This is considered medium fatty tuna but not to the same extent as the O'toro.
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And keep in mind most smaller fish will not have any fat in this area.
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So the quality is highly depending on the size of the fish.
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And the third cut, known as the Akami, is the muscle closest to the spine,
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and this is the leanest part of tuna and also the most affordable.
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So now that you know how to buy tuna. Let's learn how to cut it.
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And the way that tuna is cut, is that the processor will fillet each fish into 4 quarters,
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2 top sides and 2 bottom loins.
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From here on, the Seller will break it down even further depending on what the customer wants.
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Some will request for the whole loin or only parts of it,
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For demo, I'll be using only a section of Yellowfin Tuna loin.
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Since each tuna quarter can wait quite a bit, chances are you won't need the whole thing.
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Instead, just request for a smaller section.
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And it's important you avoid using the tail end piece because this section has too much sinew,
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and it's harder to work with. So try to avoid buying this part for sushi.
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And also, request the fishmonger to remove the blood line in the skin. Since these parts won't be used.
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To start dry off the loin as best as you can with paper towels on all sides.
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And you can see this piece already has a bloodline and the skin removed before it was purchased.
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Next, use the Yanagiba and cut off the Akami half first, roughly about 1/3 from the top.
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Then turn the loin lengthwise, and start cutting block pieces about 1 inch thick.
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And make sure you're cutting parallel to the loin.
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This type of cut is also known as Saku, in Japanese,
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and it's how the Chutoro is portioned on a larger fish.
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However, this Yellowfin tuna that I'm cutting was way too small to have any fat.
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And that's why every piece you see is very lean.
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But if you're somebody that enjoys red tuna, then yellowfin and blackfin tunas are good choices.
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And when you cut down to the last piece, this part will have stronger connective tissues,
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and its best reserved for making spicy tuna or hand rolls after it's been scraped.
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Which is something you learn how to do later.
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And looking at the comparison here, you can see the Saku on the right has much less noticeable sinew.
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And this is the part that's best saved for nigiri and sashimi applications
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And after you're done portioning, it's important to go back to each piece and
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trim out any bloodlines that was left behind from the store.
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And also, go through each Saku block and remove any parts where the sinew is more pronounced.
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Normally, the part closest to the skin, is a little bit more fibers, especially on larger fish
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And a helpful tip, is to keep all the trims in a separate dish as your cutting.
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This way later you can cut them all into smaller pieces so don't discard these.
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And don't forget, the Akami half that you cut off earlier
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can be reduced down even further into smaller pieces.
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And by the way, this part of the fish is the leanest and most tender.
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And as you can see there's almost no visible connective tissues compared to the others.
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So after you make all your cuts you end up with several different pieces.
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On the right, are cuts that are ready for making nigiri or sashimi.
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And on the left, are trims with strong connective tissues.
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And this will require a little more work before you can be used.
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And before the tuna can be story in the fridge,
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it's important to seal them in saran wrap to prevent it from drying out.
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Now if you don't plan on using them within the same day,
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then I suggest wrapping them in deli paper to help keep it dry while it's in the cooler.
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Once these are store in the fridge it's best to use them within
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three to four days before they start to change color.
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And also, it's a good idea to change the paper every other day to help keep it dry.
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Because remember, water and protein is a bad mix and you want to try to keep the bacteria level low.
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There are some chefs that will sprinkle a touch of salt over the fish for this purpose,
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so this is an option if you want to try.
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And as mentioned before, the trimmings ever removed earlier can be used for
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sushi rolls once it's cut up into smaller pieces.
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this way it won't be tough to chew.
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Now, the part with the strongest sinew needs to be scraped off.
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And to do this it's easier to fillet into thinner pieces,
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then knock down with the back of a knife to help loosen up the muscle.
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And then use a spoon to scrape off the meat.
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And as you watch, you can see that the goal here is to separate the sinew from
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the meat as cleanly as possible. This is what many sushi restaurants use for
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making sushi rolls or tuna tartar. And you can do the same thing too.
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Now depending on how much tuna you're working with, you may end up with quite a bit of spoon meat.
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And if you don't use this within the same day.
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It's best to freeze them to prevent it from oxidizing too fast. Because they'll turn brown really quick.
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And the best solution is to pan it over deli paper and then saran wrap it.
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This way the core will freeze within minutes instead of hours.
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This is really important if you want to preserve the color and quality of the tuna.
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Because if you want to freeze this as a block, the core will turn brown.
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And when you're ready to use it just take it out of the freezer and defrost it for a couple of hours.
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I suggest reason that no more than a week.
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And before I end the lecture, I think it's a point that you know what species of tuna are often used in sushi.
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The three most common tunas are:
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Bluefin
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Bigeye
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Yellow fin
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And the price is based on the specie and grade.
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But you can be sure that Bluefins will always come in the highest price and chances are you won't
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be able to find these in your retail stores. Because most are shipped to Japan
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or end up in high-end restaurants.
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But on the other hand, Bigeye and Yellowfin tunas are more widely available,
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and odds are this is what your local store will carry.
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And aside from different species affecting the price,
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there's also a grading scale that cell is used to evaluate the quality of each fish.
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And this is depending on the color, clarity, texture, and fat content.
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And the grading system is based on a number of ranking order, with 2 being the worst and 1+ being the best.
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And generally only #1 fish are used for sushi.
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Okay, that's it for this lecture, I hope it gave you some good insights so that
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way the next time you go shopping for tuna you'll have a more educated mindset.
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And in the next lecture, you'll get to learn how to break down entire salmon.
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Okay, I hope you enjoy this video this is actually a preview of my course on Udemy.
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If you want to learn more on how to make sushi at home please check out the link in the box.
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There are over 40 video lectures that cover many of the basics,
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such as learning how to cut vegetables, making sushi rice, how to make different
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types of sushi rolls, and learn how to cut fish for nigiri and sashimi.