halibut worms??

[old_rookie]

Was looking around the gallery - lamb posted this
http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/526/thumbs/worms_halibut_parasite.jpg (http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/showphoto.php/photo/4029)

Kind of freaked me out - what do you do? cut that part of the meat out and toss it? Or just cooked it up for extra flavor?

[The Kid]

gut it on da yak b4 it dies when the temp changes in the fish the worms move from stomach into the meat

[GregAndrew]

The worms are just added flavor when cooked properly or frozen for at least 3 days. I have heard the same thing about gutting it before it dies.

[Vikingj]

I believe the parasitic worms are already in the muscle and do not migrate from the gut after you catch it. Regardless, the worms are killed with proper freezing and/or cooking. Bon appetit!

[GregAndrew]

Here is a link that will tell you more than you want to know about fish parasites. http://seafood.ucdavis.edu/pubs/parasite.htm

[mrJB]

Viking knows his stuff...
Also, after you filet your halibut and picked out what you could, put the filets in the refrigerator (not freezer) for about 1/2 hour. The temperature drop will cause the worms to try to escape from the flesh and bring them to the surface of the meat. If you're lucky you will be able to pick off any remaining worms.

[peguinpower]

best thing to do is not watch that "monsters inside me" show on discovery :)

seriously, 2 weeks in the freezer kills those things. cooking kills them too. filleting and cutting the belly portion out helps to clean it up. some worms start in the gut and start spreading soon as they notice that the host is dead. so gutting after you catch 'em reduces the chance that you'll see those buggers and keep 'em away from the flesh.

/bing

[old_rookie]

Yup - I have a hard time watching the "monsters inside me" show on discovery - tried it once - had to change the channel, and I'm the one who kills the bugs and catches the lizards in the house. I don't think I'll go to that fish parasite link either. I bet there are hamburger, or pork, or other meat parasite stories too.

[WahooUSMA]

best thing to do is not watch that "monsters inside me" show on discovery :)/bing

LMFAO....!

[lamb]

Anisakis Simplex



Anisakis Simplex I think it is.... The Parasite.

http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/images/ParasiteImages/A-F/Anisakiasis/anasakid_whole.jpg




I seem to find them in about half of halibut I encountered in "my research" so far... if not more. :o

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/526/worms_halibut_parasite.jpg

Nasty chit. It's easy to over look 'em, even if you're looking hard. I was finding them wiggling on the top of fillet, that stayed overnight in the fridge in ziplock bag... on the fish that was "clean", I thought I didn't see any when I cut it. :(

They mostly seem to be hanging on the guts, but often they seem to take a seed on the lower belly, on the inside. Whole bunch of them bundled up, rooted in the belly flash. Sometimes on the upper stomach fillet....

That piece of the belly... hazardous material.
Throw away, or maybe take it to treat the boss you absolutely hate. :)

Supposedly, humans are too tough for Anisakis Simplex; they die if they end up, in majority of humans... but still - in some rare cases, they are fine with some unfortunate folks as hosts. Often there's is an allergic reacton... Scary.

"Cooking fish to 140ºF (60ºC) for 10 minutes, freezing fish at -4ºF (-20ºC) for at least 7 days, or blast freezing fish to -31ºF (-35ºC) for 15 hours kill the larvae."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anisakis
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/loom/2008/08/04/whats-in-your-sushi/