Make sushi at home recipe - How to cure Steelhead (aka Ocean Trout) for sushi

As of this writing (July 2024), Salmon is the No.1 sushi neta (ingredient) in Japan based on the survey. In the US, salmon also holds the No.1 spot for sushi. While I have nothing against salmon, at Breakthrough Sushi, we use steelhead instead of salmon. The reason is very simple: we feel the steelhead we use tastes better than the most salmon we can get from our fish supplier.

Some of our clients are turned off by the sound of “steelhead trout.” The word trout reminds them of “rainbow trout,” which is a fresh water fish. We say over and over that it is not the trout as they know, and our steelhead looks and tastes like salmon. In fact, if we didn’t tell them that it is steelhead, it’s likely that they will never notice. Sometimes, we cannot tell the difference between steelhead trout and salmon.

Steelhead trout is anadromous, which means it spends adulthood in the ocean, then comes back to the river to spawn. Unlike salmon, steelhead can spawn multiple times. The trout that remains in the river becomes and is called Rainbow trout because of the color. Steelhead trout has silvery skin and bigger than Rainbow trout.

One of the big differences between the steelhead we use and salmon is the taste: our steelhead is much sweeter and flavorful than salmon (we think.) It also tastes less oily than the most farm raised salmon.

There is one simple technique we use to the steelhead: curing with sugar and salt. The traditional Japanese curing technique called “shime” usually employs only salt. Salt and sugar curing is the recipe use to make gravlax salmon, which is what we use.

It is a very simple recipe, however, it requires some practice. The most difficult part is to determine when to stop curing. This only comes from experience as far as I know. How to tell when the curing is done? I look for the amount of water (being drained), the firmness and the color of the steelhead.

In the recipe, I wrote down the general time needed to cure – about 30 minutes for sugar, 15-20 minutes for salt. You need to adjust it based on the steelhead you use, also how big or small your steelhead is. Curing time should be shorter if the steelhead piece is smaller than my piece (pictured is a ¼ piece of fish) and vice versa.

Determine when to stop curing by the amount of water being drained

Steelhead curing for sushi recipe

The flesh of steelhead is very soft and easily broken. When handling, use both hands to pick up. Handle with extreme care. Never drop it on the cutting board or any surface even in a slightest way.

INGREDIENTS:

• Loch Etive Steelhead fillet, skinless

• Cane sugar

• Sea salt

TOOLS:

• Sheet pan

• Cutting board

• Knife

• Paper towels
  

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Remove the white hard skin part, moving the knife up and down.

2. Cut steelhead into three pieces.

3. In a sheet pan, pour some cane sugar. Place the steelhead piece and coat it with sugar.

4. Cure in sugar for approximately 30 minutes.

5. When the water starts to emerge from the steelhead, and the color turns darker orange, rise the fillet in water.

6. Tap dry with paper towel.

7. In a sheet pan, pour some sea salt. Place the steelhead piece and coat it with salt.

8. Cure in salt for approximately 15-20 minutes.

9. When the small amount of water starts to emerge from the steelhead (approximately 15 minutes), rise the fillet in water.

10. Tap dry with paper towel.
    

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