INTRODUCTION

Japanese Fish Killing is the Japanese word for pufferfish and

the dish prepared from it, normally species of genus Takifugu,
Lagocephalus, or Sphoeroides, or porcupinefish of the genus
Diodon. Fugu can be lethally poisonous due to its tetrodotoxin,
therefore has to be carefully prepared to remove toxic parts and
to avoid contaminating the meat. The restaurant preparation of
fugu is strictly controlled by the law in Japan and several other
countries, and only chefs who have qualified through rigorous
training are allowed to deal with the fish. However, the domestic
preparation occasionally leads to accidental death. Fugu is
served as sashimi and chirinabe. Some consider the liver the
tastiest part but it is also the most poisonous, and serving the
fugu liver in restaurants was banned in Japan in 1984. Fugu has
become one of the most celebrated and notorious dishes in
Japanese cuisine.

HISTORY

Japanese have eaten fugu for centuries. Fugu bones
have been found in several shell mounds, called
kaizuka, from the Jmon period that date back more
than 2,300 years. The Tokugawa shogunate (1603
1868) prohibited the consumption of fugu in Edo and
its area of influence. It became common again as the
power of the shogunate weakened. In western regions
of Japan, where the government's influence was
weaker and fugu was easier to get, various cooking
methods were developed to safely eat them. During
the Meiji Era (18671912), fugu was again banned in
many areas. Fugu is also the only food officially
forbidden to the Emperor of Japan, for his safety.

JAPANESE FISH KILLING

The spinal cord and main blood vessels are severed at the head and tail, a long needle is
pushed down the spinal cord, and the fish is placed in ice water to bleed out.
Several months ago, Dave Chang of Momofuku fame called me and said, We have to
investigate this Ike Jime thing. McGee says its bullshit.
I am pretty sure McGee (that would be Harold McGee, master blaster of science in the
kitchen) didnt say that Ike Jime was bullshit, but rather that he couldnt think of any reason
it would make a difference in the taste of the fish. The part about cutting at the head and
the tail and allowing the fish to bleed isnt really in dispute. This technique does get the
blood out. The question is: does the needle in the spine do anything? The Japanese insist
that the needle is important because it ensures that the muscle doesnt know it is dead.
Skeptics wonder what the point of skewering the spine is after the spinal cord has been
cut.
Nils and I set out to do some Ike Jime experiments at the school. We needed an
unimpeachable expert so we could make sure it was done correctly. Friend of the school
Saori Kawano, from Korin knives, put us in touch with Chef Toshio Suzuki, of Sushi Zen in
NYC (btw, if you dont know Korin, check out their website here. Make sure you have a
napkin to wipe up the drool). Sushi Zen is one of the most highly regarded sushi
restaurants in New York. Chef Suzuki graciously agreed to come in and demonstrate the
technique
Small farmed striped bass (all 4 hours dead): Western (no
bleeding, left on counter for 20 minutes, hit on head, gutted an
hour later), Japanese bled (cut through the spinal cord behind
the gills and at the tail and bled in ice water, then gutted right
away), and Ike Jime (like Japanese bled but with a needle
jammed into the spinal cord.)
Small fluke (all 2.5 hours dead): Western (no bleeding, but hit
on the head right after removing from water, gutted an hour
later), Japanese bled, and Ike Jime.
Small black sea bass (2 hours dead): Western (like fluke),
Japanese bled, Ike Jime (the Ike Jime on this was only partial,
it was hard to get the needle all the way down because the
spinal cord was so small).
Barramundi: Not tasted (we were going to cook it next day)
We tasted them blind first, and then continued tasting after we
knew which was which.

Striped bass, no bleed on top, Japanese-bled in the middle, full Ike
Jime on bottom
The difference between the stripers was amazing. The un-bled
stripers flesh was obviously ruddy, had a metallic flavor and a mealy
texture. The Japanese-bled fish was very clean tasting and didnt
have the mealy texture of the un-bled fish. It was good. The Ike Jime
striper, however, clearly had a firmer, better texture. 100% of those
present preferred it. If you look at the picture, you can see that the
Ike Jime striper has more color than the Japanese-bled. I think this
is because it took a while to get the needle in whereas the other fish
went right into the ice water to bleed. An alternate explanation is that
Ike Jime lessened the force of muscle contractions, and strong
muscle contractions help expel blood. In the future, I will place the
fish in water to bleed first and then needle it. As an interesting side
note, the Ike Jime striper, even after 4 hours, even after it had been
gutted, was still twitching occasionallythe muscles were still alive
as Suzuki said (technically, the ATP, adenosine triphosphate, hadnt
been fully used, and that is the critical issue with Ike Jime as we
shall see later).

The difference between the stripers was amazing. The un-bled stripers
flesh was obviously ruddy, had a metallic flavor and a mealy texture. The
Japanese-bled fish was very clean tasting and didnt have the mealy
texture of the un-bled fish. It was good. The Ike Jime striper, however,
clearly had a firmer, better texture. 100% of those present preferred it. If
you look at the picture, you can see that the Ike Jime striper has more
color than the Japanese-bled. I think this is because it took a while to get
the needle in whereas the other fish went right into the ice water to
bleed. An alternate explanation is that Ike Jime lessened the force of
muscle contractions, and strong muscle contractions help expel blood.
In the future, I will place the fish in water to bleed first and then needle it.
As an interesting side note, the Ike Jime striper, even after 4 hours, even
after it had been gutted, was still twitching occasionallythe muscles
were still alive as Suzuki said (technically, the ATP, adenosine
triphosphate, hadnt been fully used, and that is the critical issue with Ike
Jime as we shall see later).

SPINAL CORD DESTRUCTION!

The best paper on the subject I could get my hands on is: Influence of
storage temperatures and killing procedures on post-mortem changes in
the muscle of horse mackerel caught near Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan,
Toshio Mishima, et al. in Fisheries Science, 2005; 71: 187-194 (I cant
post a link because you need an account that can log into the Science
Direct database. All you university types can get it. If anyone can get a
hold of the Fisheries Science journal number 62 from 1996, there are 3
articles I want to read that are referenced in this article). The technique
we have been calling Ike Jime they call spinal cord destruction (SCD). I
like thatvery descriptive. The fish were killed by making a cut at the
brain, letting it bleed, and immediately destroying its spinal cord by the
insertion of a piano wire through the neural canal. Here is the story:
Certain fish that swim for very long periods have highly a highly
developed autonomic nervous system for swimming (sounds like the
CPGs Bob was talking about). These fish, like bass, like horse
mackerel, etc. benefit from spinal cord destruction. Other fish, like
plaice, that dont have highly evolved constant swimming reflexes, dont
benefit (or at least not as much).
JIME AKA SPINAL CORD DESTRUCTION (SCD):

Japanese fish killing technique where the
spinal cord and blood vessels are severed at
the head and tail, a needle is threaded
through the spinal column to destroy the
spinal cord, and the fish is placed in water to
bleed out.

1: Stressed. In our Suzuki test the fish was
really, really stressed. This one was a little
less so- instead of hitting it in the head with a
mallet we killed it instantly by slicing into its
brain- more humane.
Fish 1 Stressed: a) remove from water for
30 minutes; b) kill by putting knife in brain; c)
do not bleed. Wait 30 minutes then remove
head and gut

2: Japanese-bled
Fish 2 Japanese Bled: a) cut spine and
vessels at head; b) cut spine and vessels at tail;
c) bleed in ice water then remove head and gut
3: Ike Jime (Spinal Cord Destruction). Note: I
noticed that one of the fillets on this fish had a
soft spot even while it was alive like someone
had gripped it hard with their thumb. The rest of
the fish seemed fine.

4: Japanese-bled then immediately
filleted.
Fish 4 Japanese Bled Then Filleted: a) cut
spine and vessels at head; b) cut spine and
vessels at tail; c) bleed in ice water; d) gut; e)
immediately fillet

No bleeding, immediate filleting
Fish 5 Immediate Fillet: a) cut spine and
vessels at head; b) remove head and gut; c)
immediately fillet then rinse fillet in ice water

6: CO2 and iced sea-water anesthesia
followed by Japanese-bleeding and
immediate filleting. This fish, unlike the eel,
thrashed around a lot when the CO2 was
bubbling in the water. After about
three minutes it was knocked out and stayed
knocked out.

7: N2O (laughing gas) and iced sea-water
anesthesia followed by Japanese-
bleeding and immediate filleting. This fish
thrashed less than the CO2 fish, but woke up
quickly when it was removed from the
bucket. We used the N2O three times. The
process wasnt as trauma-free as we had
hoped.

THANK YOU