Food Prep with No Heat Needed - Ceviche

[Captain Smollett]

The idea of a solar cooker is interesting, and it leads naturally to the next logical step.

What if you could "cook" with no fuel or heat source?

A dude here in the marina last year introduced me to this idea, and I've been meaning to explore it further.  The solar cooker thread reminded me.  :)

One variant from Peru (or Ecuador; I understand they argue over who gets to claim it) is called ceviche but there are others (with other names).  Back in 2007, the CBS Morning show had the head chef from NYC's Gammercy Tavern on showing some techniques.

In a nutshell, instead of denaturing the meat with heat, you do so chemically with food acids such as lemon or vinegar - a marinade!  

There are MANY dishes that can be made this way.  Here's one shrimp recipe. and the CBS Show page linked above has a couple, too (one for char and the other for calamari).

Seems to me a good tool for the arsenal of the small boat cruiser...prepare that fresh-caught fish with no fuel (to use up or heat up the boat).  The dude that told me about it is out cruising now, and he said he rarely conventionally cooks meat (seems to me it's mostly useful for fish/seafood, but who knows?).

Edit:  My post is clearly incomplete without a link to the Ceviche Recipe Page.

[Pablo]

I love Ceviche, but you do have to be care to use the freshest seafood.  It works best on light fish, but I have done it with Salmon.  Every recipe I see for shell fish always has them par boiled first.  I don't know if it is just fear or if it is justified...

Grog for the links, I will be sure to give those a try.

[Oldrig]

Capt'n and Pablo:

Thanks for reminding me of ceviche.
When well prepared, it is delicious.
But I'd second Pablo's warning: My wife and I enjoyed our first taste of ceviche while visiting Puerto
Escondido on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca State in Mexico--back when it was a little fishing village, accessible only by DC-3.
Unfortunately, we paid the price for our meal later that night. Was the seafood not fresh, or was it just La Tourista? We'll never know.
--Joe

[geneWj]

In our 2.3 years of cruising the Sea of Cortez it was a very popular method of cooking FRESH fish, notice the word fresh.  Le'mons as the Mexicans call them was the staple to marinate the fish, shrimp and scallops.
genewj

[Auspicious]

I really enjoy ceviche. My understanding is that ceviche "cooks" food by breaking down long molecular protein chains (if I have that right) which is fine, even great, for preparing the food to eat. It doesn't have the same effect on viruses and bacteria that heat-based cooking has. I expect that is why there is so much emphasis on fresh food, especially fish, as the material.

[Captain Smollett]

I really enjoy ceviche. My understanding is that ceviche "cooks" food by breaking down long molecular protein chains (if I have that right) which is fine, even great, for preparing the food to eat. It doesn't have the same effect on viruses and bacteria that heat-based cooking has. I expect that is why there is so much emphasis on fresh food, especially fish, as the material.

Yep; your understanding is exactly right  (Wearing my Chemistry Prof. hat for a moment...taking it back off now; whew, that's better).

[AdriftAtSea]

I'd imagine that the thickness of the food also affects how well the denaturing process used in ceviche and similar food preparation methods works.   My  advice would be to use fairly thinly sliced fish or seafood if you're making ceviche.

[Captain Smollett]

I'd imagine that the thickness of the food also affects how well the denaturing process used in ceviche and similar food preparation methods works.   My  advice would be to use fairly thinly sliced fish or seafood if you're making ceviche.

Hmmm.  I'm sure I don't know, but it looks like in at least the shrimp recipes, the shrimp is whole (but peeled) and can be pretty thick.

Seems to me like chemical 'cooking' would handle thicker pieces about like heat cooking...longer times for thicker, shorter times for thinner.

[Pablo]

Seems to me like chemical 'cooking' would handle thicker pieces about like heat cooking...longer times for thicker, shorter times for thinner.

In my limited experience that is correct, within reason. I would cut the shrimp up if I wasn't going to parboil it.   Also I would caution against too thin as it really "overcooks" the food.   

[Auspicious]

Sushi for lunch.

[Shipscarver]

Ahhhh! Sometimes it just feels so right to be a vegetarian. ::)

[CapnK]

Read about this years and years ago, in some sailors book.. Might have even been 'Dove'. Very similar to Ceviche, but you are not relying on the juice acid so much for cooking, mostly just for flavoring. Good stuff, especially when your meal was swimming minutes before. :)

Poisson Cru

...here, too.

[carl762]

Nice.  It's only 5:07 am, and I've already learned something new today.  GROG