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Well, sometimes fish is supposed to taste like ammonia.
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One’s man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This is perhaps never more than case than with one unforgettable dish in traditional Icelandic cuisine, the decomposed shark carcass known as “hákarl”.
As a heads up, upon first encountering hákarl, one should expect a full-on assault on the nostrils from a putrid smell that is reminiscent of rotten cheese mixed with ammonia. If one survives the gag-inducing smell, he or she may feel brave enough to try and sample this fermented shark flesh.
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First, the shark is beheaded.
Then, to eliminate poisons, such as trimethylamine oxide and uric acid (a compound found in urine), a shallow hole is dug in the sand and the hákarl is placed in it with stones, sand, and gravel placed on top. The pressure of the stones causes liquids to seep out over a period of 6-12 weeks, a time frame that allows the shark to ferment properly.
After this, the fermented shark - which is 24 feet long on average - is taken out of the ground, cut into long pieces and hung up to dry for several months.
Many hákarl preparers claim they know the meat is ready just by the smell and once a characteristic dry, brown crust forms. When the time is right, the pieces are taken down, the crust is removed and the meat is cut into slices and served and enjoyed by many.
Me neither. Lobster and Crab especially MUST be cooked live- you cook a dead one even by a few minutes to an hour and the thing is completely inedible.
If you're getting an "ammonia" smell from cooked crab there's something wrong on your end, not with the seafood.
Not sure what your last statement means. If you're getting an ammonia smell from cooked crab then the issue IS with the seafood. Crabs and other non mollusk shellfish will smell like ammonia when NOT fresh. Especially after cooking. If you've never had this experience then consider yourself lucky. Your restaurant/fish monger is taking good care of you as they should.
Me neither. Lobster and Crab especially MUST be cooked live- you cook a dead one even by a few minutes to an hour and the thing is completely inedible.
If you're getting an "ammonia" smell from cooked crab there's something wrong on your end, not with the seafood.
No, it's that the FL grocery stores have been selling various "fresh" cooked crab in the fish case but when you get it home and steam it or whatever, the ammonia is GAGGING.
Just happened to me last week. It took two days to get the ammonia smell out of my pot.
It actually IS local from the other side of FL but their catching/killing methods and timeliness leave alot to be desired.
OP:
Manner of handling and death for crabs can be bad - like suffocating and can cause them to excrete compounds. Crabs remove dissolved oxygen from the water to breathe. In the ocean that water is introduced through storms, waves, etc. In aquariums you use bubblers.
Leaving crabs out in a boat or a pot of water out in the air, especially warm air, is actually a slow version of how oxygen is removed from water for industrial use.
A slow death, in other words.
So like has been happening in FL with me, the crab were not processed correctly. I couldn't smell the ammonia until I steamed the "already cooked fresh crab".
I stopped buying any fish from the grocer fish case - only frozen. Or I go to the fish monger where the boats pull up outside with the catch.
Being lucky to live next to the Pacific I usually go from Ocean to table but sometimes that can't happen. It takes quite a few days for fish to get that ammonia smell started but I've seen it happen and it's nasty. If I can't eat within a couple of days it gets frozen. Some fish, like Dorado, just don't freeze well.
That posted, I've gotten fish from the market with that smell and I immediately take it back, nasty.
Similarly, I prepared and fried a very nice and plump filet of codfish last night. The fish smelled absolutely fresh when I unwrapped it from the fridge. I had taken it from my freezer the day before. I froze the fish because the market posted that the fish had not been previously frozen.
After preparing a batter of egg and milk, and a quick dredge in a cracker/flour concoction I threw together, I pan fried it in a light oil for about 3-4 minutes each side. It smelled great and it tasted great (but)!
But, upon chewing the first bite, I noticed a taste of ammonia. I did not experience any sickness of any sort afterward. I wondered what others had experienced, though most here have said the fish is decomposing and therefore the ammonia taste.
I have eaten other varieties of fish but have not had this ammonia taste apart from cod fish. Thoughts?
The ammonia smell indicates the fish is starting to rot. I have eaten fish with that smell and also can’t believe it is sold as “fresh.” I remember feeling a little ill afterward but not full-on poisoned, so maybe a hint of decomposition will be tolerated by the body, but the taste and smell were offputting. Next time I get that, I will send it back.
The ammonia smell indicates the fish is starting to rot. I have eaten fish with that smell and also can’t believe it is sold as “fresh.” I remember feeling a little ill afterward but not full-on poisoned, so maybe a hint of decomposition will be tolerated by the body, but the taste and smell were offputting. Next time I get that, I will send it back.
This is why I never buy fish unless it is in a whole condition or from a trusted source. BTW, sharks urinate through their flesh, which is why decomposition is rapid.
Can't say I've ever had fish that tastes like ammonia. Maybe you just have a lot of horrible quality fish sources in America. It sure sounds like it!
Yeah, its called SE Asia!
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Cod Fish
