Annabel - apparently some folks have difficulty being wrong (or at the very least, not right all the time). I agree w/you whole-heartedly, you're trying to help inform someone, & they take offense. I hope they aren't eating raw chicken or anything...

Annabel: I think you should take your own advice.

I'm assuming this thing with the fish and marinating it for 2 days was an April Fool's Day joke, but just on the off chance it wasn't:

Maximum marinating time for fish for optimum flavor is an hour. The lime juices in marinades interact with the raw juices of the fish, so bacteria is NOT killed with 48 hours of marinating.

So enjoy eating that little petri dish . . . and keep your will updated. ;)

You can marinate fish in the fridge for 48 hours. I think I'm missing the problem.

Thank you Gotraveler! I gleaned this from an Edu site from Clemson university
Safe Handling after Purchase: Whether you’ve purchased seafood that is fresh or frozen, always keep it cold. Never leave perishable items in a hot car unless packed in ice or in a cooler; seafood products must be kept cold to ensure peak quality. It's always a good idea to keep your refrigerator temperature between 32 and 38 °F, and your freezer at 0 °F or colder. Plan to use your seafood purchases within one to two days, or freeze them
Note the sentence about keeping it in the fridge one-two days or freezing. End of story. :S- Again.

The USDA Food Safety guidelines say that fish can be safely refrigerated for 1 to 2 days.

Not that I would do it. I wouldn't. I'm still with Annabel on her views here (and her way of presenting them).

jacketwatch, I think the misunderstanding here is marinating fish in something acidy like citrus juice.

If you put fish in orange juice and let it marinade two days, the marinade will have cooked the fish.

If you marinade fish in herbs and spices obviously, they will not cook the fish.

http://tinyurl.com/qylp3

If you are buying fist from a fish market or supermarket, 1-2 days top. If you buy from the supermarket, sometimes the fish has already been frozen once -- don't refreeze.

Fresh off the boat, a day or two longer.

Of course that should read "fish", not fist!

Thank you again Gotravel; Things did get a bit testy. The marinade in question has lime obviously but in practice the fish is still ready to be grilled, is clearly safe and tastes quite good.
Its unfortunate this thread went south so to speak. The goal was to provide simple and tasty recepies. I guess no good deed goes unpunished. I did get testy but I got a few thrown at me too. C'est la vie.

Just getting the fish home will disturb it's temp. Add to that, the fact that once one touches, pulls out of the fridge (which will raise and change the fish temp. yet again), put in a container (which unless you just pulled out of the dishwasher that used a sterilizing cycle) and adds room temp. liquids to the mix, you've added new bacterias. To then let the fish fester in those bacterias for 2 days is pushing it.
Go for it but you or your family may not be so lucky one day.

Leaving the fish in the original packaging is not nearly as bad as messing with it.

I had to do reports on this stuff in school.

I personally will only eat fish that I've purshaded that same day and wouldn't want to eat from a resturant who didn't serve the freshest fish as well.
But hey, that's just me (: .

Good lord cybor! I've been catching and eating fish all my life in some of the not so best conditions.

Who fileted your fish? Was it done on the back of a boat where 2500 other fish were fileted? How about a fishing pier that has never been cleaned?

ALL fish are flash frozen or they would not survive the boat ride home. Some boats are out for a week at a time before you get your fish.

Some fish that are steaks such as tuna and sword fish can be marinated longer than 48 hours.

How do you know where your fish came from? How do you know it hasn't been marinated a couple of days? Do you track all of your fish?

How ridiculous is it to suggest that a dish out of the dishwasher is going to turn a fish filet into a disease?

Geezus.

During my 1st week working as an expeditor at a fine dining establishment I witnessed the chef drop a chunk of marinated tuna for ceviche on the floor and the proceed to use it. I was mortified.
Though it was marinated, I was sure hoping he would cook it to kill the bacteria it picked up from the floor.
It was not the last time he did nasty, careless things with food. This combined with the fact that the guy rarely washed his hands... and he just leered at us young girls in a way that you knew his hands were nasty.
I got out of there as soon as I could secure a job elsewhere.

GoTravel: I feel ya. :S-
TTP: Leaving there was a good move. Perhaps reporting them to the food inspectors was in order too.
Now that there are some facts out to assert fish can be safely stored in the frig for up to 2 days what has become of all the naysayers? Have a good day everyone. it been, well sorta fun in a way. Thanks again to go for his/her levelheadedness.

I am confused. I thought this was a travel web site as opposed to a food/ cooking site???

Go travel,
Seeing that you asked, my fish usually comes from my cousin or one of my friends who are fishermen. B/C I live on the coast, I throw a line in once and awhile or scuba to catch fish/lobster.

If you read my post carefully, you will see that I did not say that a dish alone would create a disease.

Leave the drama behind and try not to get so excited.

Eat your less than fresh fish all you want - no one is saying not to.
Cheers

Well, I sure I am scratching my head now, jacketwatch, regarding your comment about naysayers. Not sure which of your "points" you think has been proven.

Your stance regarding that cerviche is not "cooked" is not correct.

Your stance that 2 days soaking salmon in citric acid is better than the recommended 1 hour is your opinion only. I haven't seen anyone who agrees that a 2 day marinade is the best route to a good tasting piece of salmon.

If one IS going to keep a piece of salmon for 2 days in the fridge, then a citric acid soak may be the SAFEST route to take...because you are in fact "cooking" the meat during the soak. Less chance of bacteria buildup perhaps, but I agree that it has to be making the salmon mushier than it would be after the recommended 1 hour marinade.

Dad soaked venison in Catalina dressing overnight in order to tenderize a tougher piece of meat. I just don't see a piece of salmon needing such treatment.

But, if you and your friends are happy with the preparation, so be it. Just isn't the preference of many of us commenting on this board.

Once again, different strokes for different folks.

By the way, it wasn't GoT sharing the dropped piece of fish in the restaurant.

Starrsville;
Opinions are allowed. Taste is a matter of opinion really.
It was TTP (Tx.travelpro) who saw the fish dropped. Reread the comment.
As fo the naysayers, well if you can't see it, well C'est la vie.

Ah, missed the TTP. You are right.
And, you are very right about opinions are what makes this board so interesting.
So, bon appetit with your mushy salmon (IMHO, of course) :-)

Starsville: And good night to you too. Rest your mushy self. IMHO of course. :S-