Six Months in a Sautoir: Ike-Jime

Dave, the Surgeon. Via http://flavorista.com 

Six Months in a Sautoir: Ike-Jime

This astonishing technique is not for the faint of heart. It's something not all cooks have to deal with on a daily basis, but someone has to take care of your food. This time, it was us. 

I am no stranger to killing fish. Working in a fish restaurant has left me to answer for taking the countless lives of fish, lobsters, oysters, and clams. I have a sneaking suspicion that heaven is run by fish; if this is the case, I can not answer for my crimes against fish and shellfish kind. My times as an executioner brought me to the front of the class on ‘lobster day’ as one of only two students who would demonstrate how to put a knife through a lobster’s head. It led to the live dismemberment of lobsters in the mornings before work when my boss told me not to waste my time otherwise. There were, and I’m sure there will be many more, live lobster dunkings into boiling water before my time is done. Don’t even get me started on oysters and clams. In my short time working in Soho, I probably shucked  close to 20,000 oysters and clams… that’s genocide. I have killed a live fish. This was one of the most upsetting moments of my life. It was for a demonstration in school comparing the methods of killing fish—my method replicating how fishermen kill fish on the dock with a large club. My only solace… my only hope that I will not be cast straight into the boiling pot of fish hell is that there was a short time where I was on the forefront of humane fish killing. When I’m pleading my case to the fish gods, this will be my defense—keep your fingers crossed for me, I don’t know if it will be enough.

Photo Via http://www.moonsail.com

I had been interning for acclaimed molecular gastronomist and all around food nut, pun intended, Dave Arnold. I approached Dave day one of my classes telling him how interested I was in interning for him. He told me he usually makes students wait three months before he takes them on as interns, but because of my background in sciences, specifically with thin films, he took me on. I’m so glad for this leniency on my behalf because I really did appreciate the juxtaposition of classing French technique and modern day science that was so lacking in the teachings of the FCI.

We were fresh off shocking lobsters. We spent a lot of time looking into the methods of dispatching fish and shellfish and how they affected overall taste. Our lobster defibrillator gave a shock to the lobster for a couple of seconds until they were done for. I unfortunately can’t find any old pictures of this… It was quite the experiment. This method of humanely and tastefully killing lobsters led to Dave and Chef Nils Noren continuing to test out their method on live fish, no longer using electricity but a technique called Ike-Jime. Ike-Jime is a Japanese technique where the fish is anesthetized, usually in clove oil or ice water, cut, bled, and then strung with a wire through their spine from the tail to the head. This severs the spine at the base of their head and the fish dies with absolutely no pain or great loss of texture or flavor.

Lobster Trussing was paramount for a good enough shock,
Photo Via. http://www.cookinghow.com 

We were all gathered in the auditorium getting ready for a lecture the guys were doing on Ike-Jime. They had a few rather large carp in a bucket being anesthetized in clove oil and ice water waiting to be the stars of the show. Wanting to practice their method before the class started, they pulled a carp out of the cooler. Now, Nils is a large man, probably 6’ 3”, and Dave is no small-fry. Nils stood on ground level holding the mighty carp above his head while Dave stood on the front counter, about 4 feet off the ground, for a good look down the spine to skewer the fish with a long wire. There were probably six of us in total sitting in the front row watching everything in complete silence. What were we waiting for? In all honesty, if all were done correctly,  we would be waiting for nothing. I guess none of us really knew what was going to happen. What we were watching was what I believe to be the most humane way to kill a fish; after I was called upon to brutally beat the crap out of a carp with a rolling pin just minutes earlier, I desperately wanted to believe it. The fish didn’t so much as quiver while inch after inch of this long shiny wire disappeared into its spine. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the fish gave one great quiver of what seemed like life and almost wriggled out of the bear-like grasp of Nils. This was its final movement—only a reflex of the wire puncturing the connection between it and its life. The deed had been done, and we were all in awe.

What Dave was looking for. Via http://www.cookingissues.com/

I looked back through all my records from culinary school and couldn’t find that video—I think it’s on my old phone back in my parent’s house in Connecticut. If it is, I’ll post it, but luckily Dave posted the act on his YouTube channel being performed on a smaller fish.

Plenty more about my time with Dave to come in future postings.

-Adam from Tipped Mixology