Kitchen Idiot question

[SirenSongWoman]

Okay. I spent the last two days REALLY sick (like stomach flu-type sick) after working out then eating some fresh salmon I fried with a little olive oil and pepper in a non-stick skillet. I probably fried the fish for about 15-20 minutes and it certainly appeared done throughout (flaky, etc.) but there's a heated debate going on among my co-workers regarding whether I made myself sick by not cooking the fish long enough or if I just got bad salmon. Some are telling me 15-20 minutes is way to short on cook time, others (including a guy who does A LOT of fishing), say 15 or 20 minutes is fine. I know the fish was the source of my pain and suffering (can I sue???) but got to wondering whether it really was my fault and maybe I should have cooked it longer. Being a first class kitchen idiot I really have no clue but hope to, eventually, eat salmon again (minus the whole poop-and-puke part) so I thought I'd come here to get the opinion of people who actually have cooked before. Thoughts?

 

[dlavie]

I don't think it was the cooking, people eat raw fish without getting sick.

Maybe you actually had a stomach virus and you're blaming the last meal before you got sick. Unless you had your stomach pumped and the undigested fish analyzed you won't have a lawsuit.

 

[EVCT]

My husband is a Culinary trained chef and he says " i5- 20 minutes was plenty of time". I agree. I use my George Foreman grill and don't cook it that long. I think you were getting sick before you cooked! Just my 2 cents! Hope you feel better!
Ellen

 

[Gayle]

I'm a sushi addict and eat plenty of raw fish (including salmon), as well as cooked salmon. 15-20 minutes is plenty of cooking time.

I agree with Dave's thinking that it could've been something else. Is it possible that there may have been some cross-contamination from something else in your kitchen?

Also, a friend of mine and I had a similar bout of food poisoning from a restaurant/diner several years ago. When we tried to determine what the cause could of been, the only common things we ate were french fries and coffee. It can really come from anything...blech!

 

[pjreo]

You were most likely already sick and most people do associate the last thing they ate with making them sick (I could't eat pork for years after a bout with the flu).However back to your salmon question,I work in a seafood restaurant on Cape Cod,and we always serve salmon fairly rare.It is perfectly safe to eat rare. Swordfish,haddock ,cod ect. they have to be cooked all the way through,but salmon and really good grade tuna do not. Its a parasite thing I'll spare you the details.Anyway hope this helped it don't stop eating salmon,it's a superfood and really good for you.

 

[Beavs]

It sounds like me like some of your coworkers are the "kitchen idiots."

 

[SirenSongWoman]

>It sounds like me like some of your coworkers are the
>"kitchen idiots."
>

Ha ha ha! I guess I'll just TELL my coworkers what you all said.

Thank you all for your responses. I am so glad to have this info. I think, in the future, when I have a question about cooking anything I'm coming HERE for answers. I'm really wondering about the whole being sick before all this idea... Maybe, since EVERYONE at work is sick (we just keep passing it around and around).

Oh, and I was only joking about suing. Who has time for that....;-)