Let's Talk 'Overcompensating' and Sushi-Grade Fish
No, you should not eat a live fish... but also, a live fish may be no less "sushi-grade" than any other fish?
‘Now Steaming’ is a cooking newsletter combining a love of food with an obsession for pop culture. Sometimes, it’s a recipe inspired by a new movie. Other weeks, it’s—well, it’s an assessment of how to best cook a mushroom monster from a TV show. This is for foodies who love to eat in front of the TV.
I’m sure you’re looking at this photo and asking, “Justin,” to which I say, “Yes, my angel?” and then you ask, “Why have you featured this dashing young man in a jockstrap, getting spanked by men in business formal attire—but more so, specifically why is he next to a plate of sushi?” to which I say, “Isn’t it clear if you think about it?”
OK, perhaps not. Whatever.
Truth is, this weekend my husband and I were looking for something to watch and we jumped into Benito Skinner’s new Prime Video comedy Overcompensating, a college coming-out tale of a jock named Benny who comes into freshman year as a straight man and leaves… well, we haven’t quite figured that out yet.
Oh yeah, before we go on, a bit of housekeeping: (1) Overcompensating came out on May 15, so this is your official spoiler alert, and (2) my day job is at Amazon, and while I make no money off this newsletter, I feel like maybe I’m supposed to disclose that? In the name of newsletter integrity and the wide-reaching threat of billionaires who stand to possibly make pennies off my food-related-sometimes-horny-art-laden Substack? Let’s just say this: they certainly aren’t paying me extra to say nice things about Prime Video programming, so this is just my own taste. Anyway, moving on.
Now that we knocked that out, Overcompensating is great, especially if you’ve ever had the unfortunate euphoria of trying to impress a straight man that you believe is gay. And if you pledged for a fraternity, it hits twice as hard. Big college memories flooding back for me—also some light trauma. Again, I’m fine.
The show follows Benny, a high school jock who is secretly gay. He attends the fictional Yates University, pledges for a secret society, and in the midst of it, meets another pledge named Miles who is mad dreamy. How dreamy, you query? Well, when the two of them are asked to (opens my Bible to confirm) eat 10 betta fish and chug six beers, Benny offers to eat not only his own fish, but Miles’ fish, since he’s vegan. I’ve gotten pretty good at being able to watch gore on TV, but something about eating ten, nay twenty, live fish is a step too far for me.
Perhaps it’s because I was in a fraternity as well and have long buried the memories of pledging and the insane stuff you have to do to join a club of distinguished gentlemen. Perhaps one time when I was helping my dad clean trout when I was little, our dog Amos got into the gut pile, ate like half of it, and then threw up all over the back porch. Perhaps it’s because I had a friend in college who made GLOBAL NEWS when she ate a goldfish as part of the “nekonomination” craze. Either way, when I watched the scene through my hands, I said aloud, “I know that’s not sushi-grade.”
Then I went down the rabbit hole of “what is sushi grade?”
Ok, go on. What’s sushi grade?
The TL;DR of it all is that sushi-grade is kind of a scam, which is crazy because I feel like “sushi-grade” is one of those words that has stuck hard in my brain. When I pick up tuna from the market to sear, I am always asking, “Is this sushi grade?” like some kind of asshole, when in reality, it’s largely deemed a term used for marketing. Capitalism has even hit our raw fish, Mister President!
The whole term “grade” is derived from the same “grading” system that the Food and Drug Administration uses to grade beef—you know, like “grade A beef” all the way down to whatever grade of beef Taco Bell used in the 90s. It’s all about the perception of safety, but when it comes to raw fish, that’s a different animal entirely (but also, it literally is a different animal). The FDA inspects fish, sure, but it doesn’t grade it in the same way. In short, if you’re seeing sushi-grade, that just means that the seller of the fish has indicated that they consider it safe enough to eat, so really, you’re not betting on sushi-grade fish… you’re betting on the judgment of whomever is selling you the sushi-grade fish.
In short, if you’re looking for fish that is sushi-grade, or more plainly… safe to eat, there are a few guidelines. If you’re cooking it properly, then you’re pretty much golden. You can cook the parasites right out of that bad boy. But if you’re trying to make sushi, or if you’re like my dad who decided recently that he loves to eat raw salmon (??), then you should consult FDA guidelines (maybe print this before the FDA goes away?). You can freeze the fish, pickle the fish, or simply find yourself a market where you feel like you can fully trust the person selling the fish. It’s a gamble, baby, but isn’t that the fun part of life?
For the record, no where in my research was I able to find anyone that endorsed eating one, let alone 20, betta fish, but we’re living in a brave new world. Fix yourself some live betta fish. Pair it with a tall glass of raw milk, and of course, turn on Overcompensating. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about the first two.