The slaughter technique called « ikejime » or ike-Jime (literally: "living death" in Japanese) is a Japanese technique that consists in quickly neutralizing the animal's nervous system when it comes out of the water and draining of its blood.
It helps topreserve the freshness of the fish after its death and its organoleptic qualities. The flesh can then be matured, just like red meat! The maturation will allow to soften the flesh and to refine the taste of the fish. Beware, if you eat the fish on the day of slaughter, the texture of the flesh will be ultra crunchy!
Ike Jime is a Japanese fish killing technique. The spinal cord and main blood vessels are severed at the head and tail, a long needle is pushed down the spinal cord, and the fish is placed in ice water to bleed out.
“Ike Jime is a multi-series steps of controls and these steps are designed to mitigate all the effects of biochemical reactions,” says Andrew Tsui, president of the Ike Jime Federation.
The steps he refers to involve disrupting the brain and the spinal cord. Such techniques are said to have developed some 350 years ago, and Japanese chefs have been using this technique since. After all, key to good sushi and sashimi is in ageing the fish, allowing the enzymes to break down and moisture to evaporate, resulting in a concentrated flavour.
