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Started By
Message
Freezing Fish Fillets
Posted on 5/18/22 at 1:45 pm
Posted on 5/18/22 at 1:45 pm
My vacuum sealer decided to crap out on me this week and in the meantime I will be back to using Ziplocks.
I have some trout in quart bags and I am wondering if I should fill bag with water to freeze or stick the bag under sink full of water to get air out?
I have some trout in quart bags and I am wondering if I should fill bag with water to freeze or stick the bag under sink full of water to get air out?
5
Posted on 5/18/22 at 1:48 pm to tigerbrauf
Fill with water, squeeze out excess air...
Posted on 5/18/22 at 1:51 pm to tigerbrauf
quote:
Fill with water, squeeze out excess air...
Posted on 5/18/22 at 1:57 pm to tigerbrauf
I usually just stick the package from the seafood counter right in the freezer for short-term storage. Works out fine. (Here come the negs!) You could also just wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, wrap those in tin foil, and store them in a freezer bag. Freezing them in water seems like a major waste of space. Wouldn’t just wetting them under the faucet and then wrapping them in plastic accomplish the same thing? How much of an ice casing do you think you need?
Posted on 5/18/22 at 2:01 pm to Treacherous Cretin
quote:
How much of an ice casing do you think you need?
Enough to cover all the fillets where zero air can get to them.
Posted on 5/18/22 at 2:02 pm to tigerbrauf
How long are you storing them for? Fresh fish you caught will stay good for a month in ice water in the fridge.
I vacuum seal everything with an original tilia food saver, it has a way better design than the modern foodsavers and it is completely rebuildable with parts still available.
I vacuum seal everything with an original tilia food saver, it has a way better design than the modern foodsavers and it is completely rebuildable with parts still available.
Posted on 5/18/22 at 2:03 pm to armsdealer
I really want to go and get a chamber sealer just don't feel like spending the money
Posted on 5/18/22 at 2:05 pm to armsdealer
quote:
Fresh fish you caught will stay good for a month in ice water in the fridge.
Posted on 5/18/22 at 2:59 pm to tigerbrauf
I have tried this because of an article I read in 2014 from Jerald Horst (Louisiana Seafood Bible)
It does take some time but if you have freezer space and a sheet pan it is worth it:
Link to article. LINK
It does take some time but if you have freezer space and a sheet pan it is worth it:
quote:
Horst has a much better way to freeze fish that is a bit more time-consuming on the front end, but makes life much easier down the road whenever you've got a hankering for some fried trout or sauteed redfish.
"Professional freezers glaze fish. The best freeze barrier in existence is ice. What commercial freezers do can be imitated at home," he said. "Put the fillets on a cookie sheet one at a time; spread them out. Pop it in the freezer. While it's freezing, make an ice slush.
"When the fillets are frozen hard as a rock, which takes just a few minutes because each fillet is laying by itself on a metal sheet, dip each fillet into the ice water. Then throw it back on the cookie sheet.
"Before it reaches the cookie sheet, the internal temperature of the fillet will freeze the water on the outside of the fish. It will be a glaze.
"Pop it in the freezer five to 10 minutes more, and dip it again. Then throw them in a Ziploc bag for convenience. Every fillet has its own seal, and is impervious to oxygen. Not only is it the best frozen fillet you'll ever eat, but the really cool thing is if you're by yourself and you want to saute a few fillets, you reach in the bag and take out three or four or whatever you want.
"Thawing is a snap. It's not a big clump of ice that has to be thawed."
Even anglers who elect to eat their fish fresh rather than freezing it can take some easy steps to extend the duration of the fillets' quality.
"I put them in a Ziploc bag, bury (the bag) in a bowl of ice in my fridge, and then I'll eat fresh fish for two weeks after the trip," Horst said. "Two weeks is not an exaggeration."
Link to article. LINK
Posted on 5/18/22 at 3:10 pm to SmokedBrisket2018
quote:
I have tried this because of an article I read in 2014 from Jerald Horst (Louisiana Seafood Bible)
It does take some time but if you have freezer space and a sheet pan it is worth it:
This really is the way if you have room for the process.
As for the post above regarding staying fresh for a month...I cannot attest to that. But I have kept filets in the fridge with ice for over two weeks with no smell or discernable degradation.
Most important is how you handle fish from the water to getting your filets on ice. A fish sitting out in 90 degree heat waiting to be cleaned starts to go bad quick.
Posted on 5/18/22 at 3:15 pm to LSUballs
quote:
I didn't believe it until I saw it, not for a month, keeping fish week to week at a camp. Now any fish I plan on using within the next week or so I just put in an ice water bath and I can't tell the difference from the day I caught it.
There was a write up about it but I can't find it now, phoning a buddy who turned me on to keeping fish like this.
It sort of makes sense, it isn't exposed to air, it is kept perfectly at 32 degrees and it isn't getting frozen.
Posted on 5/18/22 at 6:37 pm to armsdealer
I do 3 weeks but have no doubt a month is possible
Posted on 5/18/22 at 8:22 pm to armsdealer
Fresh fish is recommended 1-2 days in a refrigerator.
If you double that, that’s 4 days.
I certainly would never let it go 30 days, submerged in water or not. That’s 15 times longer than recommended.
If you double that, that’s 4 days.
I certainly would never let it go 30 days, submerged in water or not. That’s 15 times longer than recommended.
Posted on 5/19/22 at 8:36 am to SixthAndBarone
I don't think anyone is talking about just tossing a ziplock in a fridge.
The filets are in ice water.
I wouldn't keep a month either, but keeping it at 32 degrees for 2 weeks in a cold fridge doesn't seem unreasonable.
Jerald Horst - retired LSU Ag Center professor of fisheries
The filets are in ice water.
I wouldn't keep a month either, but keeping it at 32 degrees for 2 weeks in a cold fridge doesn't seem unreasonable.
quote:
"I put them in a Ziploc bag, bury (the bag) in a bowl of ice in my fridge, and then I'll eat fresh fish for two weeks after the trip," Horst said. "Two weeks is not an exaggeration."
The key, Horst said, is packing the fish in ice to keep the temperature down.
"You've got to keep them at 32 degrees," he said. "Your fridge is probably set at 36 to 38 degrees. There's an unbelievable difference between 32 and 35 (degrees), as well as between 35 and 40 (degrees)."
Jerald Horst - retired LSU Ag Center professor of fisheries
Posted on 5/19/22 at 1:11 pm to Treacherous Cretin
The key is to fill with water to get the air out then keep squeezing all the excess water out as well until there is no air and almost no water left. This way you can then flatten the fish in the bag to save space and you don't have to defrost 3lbs of water when you want to cook them.
Posted on 5/19/22 at 2:08 pm to SixthAndBarone
quote:
Fresh fish is recommended 1-2 days in a refrigerator.
Do you think the fish you buy in a store was caught yesterday?
You have three people in here that have said they keep filets on ice in the fridge for 2-3 weeks no problem. But those are people that catch fish and know what they are talking about...so ignore them.
Posted on 5/20/22 at 10:39 am to SmokedBrisket2018
I lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze like Gerald H. But instead of dipping back in ice water to make an ice barrier, I vacuum the frozen solid fillets. I have never had any get freezer burnt and they take only minutes to thaw if you need a quick meal.
Posted on 5/20/22 at 2:48 pm to SmokedBrisket2018
quote:
The filets are in ice water.
I wouldn't keep a month either, but keeping it at 32 degrees for 2 weeks in a cold fridge doesn't seem unreasonable.
I do a week or two in ice water. I know there was a study done and the just stopped at a month and the fish was still fine. If I planned on keeping that long I would vac bag. I bet it was behind a paywall is why I can't find it. IF I was hungry and it sat a month and it looked, felt and smelled fine I'd eat it.
Posted on 5/20/22 at 6:35 pm to armsdealer
So freezer burn is bad and it's caused by water freezing on the food. So doesn't putting it in water and freezing cause the same thing?
Posted on 5/20/22 at 11:28 pm to Chucktown_Badger
Freezer burn is caused by air around the protein.
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