Methods to keep quality of frozen fish longer?

[Paul in Idaho]

Since fish seems to lose quality faster than red meat when frozen, I'm looking for ideas how to retain the best possible flavor and texture for more than a few months. I know vacuum sealing generally is the best packaging, and probably keeping the freezer as cold as possible would help too.

Do you have any other tricks to keep fish at top quality?

 

[JohnCushman]

I keep my frozen fish in a ziplock bag full of enough water to submerge the fish, then put it upside down in another one in case of a leak. I found this keeps the flesh more firm that a dry vacuum sealing.

 

[Muskeez]

Yep, I do as Cush, fillets in Ziploc feezer bag, fill with COLD water, zip it 90% shut, set on edge of sink and slowly push air and water out of the top corner of the bag, and when you have almost all the excess water out zip it shut quick! With some practice you have zero air in the bag. I then lay them flat in freezer on flat surfaces until frozen, then they stack like books after frozen. No air in the bag is the key. When you thaw for supper put the frozen bag in a bowl in the fridge cuz the corners often get dinged up in the freezer and will leak as they thaw.

 

[12 guage]

Wrap the fillets in tin foil, then submerge them in water in a ziplock. Walleye fillets taste about the same as fresh caught I would think it would work the same on all species.

 

[belshawelk]

Glaze them. We did this at fish house I grew up in. Freeze them with a layer of water.

 

[mdhunter]

I freeze a lot of fish but I do try to eat it in 120 days or less. Like the others, I use a quality vacuum sealer and am very diligent about “first in first out” rotation.

 

[duckhunt]

I keep my frozen fish in a ziplock bag full of enough water to submerge the fish, then put it upside down in another one in case of a leak. I found this keeps the flesh more firm that a dry vacuum sealing.

This is what I do.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Never as good as fresh but this works pretty well. Set the fillets out to dry some then put them on a cookie sheet and partially freeze. Now vacuum pack them and freeze. I like the chamber type vac sealers.

 

[Rzrbck918]

Never as good as fresh but this works pretty well. Set the fillets out to dry some then put them on a cookie sheet and partially freeze. Now vacuum pack them and freeze. I like the chamber type vac sealers.

+1 on this. Drying them before you chamber seal is key. Haven't tried partially freezing but I will next time.

 

[Bambistew]

Chamber sealers work a bit better than vacuum sealers, IMO. I've tried it a 10 different ways, as we go through about +100lbs of salmon and about half that in other white fish a year. The problem is the fat in the salmon, it goes rancid. There is no way to keep it from doing so in a freezer, it just happens with time. The fat doesn't freeze and it rots. Pork fat goes faster than beef... so don't add fat to your game meat either. lean meat will last for years in a freezer if properly bagged. The fish with far less fat in them, last a lot longer. Properly chamber sealed halibut will be edible 3 years out... Salmon... maybe 9-12 months. I freeze the salmon with the skin on, skin out, meat/meat one fillets in a bag.

The best way to preserve trout/salmon is to can it. I very light smoke, a little salt and a slice of jalapeno... good stuff. Or just plain with a little salt and olive oil, use to make pasta dishes, soups, etc.

People in the bush eat fermented partially developed bird eggs, rotten seal flippers and rendered seal fat... a freezer burnt fish is probably tasteless to them. hahaha. Commercial fishermen know a few things about preserving fish, and it starts with getting the guts out and immediately on ice. Next time you go to the store, look at the display case of salmon fillets, if they look like the meat is falling apart, it was either filleted too soon (prior to rigor leaving) or wasn't iced early enough (i.e. hung in a net for a long time). THe key to quality fish is to get them on ice immediately.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Bleeding fish also helps. I bleed all the catfish we catch. Bled, iced and trimmed of all fat really improves the taste.

 

[Muskeez]

Great point to add Brittany! Sure make a beautiful white fillet. We bleed all of our walleyes right before draining the livewell. Only takes about 1 minute for them to go belly up. Don't bother if they die before you get them bled. Surprising how many people try to bleed out fish that don't have the heart pumping. I cut where their gills come up together. A small scissors in the boat works great for the kids or wife to help with that chore while I'm going to get the boat trailer.

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

Thanks for that illustration. I poke them in the fleshy spot behind the gills but I've seen them cut like you've shown. I'll give that a try.

 

[Muskeez]

Found a better pic. Simple deep snip with a scissors through that Meaty spot does the trick, beautiful white fillets after they are bled out.

 

[Rzrbck918]

Found a better pic. Simple deep snip with a scissors through that Meaty spot does the trick, beautiful white fillets after they are bled out.

Good information! Thanks.

 

[JohnCushman]

I do that with trout and pike too

 

[midwesterncrosshair]

Our process.
1. Once you have just fillets of fish. Let soak in water(some soak in milk) overnight. Make sure they are fully submerged. This lets all the blood drain from the meat, on top of cutting the throat like others stated above.
2. Freeze in a big zip lock bag full of water. As stated above.

We have done this method and kept fish in the freezer for up to 9 months.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

Thanks everyone. Good info.

I have frozen fillets in water before but we ate them soon enough that I couldn't judge whether that method would keep the quality longer. One of my goals for 2019 is to go fishing more, so hopefully I'll get a chance to put more fillets in the freezer.

 

[Duck-Slayer]

I freeze all my fish and venison steaks in water, lasts up too a year. I ate some steelhead that I froze after 3 years and it still tastes like crappy trout lol. Everything else is eaten within a year of freezing and is just as good as the day I harvested it.
Matt

 

[BMF11]

I freeze all my fish and venison steaks in water, lasts up too a year. I ate some steelhead that I froze after 3 years and it still tastes like crappy trout lol. Everything else is eaten within a year of freezing and is just as good as the day I harvested it.
Matt

Duck-Slayer, this is the first I’ve heard of freezing venison in water. Similar to fish I assume? Water in a ziplock bag? Hmmm, im intrigued!