Freezing your fillets

[Joe58]

Just wondering what is the best method to use when freezing crappie fillets to make sure they will be ok and not freezer burn, so i can enjoy them this winter.

Thanks!!

Joe

[rango]

drop em in a zip loc bag, with some water, squeeze the air and most the water out then finish sealing.theyll keep a long time like that. you dont want a lot of water, and no air. just enough water to insure the fillets are submerged with no fillets exposed to any air pockets.

[Jerry Blake]

Ditto

[Crappie Reaper]

I Concur!

[Barnacle Bill]

I do it that way too and they will keep for a long time. A lot of people use the vacumn thingy and say its the best but I've never tried it,

[Glenn]

I vacumn seal and will never do it any other way. Many people have told me they have eaten fish that had been in their freezer for two years and tasted like they were fresh caught. I have eaten them a year later and they tasted fresh. I never intentionally keep fish in the freezer for a year, but I have four freezers and sometimes things have a way of getting lost.

[Bart]

The water in the bag method works okay but any professional chef will tell you that ANY meat should not be frozen in water. It sucks the flavor out of the meat. That's why the water is fishy when thawed. The BEST way is to vacuum seal. The fish remains as fresh as the day you caught it. Vacuum sealers are expensive and the bags are costly but I use them for many other things like mealed sized portions of pulled pork, brisket and roasted Hatch New Mexico chile peppers. I make some killer "pulled pork chile".

[Joe58]

Are you guys soaking your fillets, say for ovenright, before you freeze them, or do you freeze right after cleaning?

And if you are soaking them first, what are you using?

Thanks for the quick replies by the way....appreciate it.

Joe

[Joe]

I have frozen a lot of crappie fillets over the last 20 years. Used to use water, but have found that it is better to keep all water away from the fillets. They tend to absorb a small percentage of moisture and this detracts from the flavor when fried , baked etc. I then use a freezer quality zip lock type freezer bag and force out as much air as possible when sealing.
I have had little problem with freezer burn up to a year.
Joe

Are you guys soaking your fillets, say for ovenright, before you freeze them, or do you freeze right after cleaning?

And if you are soaking them first, what are you using?

Thanks for the quick replies by the way....appreciate it.

Joe

[Mack]

I've used the water deal for years until lately. Now, when i finish cleaning the fish, i dry them, and place on a baking sheet with wax paper down and freeze them for a few hours. After they are frozen, i place in a large freezer type zip lock bag. This way, as I want to cook them, i can pull out only the number of fillets I need for THAT meal...No waste.

I works for me!!!