How do you Freeze your crappie?

[PIGINTHEPIGPEN]

I know this topic has been brought up before but, I would still like to hear some more opinions on the subject.

I freeze my crappie fillets in water and probably have for the last.25 years. When I was a kid though I don't remember useing water. That was to long ago for me to remember the results. From what I remeber if you did not use water but, ate the fillets within a couple months everything seemed to be fine. I do remember having some freezer burn on some fish we kept past six months but, when it came time to eat fish for dinner ''lint'' the burn never stopped my dad from frying them up. He would just cut the burnt part out and continiue to fry. I still did not think they tasted as good even though he claimed you could not tell a difference They only problem I run into with the water is a few fillet's become mushy on me. Could it be one of two things or a combination of both? Meaning, Salt or letting them soak overnight before I put them in the bag?
Out of 7 fisherman I talk to on a reg basis. 5 of the 7 freeze them in water. Of the 2 that don't, one never has used water and the other use to use water and now he does not. In other words he went back to not useing water after years of useing water to freeze his fish.
Some people swear by it and, others against it ''WATER''.
I have also been told it's all in how you let your fillet's thaw. Natural thaw, microwave, soak in warm water?

let's hear how some of you experts like to freeze your crappie fillet's
Thanks

[Barnacle Bill]

I am no expert but I've always froze them (filets) in water. We used to freeze bream (scaled and gutted) in cut off milk cartons filled with water. Worked great.

[Jerry Blake]

Hey Pig:

I freeze them in Ziploc freezer bags with just enough water to get all the air out. I don't add the water until I'm ready to put them in the freezer and then I put them in the "First to Freeze" compartment on the rack so cold air can get all around the packages and they freeze real fast. I try to remember to take a package out of the fridge the day before I plan to cook them and let them start thawing out. I finish thawing them in room temp water. I've never noticed mushy fillets doing it this way.

Soaking them overnight could cause them to be mushy.

[TAE73]

I freeze mine in the glad freezer containers I can get 10 fillets packed in nice and good. If I push them tight and they are not real big I can get 15 in there. It is nice that you can get them to stack on top of each other. And they can be used again, I think they are 2 bucks for pkg of 3 at the dollar general. Just be careful they are brittle when they are cold. I dropped one once, and it broke into several small pieces but the fish block didnt break. I remember when my great-grandpa was around he always wrapped his catfish fillets in shran-wrap and butcher paper and they wouldnt freezer burn. But he also was a retired butcher so I am sure he new a few tricks to it. I have never tried it on crappie but would think it would work.

[adamr]

i've always used plastic bags w/out the water. i try to make sure and get all of the air out of the bag before closing it. i've never had a problem with freezer burn doing it this way. i probably won't be doing this much longer because i got me a new vacuum packer for christmas, can't wait to use it.

[bugman]

I use to freeze them in water but now i bread them put them on wax paper put them in the freezer until theyre solid and shrink wrap them its a little extra work but they taste as fresh as the day they were caught.you dont have to unthaw just take them out of the bag and fry.

[TAE73]

Thats a good idea bugman, might have to try that with the ones from the weekend.

[Tim The Lippa Rippa Mon]

Thats a great tip Bugman. I have never heard of that one before. I will try it too. I would sure help to cut down on the mess when you go to cook!

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[labill]

I use to freeze them in water but now i bread them put them on wax paper put them in the freezer until theyre solid and shrink wrap them its a little extra work but they taste as fresh as the day they were caught.you dont have to unthaw just take them out of the bag and fry.

Hey, bugman.....I use a similar technique to yours, but when they're solid I quickly put them in a Tilia bag and vacuum save, then back in the freezer. I'm not familiar with "shrink wrap" except for the stuff used in electrical work. What is the shrink wrap you mentioned, and where do you find it?

[Bart]

Not sure what the breading that Bugman does but partial freezing then vacuum sealing is the best way IMO. I do pulled pork like that also and it thaws out as fresh as when it was first pulled. Any chef will tell you to never freeze any kind of meat in water. It sucks the flavor right out of the meat. I learned this from professional chefs at a BBQ site that I frequent. It's kinda like boiling ribs. I know folks that do it but the pros say NEVER boil ribs for the reason stated above.