Thread: Been running a experiment on freezing fish.

I think you will be pleased.. I plan on going fishing in the morning with my son-in-law. He is in the military and his opportunities are far and few between. He has had 2 deployments to IraQ. The weather is not suppose to be good, but we are going anyway.LOL I will send pics of our catch. The U-tube video on freezing fish was very interesting. If you haven't watched it, please do. The guy prepares his fillets with his favorite mixture and the freezes it. Very simple. I'll send pics tomorrow I hope.
Chet

Originally Posted by chet

Let me know how your experiment goes. Be sure to try the lemond juice. I swear by it. I have never tried the dry method but when you think about it all the fish you see in supermarkets is frozen dry. I will see how you do before I get a food saver. LOL I went fishing Thursday and boy was it cold (29 Degrees). I have to run about 3 miles to get to the creek I like to fish. I did get a good mess but not as productive as I had hoped. I did get 1 Weighting 1 lb 13 oz and one weighting 1 lb 9 oz. Have a great new year and happy fishing..
Chet

My family has always frozen our fillets dry going back decades, with very satisfactory results even before we all switched to vacuum sealing, with no salt or lemon juice ever added.

My mother originally did not like fish, but still, after more than 6 decades since changing her mind, demands fillets that have not degraded. So do I. I will not eat any fish less than fresh. You can keep your lemon juice, too, I do not like lemon in the first place.

One thing that should not be missed here is that how one handles the fillets before freezing is very important, probably the most important. The faster one gets the job done, and IMO best while the fish are still alive, and then how quickly one cools the fillets will make the most difference. After that how well they are protected from air invading the containers and getting to the fillets is nearly as important. The quicker one gets air temperature out of the fillet once it is taken off the carcass, the less deterioration that fillet will have. Icing it immediately after cutting it off produces a firm fillet to start out with. The washing keeps it that way and removes most if not all of the live blood and loose surface proteins from the fillet. We always wash until the water comes off clear, but that doesn't take much. A firm white, fresh crappie fillet is what I want to go in the pan whether immediately after the catch or out of the freezer. It has been years, since we have had any that weren't. BTW I will fillet in the middle of the day between outings even to get that. Generally the first stop after coming off the water is to grab the knife and the pan on the way to the butcher station. Up here fillets and live crappies all count the same toward daily and possession limits anyway.

See Nimrod's posting about immediately putting his fillets in ice water and washing them before packaging from earlier in this thread. That produces clean and firm fillets in the freshest condition, no matter how you freeze them after that. All I would add is that keeping one's catch alive to the knife is important to us. You can feel the fillets already starting to deteriorate, when they come to the butcher table dead. The longer dead the worse the deterioration, which is what I think he is also saying, and I agree completely.

Thrown in a pile at the end of the cleaning table, the pile of fillets will actually heat up, since deterioration begins immediately. That is not so much an issue this time of year, which is part of the reason why fish caught on the ice taste so much fresher. That immediate cooling happens far more naturally in winter.

One of the real advantages of the vacuum sealing is how heavy the bags are. Even without sucking all the air out, the heavier the bag the less freezer burn there will be and the less deterioration. Air penetrates lightweight bags surprisingly well and passes moisture out while allowing air in to feed the decay organisms. An airtight, heavy bag seal, tight against the actual fillet is what makes vacuum sealing so effective, but the fillet also has to be handled carefully before that step. Else you may simply get garbage in, garbage out, no matter how you freeze them.

I use the freeze in water method and believe vacuum method probably works great also. For the water freeze guys I think the thaw period is just as important, make sure fillets are in ice cold water after ice melts away from fillets. Warm water can make them fillets mushey on the fresh along with the thaw.

Here is the best thing I have ever tried. After catching the fish and going to the fish cleaning station, I get a bucket of clean water and as soon as I get a fillet cut off I put it in the water until I have filleted all the fish. As I begin to cut the rib meat out I'll have another clean bucket of water to put them in until I get them all done. Then I'll bag them all up. The first time I tried this it was about 100 degrees out and the flies were thick and I tried this just to keep them off. Well it ended up that those was the cleanest, best tasting fish I ever eat so just give it a try I believe it is the best way to clean and cool the fillets down.

Originally Posted by Swampthing6400

After I clean em I rinse them good then soak em in salt water for about 20 minutes then Take em out of the salt water and freez em. works great for me and they last for months in the freezer.My dad has done it this way way before I came along too so its not something new.

This is the method I use. I learned it from my father and it has always worked. The salt firms the meat but does not give it a salty taste. I use good quality freezer bags with no water an I get firm fillets every time.

Quick rinse tip I picked up from a MO Boy was to put fillets in a plastic coffee can with water put on the lid and shake fairly vigorously. Clean as a whistle.
Tips above
Clean Live
Cool Quickly
Vacuum Sealer

Them Mo boys are darn good old boys, mostly from the Windsor area....... north of us is the outlaws........

I do the same, but I use ice water each time.

Originally Posted by bowhunter012463

Here is the best thing I have ever tried. After catching the fish and going to the fish cleaning station, I get a bucket of clean water and as soon as I get a fillet cut off I put it in the water until I have filleted all the fish. As I begin to cut the rib meat out I'll have another clean bucket of water to put them in until I get them all done. Then I'll bag them all up. The first time I tried this it was about 100 degrees out and the flies were thick and I tried this just to keep them off. Well it ended up that those was the cleanest, best tasting fish I ever eat so just give it a try I believe it is the best way to clean and cool the fillets down.