How to properly freeze crappie/fish

[CrappiePappy]

Crappiepappy, I do go through bone and I do get blood "on" the fillets. But, after rinsing this off, soaking in fresh water for a bit, and rub "wash" each fillet as I bag'em up, if there's blood there, it' a trace that's not noticible to the eye or (my) taste. I can see using this method (soaking in salt water) on wild game, but if it's got enough blood in or on them fillets to matter, the house inspector (wife) would not touch another bite......and she's does inspect the process closely sometimes, too.

how that goes :D ... about the "female" inspection process. No matter how closely and expertly that my GrandPa cleaned the fish ... my GrandMa would find something :p that needed removal

And I'm with you, on the trace blood remnants ... I never paid them much mind, either :D

... cp

[Scott S]

Thanks for the vac-u-seal tips, I'll try these.

Once had a couple gallon bag of fillets in water thaw out during a power outage, water leaked out of the bags, ran out of the freezer door onto the kitchen floor. This at our weekend place so had lots of time to ripen up before we discovered it. The "boss" nearly fired me over that one!
So anything left there now is in a hard container, vacuum seal, and or has a drain pan under it.
If only I could see into the future, I could avoid making the next mistake.
Scott

[fingerlicken]

I usually soak mine in salt water overnight, but when I freeze them I just freeze in regular water.

[Locator79]

I always freeze fish in ziplock bags filled with water, they will keep like that for some time. We ate some crappie last week that I caught back in the spring, and it came out great. After cleaning fish, I always soak them in a bowl of saltwater over night in the frig before I freeze them. The salt draws the blood out of the meat, I have heard that you can also use milk. I'm sure there are many ways to do this, but this is how I was taught as a kid. Works fine for me.

[Breas]

I have not read all the posts so this may have been covered but any chef worth his salt will tell you that you should NEVER freeze meat in water. The water will suck the flavor right out of the meat. Any meat will last longer and be more flavorful when vacuum sealed. I wouldn't do it any other way. Salt is a curing agent.

[minnowsoaker]

I always freeze my fish in fresh water no salt. Salt is a preservative and I can easily see why this methosd has been handed down over the years from earlier times. As far as water drawing flavor out of meat I would say yes for beef, venison, poultry and pork but not for fish probably has somethin to do with fish living in the water. As far as salt removing blood from the fillets.....what blood? Ya got me there????

[Cane Pole]

I have not read all the posts so this may have been covered but any chef worth his salt will tell you that you should NEVER freeze meat in water. The water will suck the flavor right out of the meat. Any meat will last longer and be more flavorful when vacuum sealed. I wouldn't do it any other way. Salt is a curing agent.

I ain't no chef, but I have probably froze more fish than any chef my age. My fishes still taste like fresh fish after being frozen in water a year or two. On the other hand, I am no fish taste connoisseur either.

I also eat boiled chitterlings.

[Breas]

I didn't say they would not taste good(especially if you like chitterlings) but would be more flavorful.
Same thing for fish as any other meat... the protective skin and scales are removed. Have you ever seen fish or any meat at the grocery store frozen in water? I've seen lots of fish as well as other meats vacuum sealed though. If you thaw the water that fish or any meat was frozen in, it will reek of fish smell or whatever meat you used. That's because the juices from the fish are now in the water. You can marinate meat very quickly with a vacuum sealer because the marinate gets sucked into the meat not the other way around. Makes sense to me anyway.

[haugboss]

never had a problem will good freezer bags and no water
save them up to 8-10 months
if i dont use them i give them away no shortage of volenteers for that

al

[luvjign]

I didn't say they would not taste good(especially if you like chitterlings) but would be more flavorful.
Same thing for fish as any other meat... the protective skin and scales are removed. Have you ever seen fish or any meat at the grocery store frozen in water? I've seen lots of fish as well as other meats vacuum sealed though. If you thaw the water that fish or any meat was frozen in, it will reek of fish smell or whatever meat you used. That's because the juices from the fish are now in the water. You can marinate meat very quickly with a vacuum sealer because the marinate gets sucked into the meat not the other way around. Makes sense to me anyway.

I'm like Cane Pole....I don't profess to be a chef, and maybe I ain't worth my salt......but I've been freezin' fish in water for goin' on 30 years. My purpose for freezing in water is to keep it from freezer-burning. Odds are, them grocery store fish ain't gonna be there long enough to freezer-burn. I've dug crappie out of the freezer that's been overlooked for 3 years (frozen in water), and cooked it. Was it as good as last week's mess? Can't say it was, but also can't say that it wasn't. I will say that it's common around here to fry or bake fish the same day they're caught. As for taste difference - them fresh fish vs. them that's in the freezer caught back in April (frozen in water)?? - Ain't no difference as far as I'm concerned.

Heck, one feller on here washes his fillets with Dawn dish washing liquid

To Each His Very Own..........