Freezing Fish

[StevenM]

Ok, has anyone got anything that they do when freezing fish, doesnt matter if whole or fillets.

Personally I tend not to as I prefer my fish fresh as I dont seem to get the same flavours and taste after being frozen.

I usually only keep what I need for consumption on the same day or next day but there seem to be less days that I am getting out so thats why I am asking.

One thing I have done with prawns is to freeze quantities in containers with salt water and this seems to keep them ok.

Your thoughts will be appreciated.

Cheers

Steven

[wetaline]

Freezing using salt or brining is fraught with problems. Osmosis, excess saltines in the final product to name a couple, probably best left to the experts.

One way thought to keep your fish in the freezer is to vac bag them. Vac bagging eliminates the air from the product and inhibits the formation of ice crystals. It enables you to keep fish for months at a time with little loss of quality.

"Danoz direct" has a unit that will do what you need, here's the link.

http://www.danozdirect.com.au/MintDi...tment&s=vacuum

I don't have one myself and nor am I endorsing it. The principle works as I have tried it, and you will see a lot of product in the supermarket is packaged this way.

Best of luck in your endeavours, if you do go with it, how about a mini product report for the members?

[Grand_Marlin]

Using thicker plastic bags ... not the cheap coles brand ones makes a lot of difference too

[Dignity]

Steven, whole fish best if as much air removed from bag as possible. Make sure though that the backbone has been well cleaned of blood and the gills are removed, both will deteriorate the fish quickly. Fillets do work if frozen in water. Used to use salt water but use fresh. Once again, bleeding the fish on capture ensures better quality. Tried an experiment once when i had more left then I realised where I froze a large fillet in a palstic bag, squeezed as much air out as possible and the other I froze in water. A month later got around to using these fish and did a taste test with the family - all picked the one frozen in water as the best. Try not to freeze fish if I can help it but my parents do like it and they will insist on freezing it to keep for a rainy day so I do it for them.

Sam

[seatime]

What we like to do with fillets is skin and bone them then wrap in plastic wrap and freeze individually. Obviously this works best with large fillets. I try to wrap up a 2 person feed at a time. The cling wrap allows u to squeeze out most of the water and air. The "Glad", "Cling" wrapped fillets can then be frozen by wrapping them again in shopping bags.
We find that fillets like mackeral and snapper last for 6 months when stored this way. Just watch for freezer burn if the wrap is split, though this can be trimmed off later. cheers Steve.

[manangatang]

g,day ,heres a trick for ya , a kiwi mate of mine told me he freezes tailor fillets and they come out just like fresh ones, he gets a tupperware container,i spose any plastic box type thing ,put fresh water in it drop fillet in then freeze it,he says thaw out cook,just like new one- i havent tried yet but he swears by it ,cheers mick.

[David_P]

I got a Sunbeam vac pack machine for Xmas. Bloody great. I fillet the fish, dry on paper towel, and then vac pac. Just had pearly and pigfish for dinner and it was nearly as good as the day it was caught.

[choppa]

i agree wholeheartedly with above threads,,, i think the key lays in little or no air and definitley allowing heavier plastic bags seem to stop any ill tasting effect on the flesh,,,mind you though i've only ever frozen the more solid flesh variety,,but like manangatan i have heard of soft flesh being done as well,,,,

thawing out leaves a bit to be desired in various opinions,,,,i generally allow mine to defrost in the sink filled up with enough water to let them float around before breaking seals on bag/clingwrap etc etc

[pojo]

I have a sunbeam food saver vac550 that i use to remove air from bag prior to freezing But when we go to Swains Reef every year the fish we catch is filletted and the skin left on then wrapped in plastic bags and snap frozen,I have thawred the fillets up to 12months later and the taste as good as the day they were caught.

[chuss]

I use a weird method for salmon..

Firstly, my freezer is a large household one, I have added these special water cell bags which drop the temperature of a household domestic freezer by about 5 degrees.

Salmon is bled, gills removed, neck broken.
Then I dip the salmon in seawater, then freeze. Once a layer of ice has formed, I dip again but this time in freshwater. I let it freeze again, then repeat process about 8 times.
This gives you a rock solid fish with a layer of ice about 1cm around the entire fish.

I then wrap in cling wrap and into large garbage bags and wrapped again.

A bit of an overkill, but if I have caught a my limit of large salmon I can freeze quite a bit this way and they keep a minimum of 6 months. I have been known to eat salmon up to 12 months later.

I learnt this method a few years back when I helped out a pro-netter..

[grayson]

I do an annual rock fishing trip to Dirk Hartog and we freeze our fish for later consumption ( i prefer fresh but well you know how it is.....). I fillet all fish with skin on (its the law here) rinse in salt water and then place them in large zip-lock bags removing as much air as possible. I go to great pains to ensure each piece is flat in the bag (no folds or kinks) and ensure it is stacked flat in the freezer. I defrost these in the fridge, skin and prepare the fillets and they generally taste great.

I generally don't bother freezing tailor though as I can catch a fresh feed at home (albeit much smaller specimens) and I haven't eaten any defrosted tailor that I liked.

I love the idea of freezing in water though and will give this a try.

Interestingly I have been told to try patting my fillets dry with paper towelling before freezing as this supposedly improves taste and shelf life?????? I reckon I will try both and see what happens.

[BrandonH]

I am keen to try freezing them in a container of water sounds like it might be a good option especially if it’s meant to work for Taylor!!! They are one of the hardest fish to keep for any period of time; any Taylor I have frozen in the past has ended up being bait

I don't have a vac machine but would use it if I did. You have to get all air and water out of the bag b4 freezing your fish. Below is exactly what I do with my fish. I tend to get a good couple of months out of Bream Flathead and Squire doing it this way.

Gut at ramp and clean all blood and bits out of the backbone and any fat layers in the guts (inc gills and other bits in the head). Then I wash them again at home and LEAVE the scales on them (Was told that this helps keep the fish better longer). Then wrap up in a freezer bag big enough to keep the whole fish in and squeeze out all water and air. Wrap it up tight b4 putting it in to the freezer. I usually take the fish out of the freezer and put it on a plate in the fridge the night b4 we are eating it. This usually thaws out the fish nicely. I then put it in the sink with water just over the top of it and scale the fish, then fillet and we are ready to cook

Cheers
Brandon.

[Panda]

Oiley fish like Taylor and Mullet dont freeze well for extended periods because the oil in the flesh doesn't freeze and tends to work its way out to the surface under pressure from the expanded ice crystals. So what you end up with is dry tasteless flesh with a layer of strong tasting fish oil on the surface. Fish like Barra and reefies with low oil content tend to do better in the freezer for extended periods. While preparation may make some difference in the final product, the type of fish being frozen makes a big difference.

[StevenM]

Thanks all, Looks like I have a few things to try. those that are freezing in water are u using fresh?? I always bring home sea water.

Might try and have a chat to my friendly butcher up the road and see if he will vac seal a few in trade for a few. ... lucky hes a mad fisho aswell.

cheers

steven