freezing fish

Post Reply
User avatar
Crusader
Posts: 613
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:28 pm

freezing fish

Post by Crusader »

Which fish survives freezer better? Share your experience, if you don't mind...

Here is my experience so far:
- crappie -- very good, deep fried 2 year old filets about a month ago. They were blander than usual, but still good
- white/hybrid bass -- good, similar to crappie (but you have to cut out all red meat)
- trout -- ok, after 6 months in the freezer it was still ok
- flounder -- so-so, tried ~1 year old flounder few days ago. Meat became mushy, taste changed noticeably
- redfish -- pretty bad, ~8 months old red turned into rubber. Redfish on a half-shell isn't even close to what it is when fish is fresh (maybe I should take skin off before freezing -- but I doubt it'll help)

Notes:
- I "vacuum package" fish before putting it into freezer and cut out any freeze burn I can find after thawing.
- Don't ask me about those crappies -- totally forgot about that bag. :D

Moral: no point accumulating fish in the freezer -- take what you gonna eat in next 3-4 days and don't keep stuff in freezer longer than few months.
User avatar
kickingback
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5178
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:24 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: freezing fish

Post by kickingback »

Whether you use water in the bag with the fish will make a difference as well. The water can provide a "barrier" to keep the fish meat fresher by not letting it get freezer burn. I read the outer water ice layer prevents ice crystals from forming in the meat which breaks down the meat cells causing bad taste.
I always have some water in mine after rinsing them off and getting all air out and vacuum sealing.
User avatar
Yaklash
TKF 10,000 Club
TKF 10,000 Club
Posts: 12028
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2004 10:15 am
Location: Houston Heights

Re: freezing fish

Post by Yaklash »

Fillets of almost any kind do very well if frozen in water with all of the bubbles tapped out, but who has that kind of freezer space.

Vacuum sealing works for me, I don't freeze any fresh water fish, though my brother gives me with catfish and crappie fillets frozen in water now and again and it tastes good to me.

Sand trout is about the mushiest fish I've ever had once it is frozen....pass.

I agree on flounder if you fillet them, but would suggest you try this. Gut and gill the flounder and freeze it whole with the head and scales on. You can't really fit good sized flounder in the largest Foodsaver bag, so I just put the big ones in a zip-lock and burp as much air out as possible and then eat them first. I am still eating some smaller flounder I kept from my October & December 2016 week of fishing. Had one the other day and it was great. Thaw & fillet or thaw, scale & cook whole.
User avatar
Crusader
Posts: 613
Joined: Fri Feb 07, 2014 7:28 pm

Re: freezing fish

Post by Crusader »

kickingback wrote:Whether you use water in the bag with the fish will make a difference as well. The water can provide a "barrier" to keep the fish meat fresher by not letting it get freezer burn. I read the outer water ice layer prevents ice crystals from forming in the meat which breaks down the meat cells causing bad taste.
I did this for a while, but it is not very practical -- takes too much space in the freezer. Plus, I try to limit contact with water -- it affects the taste. For example, in extreme case, I put crappie filets in water for 15 mins (caught the same day) -- they became white and firm, but after deep frying (that evening) I've discovered that taste changed quite a bit towards "bland" side.
Yaklash wrote:I agree on flounder if you fillet them, but would suggest you try this. Gut and gill the flounder and freeze it whole with the head and scales on.
this is more or less what I am doing -- I cut the head off, scale and gut them, but leave the skin on. Strange...
User avatar
karstopo
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5612
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2009 10:30 am
Location: 77566

Re: freezing fish

Post by karstopo »

It's hard to beat fresh fish. I try not to have very much in the freezer. Catch and cook. It's enjoyable to let fish go. Swim, swim, be free. I'm definitely not into keeping masses of fish. I've froze fish in water and without. I think the fish frozen in water does better.

I got nada in the freezer. Time to go fishing.
User avatar
Yaklash
TKF 10,000 Club
TKF 10,000 Club
Posts: 12028
Joined: Tue Mar 16, 2004 10:15 am
Location: Houston Heights

Re: freezing fish

Post by Yaklash »

Crusader wrote:
Yaklash wrote:I agree on flounder if you fillet them, but would suggest you try this. Gut and gill the flounder and freeze it whole with the head and scales on.
this is more or less what I am doing -- I cut the head off, scale and gut them, but leave the skin on. Strange...
Leaving the scales on, and to a lesser degree leaving the head on, when you freeze them, makes a noticeable difference
Big Tex
Posts: 20
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 6:55 pm
Location: Wharton

Re: freezing fish

Post by Big Tex »

A deckhand on an offshore trip advised us to keep the meat as dry as possible after the fish were cleaned. He said that water contact caused some sort of break down of the meat. I'm no expert on this subject, it have noticed his statement to be quite true.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Post Reply