MyFishFinder Forum
The Fisherman's Wharf => Clean-em Cook-em Eat-em => Topic started by: fishwithbronsons on Mar 15, 2008, 01:59 PM
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I found a topic from an earlier discussion, but it didnt make it clear to me. If i'm gonna vacuum seal them(which I prefer to do, since I need the space), do I leave the fish whole and seal them? Then when I'm ready to cook them, thaw them, then fillet the fish. Or fillet, then vacuum seal?
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personally, I always fillet them first, then vaccum seal or freeze in water
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I usually do the same as Bassjunky. Main exception is trout. I vaccume seal them whole.... usually. The answer is do it the way you want. It works great.
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my friend freezes them with milk.
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Freeze in water or milk
Sarg ;)
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Fillet and freeze tear off a piece of papaer towel and place below the vacuum seal to catch the juice,it will seal better.
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FREEZE IN SALT WATER
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freeze in water, but milk sounds like it may add some flavor....will have to try it.....
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Freeze in water or milk
Sarg ;)
What would the milk do for the fish?
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Freezing in water seems to have the best results, especially if you dont use the fish for a long time. Vacuum bags tend to affect the texture of the meat in my opinion. As for the milk, at nearly 5 bucks a gallon, is too expensive to waste.
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Fillet, rinse and then freeze in bag filled with water to cover top of fillets. They keep great for about a year.
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I pat the fillet dry and vacuum seal them FLAT. Only 1 layer of fish per bag. They will stay good for over a year. I used to do the freeze in water technique before i got a vacuum sealer, now i will never go back.
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The vac is where its at! You will find that fish will taste good for a very long time. I always try to package them as I would cook them to save time later. It is super handy to just grab a bag out of the freezer in the morning and pop them in the fridge, by dinner time they are thawed out and ready to go. Because the bag is sealed, you never have a mess in the fridge. I gave up on freezing fillets in a block of ice years ago. I find that the flesh gets mushy, maybe because of the crushing force of the block freezing.
I would not try to vac pack a whole fish if it has hard rays. The fins would most certanly puncture the bag.
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What would the milk do for the fish?
I'm not sure of HOW milk works, but it does remove the strong "fishy" flavor of some kinds of fish. Bass come to mind although there are others. I have eaten pike that tasted "fishy" and quit eating them. They are also loaded with bones. :-\ Well, I learned how to fillet a pike with NO BONES and tried soaking the fillets in milk for 2 hours. WOW! It was delicious and had no bones. ;D A milk soak is well worth the effort if you want to eat bass and pike, but it's not needed for perch.
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That fishy taste is often due to spoilage. If the water is warm, throw the fish in a cooler of ice instead of on a stringer or in a livewell. the surface water can be much warmer than the water the fish came from.
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My family has always used the cardboard milk containers. Empty, rinse out and add water, throw in fish fillets, close and freeze. The fish will be just like fresh caught when you thaw them out. Cheap and effective.
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I do that with zip lock bags put fish in then water and as I zip it squeeze to get air out and freeze works great
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Use to freeze in water , many years ago I purchased a vac sealer and haven’t looked back , fish keep for a long time , plus vac fish take up a lot less Room
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I do that with zip lock bags put fish in then water and as I zip it squeeze to get air out and freeze works great
So do I Ben. Works great. Just enough in one small bag for us.
And a lot cheaper then vacuum bags..
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Use to freeze in water , many years ago I purchased a vac sealer and haven’t looked back , fish keep for a long time , plus vac fish take up a lot less Room
X2!!!!
I upgraded my vacume sealer this summer for the shop...
This thing is awesome.
I found that buying In bulk for bags(cause I can use any vacume bag) that my bags cost me pennies.....
The other benefit from not freezing fish in water is....
You can thaw out fish alot quicker if it's not in a block of ice
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Ah John.....just throw the whole block of ice in deep fryer. Lol
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Probably start vaccum sealing more. This winter
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I vac seal too. Perch like a tight place to rest!!😁
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eat em
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Double wrap in plastic wrap…freezer bag….never had a problem.
Been starting to get some near by. It’ll be a few more weeks till it gets hot.
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Been putting up some good perch. Getting them every day. Actually been using the vacuum sealer more this year. I wrap portions in plastic wrap then freeze 2 or 3 packages in a gallon vac bag.
I can take what I want and re-seal the bag. Works great for just the two of us and maybe a friend for dinner.
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I vac seal too. Perch like a tight place to rest!!😁
Yes they do , for myself I make 1/2# packs
And eyes get their own sleeping quarters 😃
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Plastic wrap, freezer paper, vacuum seal. Plastic wrap touches fish and prevents oxygen. Freezer paper prevents frost. Vacuum removes air. I take out fish 3 years old, sausage 6 years old and its like fresh.
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Or........freeze them in water.
Same results.
However, takes up a little more freezer space.
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Getting some out to pickle tomorrow. Got a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio for more flavor.
Love pickled perch.
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Getting some out to pickle tomorrow. Got a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio for more flavor.
Love pickled perch.
Please shoot me the recipe Bob.
I think that I would like to try it with some saltwater fish down here.
Thanks.
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Or........freeze them in water.
Same results.
However, takes up a little more freezer space.
I need every square inch of my freezers. Fish, fish, more fish, deer, pheasant, chuckar, rabbit, mushrooms, sausage, vegetables, berries. List goes on but we use it all. The ice block takes up too much space for what I do. Also, I dont enjoy the texture change of my saltwater fish being in freshwater. Saltwater fish is always rinsed in saltwater and then frozen.
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Here you go Mac.
First, use only fully frozen fillets. Eliminates the risk of any parasites.
Brine:
Dissolve enough kosher or pickling salt in cold water to float a raw egg (in the shell)
Brine overnight or at least 8 hours.
Rinse fillets with clean water a couple of times and set aside.
Pickle:
2c white vinegar
1c cider vinegar
1c white wine (I prefer Pinot Grigio)
1c sugar
2tbsp pickling spices
Bring mixture to a boil to dissolve the sugar and infuse the spices.
Strain the spices and cool
Layer sliced white onions and fish in a jar
Cover with pickle
Remove air bubbles with a chopstick
Refrigerate for a week ( if you can stand it that long.)
I’ve done perch, gills, walleye, crappie and pike with this recipe. Don’t have a clue how it’ll work with salt water fish.