Freezing fish prior to vacuum sealing?

[Don in Denver]

Someone posted a while back on the necessity to freeze filets before sealing them in Foodsaver bags. I have not been able to locate that post. If I rememkber right, it included a link to an Ohio DNR page on the possibility of disease if you don't freeze first. Does anyone have the reference to the website that was included? I got a Foodsaver 550 for Christmas ande want to be safe. Thanks.

[bobco]

I can not imagine freezing before? The vaccum sucks down and the fish conforms to the bag, if frozen I do not see this occuring as easily, the thing I have seen from using in the past is make sure you dry off the fish the best you can so that mosture dosent get into the the area you where you make the seal, if wet it will not seal good.

[RANGER]

I'm with you, bobco, all the way! I can't imagine freezing BEFORE you vaccum them, makes no sense!

[Fshngyd]

Congrats on the foodsaver, you will love it. I have had one for about 2 years and you can't imagine the things you can do with it. I have never heard of freezing prior to sealing, and sure have not had any problems with sealing fillets then freezing. Good luck and have fun with the new toy!!

Kerry Keane
#217

[Nate W.]

Yes, it's true. Any type of soft food should be frozen first before you seal it. The vacuum is really strong and will literally pull your filets apart. It will also pull any moisture to the surface and will result in a bad seal. I put my filets in the freezer for a couple hours, then seal them up and put them back in the freezer. The directions to your foodsaver should have explained all this. Sounds crazy, but that's what you need to do.

[perchjerker]

Nate is right on.

I am a foodsaver vetran and what I do is put the fish in the bag, put it unopened in the freezer for an hour or so just to get them stiff, then vaccum seal them, they dont get squished, you dont get liquid in the sealer that way. Another helpful tip if you are having problems getting liquid sucked out of the bag is to take a paper towel, fold it a few times till its about an inch wide and lay it near the top of the bag just under where you seal it, it will catch any liquid neat as a pin.

[Don in Denver]

I sealed up and froze a batch of stuff tonight. I'm really gonna like this! Thanks for the help!

[Nate W.]

My FoodSaver is one of the best things I've ever bought! The inside of my deep freeze would make a great FoodSaver ad! The neat thing about it is that you don't have to use it for just food. I have one bag that I always keep in my boat that has a sealed bag of dry socks and a lighter. I've heard of guys using a whole roll to seal up their well-oiled shotgun after duck season. I wish I was the one getting royalty checks for inventing it! I hope somebody got rich over it!