Packaging & Freezing Fish

[Moondog]

Just wanted to share a technique that I have found to be more effective, time saving, less costly and NO mess (like freezing in water) for freezing, storing and packaging fish. Also makes counting and identifying species easy at the border etc.

Clean fish to your specifications. Dry with paper towel. Wrap with Press N Seal Freezer wrap paying attention to get all the air out. I wrap them burrito style, folding the ends in etc. Freeze Flat. Once frozen put in a heavy Glad Freezer bag.

I have seen no evidence of freezer burn on any of my fillets even after a year. And utilizing this method you can take out however many fillets you want without defrosting the whole mess.

Hmmm......not like you can take a whole mess home from Canada but this process really works on whatever fish you practice Catch and Eat.

[Bill Krejca]

Yeah, this method works pretty good. The owners at O'Sullivan's Rainbow, near Nakina, after we clean the fish, package them this way, then add a sticker with the fisherman's name, specie and if oversize. The fish are pretty much protected from air (freezer burn), and will keep great for a year, providing they aren't eaten first!

Bill Krejca

[PRD1]

Nice idea Moondog, thanks. Sounds like alot less mess than water covered in a zip lock freezer bag and would work better too.

Paul

[JinxCanada]

you had better leave some skin/scales on it too unless you want to get nailed by the ministry of natural resources. check guidelines for how to transport your catch in Canada...

[boyd]

Fillet your fish but do not skin it. Clean and then put two sides together skins side out. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze flat. When you are ready to eat the fish it is easy to then to skin the fillets. I once found a couple of fish in the freezer that were two years old. I skinned them and fried them up. They were still quite good and had no freezer burn. Leaving the skin on seems to protect the fish against freezer burn and keep them fresher tasting.

Locopoco

[deputy dog]

if you have electric i highly recommend a vacum sealer ie:food saver. we leave the filets attached at the tail and put two or three per bag. they look as fresh 4 or 5 months later as the day they were caught. after years of gallon freezer bags there really is no comparison. just my 2cents!

[Bill Krejca]

Fillet your fish but do not skin it. Clean and then put two sides together skins side out. Wrap in plastic wrap and freeze flat. When you are ready to eat the fish it is easy to then to skin the fillets. I once found a couple of fish in the freezer that were two years old. I skinned them and fried them up. They were still quite good and had no freezer burn. Leaving the skin on seems to protect the fish against freezer burn and keep them fresher tasting.

Locopoco

Yeah,
Usually, I just cut almost all the way on the skin, but leave it all attached in place. That way it is easily identified while frozen, and when ready to eat, it is a simple matter to just pull back the skin to the front of the fillet where it is still attached, and remove it.

Bill Krejca

[joeman79]

Thats a great idea Bill.

[lunker99]

We've gotten to where we don't freeze our fish before taking them home. Don't keep any take-homers till the last two days before we go home and take them home fresh on ice. Do the thing of leaving piece of skin on by a tab, which we remove as soon as we get home before freezing there. Gets rid of the fishy taste the skin seems to leave on the fillet if froze on.

[eyemike]

Hi Bill, That is the way I have done it for as long as I have been bringing fish home from Canada. No worry about identification and is quite easy to pull off at home. I totally agree with you!