Freezing fish

[back2nature]

This year, I want to fill my freezer with fish, if I can, to have it all winter long. I always try to but by the end of the winter, I always have to toss some because it gets freezer burned. I usually clean them and triple wrap with plastic wrap. Is there a better way or can fish only last six months in the freezer?

 

[mariaandrea]

I'm not sure I've ever kept fish longer than 6 months because it gets eaten. Honestly, we could probably eat a freezer full of salmon in a couple of months. That said, I also triple wrap fish in plastic wrap, making sure to press out air bubbles, but first I glaze it. Wash your fish but don't dry it and lay it on a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and freeze it for about 30 minutes, then take it out and wrap in plastic wrap. It should have a thin layer of ice on it. And then I add 2 layers of tinfoil to the whole thing. I know it works for 6 months, but I don't know how much longer after that.

 

[LoveTheWater]

I've never tried freezing fish that way before. We do a lot of fishing and are always freezing some for later on or to give to others. What we do is put the fillets in a freezer zip lock bag then fill with water and put in the freezer. We've never had trouble with freezer burn.

 

[wvbreamfisherman]

Freezing in a ziploc bag works great. Also a Foodsaver vacuum pack will keep stuff from being freezer burnt, too.

The foodsaver is a great help when putting together meals for a backpcking trip. Just put everything together in a ziploc bag or two (as needed) , with any cooking instructions, and then put the whle thing in a foodsaver bag, with the ziploc being open enough to let air out, then vacuum pack. Voila! A meal pack thats ready to go, and takes up minimal space.

 

[Lamebeaver]

What we do is put the fillets in a freezer zip lock bag then fill with water and put in the freezer. We've never had trouble with freezer burn.

That's the way I've always done it.

 

[ponderosa]

We've had salmon and halibut last a full year with a Food Saver vacuum pack. That was the main reason we bought the Food Saver actually, although we've also used it a lot with chicken and garden veggies.

 

[LoveTheWater]

We've never tried the Food Saver vacuum pack bags before. I wondered if they would work as good with fish. Maybe we will pick one of those up and give it a try that way.

 

[bsmit212]

I am going to add another vote for the Food Saver.

 

[Cappy]

Ok yall, I live down in fishin' heaven. We always have a freezer full of seafood. The secret to freezing fish and preventing freezer burn is to freeze it in water. Take a zip bag put fish in fill with water zip it almost closed tilt it over squeeze till water comes out and close it. This takes all the air out. You can then stack them on top of each other in ya freezer and they will keep for years. What causes freezer burn is dehydration from the dry freezer air. Covered in ice no worries. when I was a kid we used milk cartons. Same principal. A tip if ya gonna put the bags on a wire shelf put a card board under the bottom bag. This prevents the bag from freezing into the wire shelf. We stack fish in Zip loc qt bags 10 high no problem.

 

[ChadTower]

+1 on a Foodsaver vac sealing but it sounds easier to freeze in water.

 

[Cupcake77]

What we do is put the fillets in a freezer zip lock bag then fill with water and put in the freezer. We've never had trouble with freezer burn.

That is exactly how we do it as well. We haven't ever had trouble with freezer burn either, but then again fish doesn't stay in the freezer long enough in my house to get wasted.

 

[rayne]

Freezing in water is the only way to avoid freezer burn and the fish last a very long time. When thawed, they taste as fresh as the day you put them in the freezer. I do the same thing with shrimp. Same results. Water!