Preventing Freezer Burn

[DADAKOTA]

Vacuum sealers are worth the $$$$$$.

[Trav]

I am a respected chef.

All seafood is better eaten within 48 hours of harvest. Freezing should be of last resort. If you must freeze then the way and timing of freezing is of upmost importance. Always vacumm freeze and always soak the flesh for 15 minutes in an ice bath before packing and do it within 4 hours of harvest.

For best results, it is better to put fish on ice the minute you catch them instead of the livewell. In Panama we kept a cooler full of ice and 80 percent of our catch was eaten the same day. In Canada when it was cold(below 40) we would keep them out of the water to keep them cool.

Here on Taney, it is better to keep your fish in the water instead of the livewell for the cold water acts like a preservitive.

Keeping your fish alive is an urban myth. The stress they endure adds to the flavor of the fish. As an example, white bass will taste very gamey if kept on a stringer for too long.. Dead or alive. Certain species you need to tend to very rapidly if desired for consumption. (all)Bass, walleye, pike/musky, and even trout/salmon on a small degree. The fish most people say as best eating, like crappie, gills, cats, suckers, have those opinions because they rarely treat thier fish like fine seafood and mishandle and store it improperly. Those species have good tolerances with O2 levels and stress. Giving them a better taste quality. Kind of the same as crawdads or shrimp. Even Talapia, of the gill family, freezes better than those I mentioned.

Clear as mud?

[gonefishin]

I never freeze fish in water. For my taste it tends to make them mushy. Probably just my weird taste. Anyway I prefer to use a vacuum sealer or; put them in a zip lock bag and squeeze out as much air as possible then put that bag in a jug full of water and freeze. I try to keep both air and water away from my fillets.