freezing fish?

[jrock24]

I normally only catch what I plan on eating that day, but last night I pulled out a couple extra. I cleaned the trout, and put them in a freezer bag, but whats the longest I can leave them in there for? I would expect a couple months, but has anyone here done this?

[crashdive123]

You have to scroll down quite a ways to get to the fish on this table.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Infor...eezerChart.htm

Here are a few tips on keeping frozen foods.
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/a...zing-food.aspx

[jrock24]

Thanks crash- much appreciated. Bookmarked!

[RBB]

When it comes to freezing, trout suck. Most any other kind of fish will freeze better. The only way I've had any luck with them is freezing them in water in a milk carton, but what ever you do - they end up pretty mushy. Still edible, but nothing like fresh caught.

[catfish10101]

They may do better in a vaccum sealed bag. I freeze catfish, bream, speckled trout (spotted seatrout), redfish, flounder, etc. in a freezer bag with water. I can keep them for over a year but they never seem to last that long before getting eaten. Some fish do not do well with freezing, like white trout and sand trout, they are best eaten fresh. I don't know much about freshwater trout because we do not have them here.
You can always try smoking them and canning them in mason jars like my Grandfather used to do with salmon whenever he made a trip to Alaska for the summer. If nothing else, it can be used in a fish salad like canned tuna.

[wareagle69]

we will put them in water then freeze them, i have had fish from my father in laws freezer well over a year old tasted fine to me.

[Rick]

Freezing fish in water is something I inherited along the way. All of my family froze fish that way and I've always done it because they always did it.

[wareagle69]

and if they all jumped off a bridge?

[crashdive123]

The Rick family gathering every year always has fun and frivolity associated with it, not to mention a little bridge jumping.

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[wareagle69]

naw those guys are to skinny and young and have hair and...can't be rick

[Rick]

I'm the one on the bottom of the river.

[ryaninmichigan]

we will put them in water then freeze them, i have had fish from my father in laws freezer well over a year old tasted fine to me.

+ 1 for that. I eat fish all the time 9 months old. Tasted fine.

[jrock24]

What do you do, just dip them in water before sealing- or add water to the bag, if so how much?

[Rick]

I've always used a plastic carton or ice bucket with a lid. Drop the fish in, fill it with water, close the lid and into the freezer.

Years ago we used milk cartons. The wax kind that has the spout you have to open. We'd open the top, add the fish and water, then close it back up and freeze it. That's before we knew about bacteria and milk and all those bad things.

[wareagle69]

What do you do, just dip them in water before sealing- or add water to the bag, if so how much?

from my experience we just use the plastic freezer bags from the store throw in a fish make sure you fill the bag so it is surounded by water i'd say 2-3inches all around and freeze must help with freezer burn being in ice that thick

[RBB]

Years ago we used milk cartons. The wax kind that has the spout you have to open. We'd open the top, add the fish and water, then close it back up and freeze it. That's before we knew about bacteria and milk and all those bad things.

Hmmm. Just one question. Are you healthier now - or were you healthier then?

[HOP]

Maybe try cooking the trout the way you like and then freeze them. I like smoking them and it is almost as easy to smoke a bunch as a few.

[Rick]

Are you healthier now - or were you healthier then?

(shrug) I can eat the snow now. I couldn't when I was kid. Don't have to worry about my eggs having too thin of a shell today, which is a good thing 'cause I weigh more. My hometown doesn't smell like sulfur in the winter. And I don't wash with lye soap anymore. Of course, arthritis probably negates a lot.

[Gray Wolf]

A trick that I learned from a avid salt water fisherman was, fillet the fish, put the fillet in a heavy gauge freezer bag, add sea water 'from where you caught them', then freeze, skin side down. When you defrost them, make a 2' slice in the middle of the bag (on what will be the bottom side), put it on a rack in a pan, and let it defrost in the fridge (the sea water will drain as it defrosts). Rinse with fresh water and pat dry. They tasted and had the texture of the fillets we ate the day we caught them. I don't know why this works better than any other way I've tried?

[BK-72]

from my experience we just use the plastic freezer bags from the store throw in a fish make sure you fill the bag so it is surounded by water i'd say 2-3inches all around and freeze must help with freezer burn being in ice that thick

That sounds pretty much like what my father does. He's a avid fisherman.


To the topic in general I really don't fish a whole lot, but as indicated my father does, and will freeze fish all the time. Or until mom yells about the freezer getting full anyway....