would a good vacuum sealers keep fish flesh as firm as when you caught it? crappie seems the worlds worse when freezing and the flesh getting mushy no matter how i freeze. i dont want to spend a bunch of money on a sealer and not be worth it.
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Vacuum sealing fish
- Thread starter WTM
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spottedbass
Well-Known Member
I use my food saver sealer all the time for fish and love it. If you will do this it also helps to keep the flesh firm:
The trick was to rinse the fillets in sea water, blot them dry. You can make "sea water" by dissolving a 1/4 cup of non-iodized salt in a quart of water. Rinsing any kind of fillet in either clean sea water or this brine solution will reduce water loss upon thawing. That's why you don't want to rinse fish in fresh water before freezing. The fresh water swells up the cells and lets out a lot of moisture when you defrost the fish.
The trick was to rinse the fillets in sea water, blot them dry. You can make "sea water" by dissolving a 1/4 cup of non-iodized salt in a quart of water. Rinsing any kind of fillet in either clean sea water or this brine solution will reduce water loss upon thawing. That's why you don't want to rinse fish in fresh water before freezing. The fresh water swells up the cells and lets out a lot of moisture when you defrost the fish.
well ill be dog,mnever heard of the saltwater trick but they list it on the food preservation site that i use sometimes. they also recommend a dip of ascorbic acid(lemon juice water) for fatty fish. cool thanks.
when you vacuum seal, do you do a single layer or can you pack the bag full and the seal it.(ive never used one)
when you vacuum seal, do you do a single layer or can you pack the bag full and the seal it.(ive never used one)
Never tried the saltwater " trick" but WE/Fish cells are a low solution I.e. Normal saline. Water will enter a cell and indeed cause it to " burst" but that may take a long time to break down the fillet. I thaw mine pretty quick in the bags then rinse, roll, and throw them on the skillet.
I freeze mine in a zip bag full of water. Works like a charm, just takes longer to thaw.
rbreedi1
Well-Known Member
I also freeze mine in a freezer zip lock bag. Place fillets in, fill with water til over the fillets and squeeze air out and seal. Never had a problem, I've got about 15 packs of crappie in the freezer as we speak. Never has an issue with meat not being firm. If I'm going to have some, I'll lay a bag in the sink before work, and most of the time is thawed by the time I get home. Sometimes may take a tad longer depending on how much ice.
JimFromTN
Well-Known Member
rbreedi1":283tnv4t said:
x3
JimFromTN":7al2cerv said:
yeah thats the way i have been doing it too, but sometimes they get so mushy they fall apart while i am flouring,cornmealing them. i only have a problem with crappie it seems, and i only keep enough to eat within a couple of weeks of freezing. i wonder if i need to ice them down before i filet them, or put them on ice right after i catch them. they taste good though.
I vacuum seal mine and they stay firm (not mushy). Lots of good advice on this thread and I work with a guy who swears you are best off by freezing in water, but I've found the key is icing down the catch as soon as you get it off the hook. I keep a cooler with a icy/water solution and toss the fish in there. I used to fish a lot of saltwater and white and speckled trout will get mushy if they aren't put directly on ice. I just carried it over to all of my fishing and it works for me.
AllOutdoors
Well-Known Member
X4JimFromTN":2hy4etqb said:
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Crosshairy
Well-Known Member
When vacuum-sealing fish (or any other "moist" meat, like bloody trimmed/cubed meat for stews), I generally place a half-section of paper towel inside the package with the meat, towards the end being sealed. It soaks up the excess runny moisture and prevents the vacuum pump from sucking liquids up inside of it, which can greatly shorten the life span of the pump.
Patting everything dry works, but you can be a little faster with just letting it drain and dropping a folded section of paper towel inside, skipping the patting dry of everything.
Patting everything dry works, but you can be a little faster with just letting it drain and dropping a folded section of paper towel inside, skipping the patting dry of everything.
spottedbass
Well-Known Member
WTM":p16d7x8d said:
I stuff the bag full. I want as little air in there as possible. On oily fish like blue fish and mackeral, I do dip them in ascorbic acid. It keeps them from breaking down so fast.
Don't limit your vacuum sealer to just fish. I smoke pork butts and then pull the meat and then put 1 lb in each bag and vacuum seal and freeze. I have BBQ whenever I want. Buy the big 5 lb of ground beef from Sam's. Cut it into 1 lb. hunks and vacuum seal. Saves you money. I have vacuum sealed fresh vegs. Works great.
spottedbass":1o1k23r9 said:
what brand sealer do you use?
spottedbass
Well-Known Member
Food Saver
The MUSH is because a water (hypotonic)goes into the cells and causes them to burst....therefore, "mush".
Mike Belt
Well-Known Member
Is there a difference in spring and summer caught crappie when freezing them?
Mike Belt":3snbd6g5 said:
i personally think that hot weather crappie flesh is mushy, but i dont eat summer crappie anyway. by the time hot weather gets here im on to gills and shellcracker. my problem is sometimes spring crappie are mushy after i freeze them.
