Now the go flesh to flesh and are similar sized pieces so as to minimally expose the flesh. When transferred to vacuum sealed bags I pat them dry again. The fillets are temporarily kept skin to skin in zip lock bags. I wipe the skin side and pat the flesh side dry with paper towel. I bleed them, gut them and once filleted (and de-ribbed) I will not "rinse" them with water unless they somehow get into contact with entrails. I'm sure that I am in the minority but I do not wash my fish. I will say though that friends who smoke then can their fish - enjoy the best flavor for the longest afterwards. and when we have found a chunk from year-before-last hidden in the freezer, I try it just to see, and it just affirms our way of putting up fish. We chatted awhile with them about it, but ever since adding that step, our fish last much longer. Two guys caught our eye, when they used salt to rub the slime off before fileting the fish. We used to clean our fish at a campground with only one cleaning station - well, the good part was that we had time to watch a lot of folks clean their catch. We take care to bleed and gut our dipnet catch, then cool it right away. Most agree that vacuum packing is great, but beyond that, all we know for sure is if you find anything which works better, stick with it. The combination of freeze drying with oxidation is known as "freezer burn".Īs long as they taste good to you, right? :lol: Your question reminds me of our first years, when all our frozen salmon seemed to smell and taste different after 6 months or so. It will then start to freeze dry and then oxidation will set in. However, if a bag breaks and allows air in, the ice will begin to sublimate and eventually you'll have meat exposed to the air. I've kept fillets up to 2 years by this process with zero freezer burn. For as long as that layer of water lasts over the outside of the meat, there will be no freezer burn. After the final water layer is frozen, feel over the whole thing for sharp spots (including pin bones) and scrape them smooth with the edge of a razor or very sharp knife. Repeat the water dip and freeze process about a half-dozen times to build up a proper glaze. As soon as they are frozen, remove the saran wrap and dip each fillet into ice cold water and place back in the freezer to allow that to freeze (takes less than 5 minutes). Personally, I take well washed and very wet fillets, give them each a single layer saran wrap and lay them in the freezer on a flat tray to allow them to freeze solid. And the very best glaze is made with a saline solution and an extremely cold freezing process, which is how they do it at the canneries. The best shield you can make is by adding water to form an ice "glaze" over the meat prior to vacuum packing. Shielding the meat from air exposure is the way to prevent it. Freezer burn occurs when the meat "freeze dries" and loses its water content by sublimation through exposure to the air. I strongly disagree with the water comments. That's a far better "last resort" use than throwing it away.Īnd if you find that you have a lot of fish left each Spring, that is a clear sign that you are catching too much to start with and ought to go berry picking instead of taking those last couple fishing trips. If the fish is actually "too bad" for you to eat yourself, but it was frozen solid the whole time, just can it with nothing added and use it as a dog food supplement. Note that smoking bad fish doesn't fix it. Then you can take last year's fish and either cook it, smoke it, or can it. Realistically, when fishing season starts each Spring, you should do a freezer dive and pull out everything to check it. Moisture content is easily managed during cooking. Freezer burn is a surface defect that is easily trimmed off. It's not like anything is growing in the meat at sub-zero temps. If the vac bag is still sealed and the fish has been solid frozen the whole time, then it is still good to eat and will still be good to eat for another year or so still.
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