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We quit eating crappies because all we catch are just to mushy. I have tried putting them on ice as soon as they are caught or bringing them home in the live well and do not notice any difference. I know they will never be as firm as gills but if you have an idea please let me know and I will try it. TIA
The best advice that I can give, and I do this to both freshly killed meat and to meat that's been in the freezer for a couple months, is to do an ice-water bath right before tossing them in breading.
I get a cereal bowl-sized bowl full of cold water, put ice cubes in it, and dump a bit of salt in it to help melt the ice/make the water extra cold. I rinse the filets in the ice-water bath for a good 10-15 seconds. Pull the filets out, let the excess water drip off over the bowl, and throw them straight into my ziploc bag of breading to be tossed around
This really helps to firm the meat up and make it good and fluffy. Give it a shot and let me know what ya think
Will do. Thanks for the reply. Hope to have several things to try so I can start keeping some crappies. Just cannot handle mushy fish.
Try this....keep your fish however you usually do to keep them from ruining during the fishing trip. Once filleted, place the fillets in water in a boiler and refridgerate. I usually keep 'em in the cold water two days before frying. The meat turns slap white and they are as firm as any winter crappie you'll ever fillet...even more.Thumbs Up
This is how I do it but they just are not firm enough for me. Even in the early(March/April) spring. I am going to try any suggestions I get here and if I cannot find a way to firm them up will just continue to C & R them.
Run water in a bowl ands put plenty of salt in it. take your hand and stir the salt and water until the salt is pretty much disolved. Put the fillets in the salt water and refrig at least over night and up to two days. Like gabwman said the fish will turn really white. That should firm up the meat. I also keep ice with me in a cooler on the boat in summer just for the fish. Don/t use water froze in bottles either buy a bag of ice. Also don't let the fish lay in the water inside your cooler,keep draining the water off them while you fish and dont leave them in the cooler when you get home unless your going to keep the water drained. That is the key to keeping your fish from getting muschy,if they lay in water they will get muschy. I commercial fish for a living for flounder in the summer and white perch and yellow perch fish in the winter. Keep plenty of ice on the boat in summer. DRAIN THE WATER
If you place fish on ice before fillet'n , don't let whole fish set in water. Keep on ice just not in water as that can turn them mushy.
I've noticed if my grease is not hot enough that filets are a little mushy, make sure your grease is hot, it doesnt take long to cook a crappie filet.
I prefer fish that has been frozen rather than "fresh caught".