Printable View
There have been several threads in the past about freezing fish. Most people either freeze in water or vacuum, I'm a vacuum packer. To me, this is the best way to preserve freshness and texture. Thought I would share the process I use, with pics.
After filleting and washing, I lay the meat out on a clean bath towel (PANK for CN). I have several towels that are dedicated for my fish to keep the wife from being stressed with me.:)
Attachment 67253
Next, I roll the towel and place in the fridge to let the fillets get nice and dry for an hour or so.Attachment 67254
Looks good to me, very little wasted space that way.
As you can see, they don't take up much space this way. This is over 80 fillets. I can thaw a bag in 15 minutes.
Attachment 67258
That's cool!
I freeze mine in pint and quart freezer bags in water.
http://i757.photobucket.com/albums/x...-29-56_514.jpg
by the way feelay..what kind of gewb has miracle whip instead of blue plate in the frig
good way to do it, feelay. too bad wb doesnt have to worry about having enough space to freeze fillets.
He just uses a little corner in the back of the refrigerator freezer. RoflQuote:
Originally Posted by duckhunter
feelay, if you dont have pank towels, for torchs sake, would blue work?
I have both, you just can't see it. Well, not Blue plate but Kraft mayo. I like Miracle whip on my 'maters.Quote:
Originally Posted by tritonman
You'll notice on the bottom shelf, a blue towell.Quote:
Originally Posted by duckhunter
Rees...It takes forever to thaw those giant blocks of fishsickles. Fillets frozen in water always seem mushy to me.
About 20 minutes to thaw. May have to change to your way due to the space issues, running out of room.Thumbs UpQuote:
Originally Posted by feelay
quit raiding other folks freezers and ice chestsQuote:
Originally Posted by Rees Guide
How do you thaw them in 20 minutes Rees?Quote:
Originally Posted by Rees Guide
I didn't want to call him a liar either G....Quote:
Originally Posted by "G"
Run cool water over them G.
I do Tommy but it takes way more than 20 minutes when I do itQuote:
Originally Posted by majflyboy
Not lieing to yall bro, like Maj said. Just run cool water over em. Those in the pic are pint bags, enuff for 2 people to eat fish only and be stuffed.Quote:
Originally Posted by feelay
I'm not , but I would like to know the trick to doing that.....it always takes me forever to thaw them out.Quote:
Originally Posted by feelay
G, I put them in a sink of HOT water still sealed. When the water starts to cool I let it out and then open the ziplock into the sink and start thawing with cold water. Gives you a heck of a jump start ut the fish never gets hot.Quote:
Originally Posted by "G"
Vacuum pack them! I would have to see it to believe it. When I froze some in water it would take all day to thaw them.Quote:
Originally Posted by "G"
I have enough in the freezer to have a fish fry at my Church and feed everybody.....but I am waiting on cooler weather before I do it and I am dreading thawing them.....got 450 fillets to thaw out.
Next time I thaw some I'll time it. Most of the time I get them out and start the thawing. By the time I get everything else ready to go fish are thawed and ready to be put in the meal. There is not alot of water in the packs like I put up, bet it is less than a cup of water in those pint bags.Quote:
Originally Posted by feelay
I freeze them n H2O and it takes hours to thaw.Running hot water on them will harden the fillet.
Yall fixxen to make me thaw some!!!Doh I never put hot water on my fish.
Running water over them ruins the texture. I freeze un water in quarts and to speed the thaw along, I place them in pans on the counter separated so they don't insulate each other then put a fan on them on low. This blows the cool air away and cuts the thaw time in about half. Still takes a good long while though.
Wannabe...
I freeze mine in water, but it does take awhile to thaw them out.
wb, shouldnt take long to thaw 2 fillets.Quote:
Originally Posted by Wannabe...
I dry mine on paper towels and process the same as you do.
I Vacuum mine also, but I put them on paper towels on a cookie
Sheet & put them in the freezer for bout an hour then vac-pack.
I use to bag them in water, but I could taste the chemicals in
The water. Going to try the towels.
Thanks for sharing.
Btw, real men use Miracle Whip!!
I freeze mine in water in quart freezer bags. Alway wanted to try the vacuum packer, just too cheap to buy it. As for thawing, I put the bag in a bowl in the sing with a small stream of water running on it. Once they are partially thawed I dump the bag of fillets in the water in the bowl with the stream of water still on. The thawing really pick up then. I would guess it take about an hour to thaw a quart of fillets this way.
I wouldn't doubt Reese could thaw a pint this way in 20 minutes.
I do also, lot less trouble and I've never had a problem with texture or taste. I'm sure that vacuuming would be better though.Quote:
Originally Posted by cockrumcrappieman
I eat all I can with in 2 days of catching them, the rest I put in water and freeze them...and let my brother steal them, he has only complained once. That was when I set him up one time because I knew he was coming and was gonna steal what I had. I saved the head, skin, blood and guts, put them in 1/2 gal milk cartons I used to get from a friend of mine in Grenada that were un-used. I labeled them Crappie Filets... Sure enough, he came one weekend, left on Sunday and went back to Nashivlle. I could barely wait to check the freezer, when I did, I gave a loud holler, "I got him"... About 2 months later, he envited everyone in his office for a fish fry. He came home from work at noon and put the 'filets' in a tub of water and figured they would be good and thawed by 5 when he got home. I would have given a gold monkey to have seen his face when he dumped those 'filets' out... had to go buy some catfish at the local fish market.... But, he still steals them and I let him.. So, my point is, I don't really know how good or bad they are out of the freezer...
I'm sure gonna get me a vacuum sealer tho and try it..
helsman's or nothin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Quote:
Originally Posted by tritonman
Y'all bunch of gewbers. Bama mayo all the way.
Feelay, which vacuum sealer do you have?
I've always froze mine in water. I usually put a cap full of lemon juice in w/ the water before freezing. I've always done it w/ catfish(don't knock the catfish) and it seemed to keep the "fishy" taste out and jsut kept doing it w/ crappie. A couple of years ago, my wife bought me a vacuum sealer. I'm not sure what I'm doing wring but the 1st year I had it, I vacuumed most all my crappie, and cheked and they were sealed, but over time in the freezer they became unvacuumed(if thats a werd). Somehow, I guess this thing was leaving pin holes in em. I would be curious, what type of bags you use. I haven't used that thing since.
To thaw, I usually take mine outof the bag(most time gallon bag bout 1/2 full and set em in cool water in sink for bout 20 minutes and then run cool water over for bout 10 minutes and they will be thawed. That's only if I'm in a hurry. Otherwise just leave in the water and let em set hr or two. I don't have issue w/ texture or being mushy. I do set mine out on a towel after thawed to dry.