IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Hardwater Cuisine => Topic started by: GooserWI on Dec 08, 2015, 07:02 PM
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How long do you keep your catch in the freezer? If i'm able to, maybe 3 months? Does this seem too long to keep frozen? I use a vacuum sealer to store meats and fish to maintain it good for prolong periods.
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My uncle is a butcher and he told me as long as you fillet them frozen or semi frozen, then package and freeze its good for about 4 months. the key is to not let it thaw completely while cleaning the fish. I usually keep mine less than 2 months. nothing worse than wasting fish.
hope this helps.
Darren
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It depends on the fat content. Fatty fish lose their flavor quickly. Trout are best before 6-8 wks.
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Nice, I learned something new, process fish while frozen = lasts longer.
Thanks for the advice.
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No problem. ;D
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I vac seal mine too. But I've found fish that have been in the freezer for a year, ate it and never died once and it tasted fine.
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But I've found fish that have been in the freezer for a year, ate it and never died once and it tasted fine.
Good thing you haven't died once, it'd be kind of hard to die twice! ;D I've eaten year old vacuum sealed fish too and it tasted fine. Use your judgment.
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Put water in the bag and freeze it into a block of ice. No freezer burn and will keep for at least a year.
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I agree with Sir, depends on if they are oily or fatty fish. Salmon/tuna doesn't age well in the freezer, best to eat it as soon as possible. White, flaky fish like perch or walleye you can get away with several months or more easily.
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last year a gentlemen in Montana got arrested for having more than his possession limit on trout and it included canned as well as frozen fish. I vacuum seal my fish, but I prefer to eat it before it hits the freezer and consume it as fast as I catch it (except for those headed to the smoker). The way I figure it , fish stay fresher when they are swimming in the water.
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I clean, fillet and place in zip lock, add water to cover completely, and freeze...have had year old fish that have had no problems. If I suspect freezer burn I throw away. But 95% thaw fine...I usually deep fry mine with a beer batter and have at a party...so most people are half cocked anyway and wouldn't be able to tell if there bad or not ;D
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Thatta Boyyyy :cookoo: :thumbsup:
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i use freezer bags put meat in bag fill with water and freeze last atleast a year still taste great..also have heard of using cardboard milk jugs
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i use freezer bags put meat in bag fill with water and freeze last atleast a year still taste great..also have heard of using cardboard milk jugs
i have had fish in deep freeze for 1 season,frozen in water you get no burn
GOD BLESS
mo
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Not sure because all of ours gets ate within a month or two...usually quicker.
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I have tried seal- a- meal bags and freezing them in a block of ice. Block of ice is better I think.
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I eat it a year later and like others have said water in a ziplock bag and freeze.
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My bro's and I used to do the old 'water in a jug' trick a few years back. What I find works better is to wrap a piece of fish in Saran wrap---roll it on the wrap and tuck the ends in so that it's completely sealed and won't unwrap. Then put it in a freezer bag.
This prevent freezer burn but fatty fish lose their flavor by other means---it seems the oil in the fish migrates into the muscle and sort of goes rancid(off in taste anyway).
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I keep enough for two meal, don't have to worry about burn or fillets getting lost in the shuffle. Another plus is I have an excuse to go out again. ;)
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one of my pet peeves---people who kill fish only to freeze it---and say they will eat it later---or the famous one-i will give it away---i will only freeze fish for 1 or 2 weeks max----PEOPLE IF YOUR NOT PLANNING TO EAT SOME FISH THEN DONT KILL SOME FISH---
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one of my pet peeves---people who kill fish only to freeze it---and say they will eat it later---or the famous one-i will give it away---i will only freeze fish for 1 or 2 weeks max----PEOPLE IF YOUR NOT PLANNING TO EAT SOME FISH THEN DONT KILL SOME FISH---
I'll eat it when I want to eat it...one day, one week or next year! I only get so many days to fish, but eat everyday...sometimes I like to save it for a special occasion. I didn't say I catch, freeze and throw away. Btw, I gave some away yesterday...they thawed it and ate it, and LOVED it. Sorry.
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I'll eat it when I want to eat it...one day, one week or next year! I only get so many days to fish, but eat everyday...sometimes I like to save it for a special occasion. I didn't say I catch, freeze and throw away. Btw, I gave some away yesterday...they thawed it and ate it, and LOVED it. Sorry.
x2
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I freeze bluegill, crappie, bass, catfish in freezer bags usually without water and usually eat them within a year, never had any problems with freezer burn even with ones that are over a year
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one of my pet peeves---people who kill fish only to freeze it---and say they will eat it later---or the famous one-i will give it away---i will only freeze fish for 1 or 2 weeks max----PEOPLE IF YOUR NOT PLANNING TO EAT SOME FISH THEN DONT KILL SOME FISH---
If I catch 10 perch and a couple dozen gills and some pickerel, I ain't gonna eat it in one sitting. I freeze it in small packs so I can take it out WHEN I WANT. I don't really care what you think about it. Do it your way and I'll do it mine.
usually mine don't last more than a month but I've found a pack or 2 at the bottom that was there for who-knows-how long. Never had any go bad. I don't add water, just vac seal and freeze. I do make sure the meat is patted dry before I put it in the bag though so no ice crystals form in the bag or on the meat.
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Put water in the bag and freeze it into a block of ice. No freezer burn and will keep for at least a year.
X2 just be sure the fish is covered in water. Try to get all the air out.
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Put water in the bag and freeze it into a block of ice. No freezer burn and will keep for at least a year.
that works terrific. my grandpa used to use 2l milk cartons, toss the fish in fill with water and freeze. i've ate fish that was well over a year old and could not complain.
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I'm 52 and I remember my mom when I was a youngster always froze the extra catch in milk cartons filled with water. We didn't ice fish back then. But we did have good fish in the winter. She always scaled her panfish. I must of been into my teens before I learned how to fillet.
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one of my pet peeves---people who kill fish only to freeze it---and say they will eat it later---or the famous one-i will give it away---i will only freeze fish for 1 or 2 weeks max----PEOPLE IF YOUR NOT PLANNING TO EAT SOME FISH THEN DONT KILL SOME FISH---
wow...you really think a lot of yourself don't you ? How bout Ill eat MY fish when I want and you eat yours when you want ???
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Post above is true. If you freeze fish in water, there's no freezer burn. Water doesn't freezer burn.
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I vacuum seal, and eat fish over a year old with no problem.
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I'm 52 and I remember my mom when I was a youngster always froze the extra catch in milk cartons filled with water. We didn't ice fish back then. But we did have good fish in the winter. She always scaled her panfish. I must of been into my teens before I learned how to fillet.
65 yrs. young here and we pretty much did the same thing. Remember many a time having a big family fish fry in the dead of winter. Don't ever remember any bad tasting fish that had been in the freezer 2-3 months tho. Just my 2cts. worth :) ;D :) ;D
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I just cooked up some trout that I vac sealed this spring. Tasted like trout to me. ;D
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I also add a little water in with the fish and vacuum seal it along with putting the date on or number the bag so I know I'm using the oldest stuff first. I don't get to fish the open water much, too much to do in the warm weather, so I freeze all the fish I catch ice fishing, each bag has enough fish for one meal, and we eat it through the year and never had any problems.
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I vac pac my fish , never had a package get bad , I have a few older couples and a couple widows that I supply some fish and they really appreciate it
I hope when I'm no longer able to hobble out that someone drops some off to me 👍
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one of my pet peeves---people who kill fish only to freeze it---and say they will eat it later---or the famous one-i will give it away---i will only freeze fish for 1 or 2 weeks max----PEOPLE IF YOUR NOT PLANNING TO EAT SOME FISH THEN DONT KILL SOME FISH---
To each, his own. If I eat fish after a week or a year, it doesn't matter.
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i use to jse the ziplock and water freeze kept good for a long time. however, it was a PITA to do it. My wife bought me a Food saver and bags. That is the ticket. i make small bags outta the roll. enough for two fillets. Put them in bag suck all air seal. Then when I want to eat the fish, I open the bag put them on aluminum foil on a cooking sheet frozen & put seasoning on top. put in oven at 350 for about 3-5min or until they are thawed out.Then I crank it to broil and broils for 4 min, pull out the rack and sprinkle parmasian cheese on fish then put back and broil for 3min or until done. The last 3min I microwave some butter in a small bowl. enjoy .
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We've used our Foodsaver vacuum sealer and we've never seen any freezer burn even after 2+ years in the deep freeze. We do make sure to pat dry the fish well, and then double bag if we know it will be for a long time.
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We've used our Foodsaver vacuum sealer and we've never seen any freezer burn even after 2+ years in the deep freeze. We do make sure to pat dry the fish well, and then double bag if we know it will be for a long time.
Good to know.
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Grew up with the water filled milk cartons. PITA if you ask me. Effective but not really friendly unless you wanted to use all the fish in a carton plus take up a lot of freezer space.
Got a vac pack. That's OK too but bags are pricey and it's a process to process.
My current procedure is this:
Plastic wrap, lay a fillet (or a row of fillets), flip over and lay another layer. This works pretty good for about 4 layers. As I roll over I'll ease air out and fold the ends of the plastic wrap in to seal. Sure, this is also a "process" but for me there's a payback. I can place multiple "bundles" into a Ziplock freezer bag and mark with the contents and date. Better, if I want to go in and peel off like two nice walleye or pike fillets, it's easy. Open it up, unroll, pop off what you want, roll it back up and put it back. EZPZ.
I think the OP had something else in mind. Perhaps they just had an experience I used to have as an itinerant freezer filler. Go to defrost/clean out your freezer only to find a bucket full of stuff that has overstayed it's welcome. Freezer burned this or that, mystery stuff unmarked for contents OR date. Stuff that winds up either in a landfill or on the raccoon feeding station. You know, everyone's been there.
Years ago I changed my philosophy: No more than two meals of fish in the freezer. Period. If I'm fishing it's all C&R if I've got those meals in the freeze UNLESS I intend to eat it fresh that same day or the next. Just one thing that helps me manage my freezer inventory and not be wasteful, which, BTW, was what I do think the OP had in mind. Not saying this has to be the way for everyone, it's just for me and it works for what I do. Hey, if I need fish I'd better GO FISHING!
I store lots of meat like this and it's remarkable how well it lasts. We had a guy come to make venison sausage with us a few years back. He brought a tub of stuff he said he had in "one of his freezers" for 4 years. It was wrapped in plastic wrap and then freezer paper. It was crazy, not a burned spot on it. And yes, it made great sausage.
One more comment on "freezer burn". All that is is freeze dried food. If you re-hydrate it cooks up just fine as long as you incorporate lots of moisture in the cooking process. Think soup, stew or an overnight marinade before cooking. My annual "deer camp chili" is usually all the crap I clean out of the freezer that isn't fit for much else. Venison or beef piece parts that have overstayed their welcome and show it. Funny thing, once transformed into a savory chili, no one would even guess what it looked like before.
So if everyone takes deep breath and gets a little air this might even out before it gets really snarky. I think everyone can agree that wasting the resource doesn't serve anyone in anyway.
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Put water in the bag and freeze it into a block of ice. No freezer burn and will keep for at least a year.
I second the Whisperer
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I have found packages in my freezer that are three or four years old.....Frozen in water or vacuum sealed. They were fine....Tasted good. As long as there is no freezer burn it should be good.
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I always seemed to get freezer burn with the vacuum seal on fish. Had the best luck with freezing in water making sure none of the filets are outside of the water exposed to the side of the ziplock freezer bag . 2 years MAX. 1
Year is best
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Last weekend I cooked a package of Bluegill fillets I found buried deep in the freezer that were dated 12/12. They were as good as any I have eaten before. My Wife and Grandkids inhaled them. I just cleaned, rinsed well, and patted them dry. Vac sealed them and into the freezer. I have no problem with fish that's been properly frozen that's a couple years or more old.
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I vac seal , I try and eat mine up within a year but have eaten after 2 years and they were fine , I use to freeze in water with the same results but it did take up a little more room ,