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Author Topic: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?  (Read 6541 times)

Offline Ice Chipper

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Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« on: Feb 28, 2018, 09:47 AM »
I notice people putting their fillets in bowls of salt water when they're cleaning fish! Doesn't that make the fillets taste awful salty. If not how much salt to use?   ???

Offline RIVERRAT2

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #1 on: Feb 28, 2018, 09:58 AM »
very small amount helps get the blood out of the meat,them put in cleat water
but you should "BLEED" the fish right after you get them.
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RAY
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Offline PoleJerker

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #2 on: Feb 28, 2018, 10:24 AM »
Been doing this for as long as I can remember as I was taught this as a kid and  I'm retired now.  Not to much.  Depends on how many and how big fillets are in your bowl.   

Offline perch chacer

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #3 on: Feb 28, 2018, 12:47 PM »
I don't soak my fish fillets but I use the same soaking method for wild game birds after cleaning.  I use 1/4 cup of salt to 1-1/2 to 2 gallons of water (not to picky on the measurement), and soak for a couple of hours.  The game does not taste salty, so I assume the same for fish.  Try it on few fillets before you soak them all if you have any doubt.

Offline shermanpup

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #4 on: Feb 28, 2018, 01:52 PM »
Soak fillets in salt water change water a few times . The next day, the fillets will be white .I guess it helps remove the blood which reduces the fish stink . I heard of milk and water drawing out the blood too.Never had the fish taste over-salted

Offline trapper2000

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #5 on: Feb 28, 2018, 01:57 PM »
never seen much blood in a perch fillet ,just saying ...I never do that fillet pack   in water freeze

Offline gonephishin

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #6 on: Feb 28, 2018, 03:16 PM »
Some dudes swear by it! But I’d rather have a lil blood than unnecessarily extra salt in my diet, tbh. Plus I’d rather taste the game in my catches, instead of salt, too.

I just pat em somewhat dry and in the freezer bag they go!

Offline Ice Crazy

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #7 on: Feb 28, 2018, 03:58 PM »
I use a little baking  soda in the water soak for a hour or over night fish come out perfect.

Offline missoulafish

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #8 on: Feb 28, 2018, 04:14 PM »
Fillets soaked in salt water are only salty if you dont rinse them off. USe how ever much you want, it doesnt make them salty.

Offline trapper2000

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #9 on: Feb 28, 2018, 04:52 PM »
Some dudes swear by it! But I’d rather have a lil blood than unnecessarily extra salt in my diet, tbh. Plus I’d rather taste the game in my catches, instead of salt, too.

I just pat em somewhat dry and in the freezer bag they go!

do you vacupack them???? I use ziplock bags and fill with water  to avoid freezer burn

Offline rgfixit

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #10 on: Feb 28, 2018, 05:27 PM »
Nah...no salt soak unless they're gonna be pickled. Unnecessary! Just rinse well with cold water.

Double wrap with good plastic wrap and freeze on a good freezer bag. I don't always vacuum pack.

Rg


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Offline eyehi

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #11 on: Feb 28, 2018, 05:51 PM »
I always add a bit of salt to the water I soak my fish in .... We have a nice Tupperware dish with a snap on lid I collect fish in until I have enough for a bag full .... A little salt cleans them up nice before freezing ....
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Offline trapper2000

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #12 on: Feb 28, 2018, 05:59 PM »
never had a fillet that got dirty  :roflmao:

Offline gonephishin

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #13 on: Feb 28, 2018, 09:11 PM »
do you vacupack them???? I use ziplock bags and fill with water  to avoid freezer burn

Nope, I need to get a vacuum sealer though. I freeze them overnight by themselves and then add water the next day. I started doing it with crappie to prevent water log but I do it with everything now.

Offline bigfish1212

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #14 on: Feb 28, 2018, 09:23 PM »
Yeah anyone that freezes meat needs a vacuum sealer. All my venison and fish that I don't prebread gets vacuum sealed. That is another thing I don't know how many people on here do it but we have been doing it for years.  A majority of my perch I bread before freezing, I just bread them like you normally would flour eggs breading of your choice, then I lay them out on cookie sheets and freeze. Once frozen you can bag them up the nice part is when you want some fish all you have to do is heat up the oil and throw them in no need to thaw and no need to make a mess breeding. Also a bonus is the breeding does a pretty good job of protecting them from freezer burn.

Offline sodussut

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #15 on: Feb 28, 2018, 09:29 PM »
 Rg is right on, simple and effective!

Offline reelrusty

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #16 on: Feb 28, 2018, 10:55 PM »
 ;D It seems to me the fish I catch through the ice have more slime than summer fish. If I rinse the filet in cold water with a handful of kosher salt is helps me rinse the slime off easier. Then freeze flat on a cookie sheet overnight and vac pack.  :tipup: :tipup:

Offline bshirtd

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #17 on: Mar 01, 2018, 09:41 AM »
Every once in a while trapper is right just fill the Ziploc with water fillets come out fine.
its a footrace to the hole

Offline gonephishin

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #18 on: Mar 01, 2018, 10:04 AM »
Every once in a while trapper is right just fill the Ziploc with water fillets come out fine.

I heard Hell has some fishable ice today, too!  :roflmao: :roflmao:

Offline trapper2000

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #19 on: Mar 01, 2018, 01:03 PM »
bigfish I double wrap my venison in freezer paper then put packages in a large zip lock never gotten freezer burn .... but I would think a vacuum packer would be better .....

hey hey hey  I was right about that picture on the whitney point thread being a black crappie and ya all know it   :roflmao:...........

Offline New Old Guy

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #20 on: Mar 02, 2018, 07:16 PM »
Yo Guys & Gals,

 I guess you got to put old Boggey on Trap's side of the ledger on this one. I use zip locks. I place a cup of water in each 15 perch fillets . . I add no salt. I lay the bag down flat on my fillet board as I gently squeeze most of the water (and air) back out, finally closing the zip lock bag. This process eliminates freezer burn and when frozen I have multiple flat bags easily stored in my freezer.

 My kids, grand kids , friends and relatives are in line to get a package of them perch fillets from old Boggey. .In short, no salt needed. Also, as in all things " to each his own". If you want to soak your perch in salt, , go for it. No argument here.

 Boggey
Start each day with the exuberance of a 10 year old . Do not allow those around you to diminish that exuberance.

Offline trapper2000

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #21 on: Mar 03, 2018, 04:54 AM »
the only fish I remember  really having blood in them after cleaning  was bullheads ,maybe a little salt would help those I don't know

Offline New Old Guy

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #22 on: Mar 03, 2018, 05:10 AM »
 Yo Trap,


What? You don't Know?
  ;D ;D
Start each day with the exuberance of a 10 year old . Do not allow those around you to diminish that exuberance.

Offline trapper2000

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #23 on: Mar 03, 2018, 05:11 AM »
hey ole boy ....hope all is well  ;D

Offline Doublehaul85

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #24 on: Mar 03, 2018, 05:33 AM »
I just tried soaking my perch in salt water for the first time, and they came out delicious. The process, called brining, removes blood from the meat and, yes, can make the fish too salty if done for too long. Lots of recipes and whatnot online for it. And lots of variation on techniques too. Some say to brine for no more than 30 minutes, some say to do it for a whole day. We did ours for several hours and I did not notice it to be too salty, although I did whole cleaned fish rather than fillets, and I bet fillets would soak up the salt faster. Brining has been used for centuries on all sorts of game, particularly fish and game birds. Adding seasoning to it can be helpful too.
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Offline ShaneO19

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #25 on: Mar 04, 2018, 08:13 PM »
I don't really soak any fish I catch.  Just usually rinse with a strainer or keep water running in a big bowl until its all clear.  Is it possible the salt water soak is slightly cooking the fish so that it appears more white?  I feel that soaking the fish in any water for very long is slightly cooking the fish which I try to avoid.  I don't think it makes any huge difference either way though.  Also agree on the freezing in water.  I sometimes will use a milk carton rather then freezer bag and fill that with fillets and water.   Worth the extra thaw time.

Offline trapper2000

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #26 on: Mar 05, 2018, 04:44 AM »
shane you must have a big fish fry if you fill milk cartons  :thumbsup:

me I have a hard time filling a sandwich bag with fillets

Offline missoulafish

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Offline filetandrelease

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #28 on: Mar 07, 2018, 04:56 AM »

For my table I toss bigger fish back , perch and small eyes and stream trout don’t really need salt soaking IMO
And after filleted  a really good rinse let stand a while then to the vac machine ,
  I use to freeze in water which works well but takes up extra room , i stock up on winter perch to carry me through the summer , and they taste just fine , but what ever your happy with carry on ladies and gentlemen
Fish on and tite lines
 

Offline New Old Guy

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Re: Cleaning Fish How much Salt?
« Reply #29 on: Mar 07, 2018, 05:26 AM »
I don't use salt, just water.  And, soaking them overnight, not only makes them whiter because of all the blood leaving the meat, they are firmer, as well.  I use to just rinse mine like you.  However, after a friend told me to soak them overnight, I will never just rinse them again.  It is amazing how much blood is still in the meat if you just rinse them.  The water in the morning, after a soak is tinged, with red.  Try soaking in just water over night and you will do it forever!  Just a tip for the guys who just rinse.  Again, I don't think you need to add salt to the water.  Just a good all night soaking.

 Since when was blood in any meat a bad thing? All meat has blood in it. Now I'm not talking about massive blood clotty messes. Just infused blood . Did you ever consider , blood may be inherent in the taste of steaks, chops foul or even fish. Again, I mention this knowing we hang our red meats and poultry to drain the blood, but surely you must agree the blood that makes up the circulatory systems of all meat is never totally removed prior to eating.


 Further, I will mention the only time I brine my perch is to make "poor man's shrimp" . You will note if you have ever done so, prolonged brining will start to curl these smaller fillets. Suggesting to me , you are actually pre cooking the fish with the salt additive. Again. one expects this salt ratio of the perch prepared in this method along with the tangy taste of the cocktail sauce. Not so with a fish fry or broiled fish in which case one can add salt and seasonings to one's individual preference.

 Yup, just call me blood thirsty Boggey.  :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Start each day with the exuberance of a 10 year old . Do not allow those around you to diminish that exuberance.

 



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