to vacuum seal or not?
Submitted by Saulty2 on Tue, 2013-11-26 12:10
im finding that dhui fish in particular has had a fishhy smell this past year when vacuumed sealed frozen & then cooked , but not in the past years when just wrapped in glad wrap ,anybody had similar experience , or just overly fussy?.
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
its fish
its fish, it smells like fish?
I think your being fussy lol
always vac seal my catch with the skin on keeps it pretty well, Dhu freezes better than many other species
Michael Yoni
Posts: 603
Date Joined: 02/01/11
+1. I vacuum seal all my
+1.
I vacuum seal all my food that ends in freezer.
Could it have thawed slightly without you knowing.
Saulty2
Posts: 658
Date Joined: 28/05/10
didnt thaw
only thing different was took fillets barely ran under the tap for brief time & then patted dry so literally no moisture and then vacuumed..... normally baldies & Dhui has no fishy taste at all these ones has !
alfred
Posts: 3097
Date Joined: 12/01/07
There's your problem, if it
There's your problem, if it touches fresh water before freezing it will smell fishy when thawed.
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
+1
unless you drop it in sand or something never let fresh water touch the flesh
Paul H
Posts: 2104
Date Joined: 18/01/07
+2 - I always bring back a
+2 - I always bring back a bucket of seawater to give my fillets a quick rinse. Never in fresh water - tastes so much better as a result
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Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
+3 never let your fish
+3 never let your fish fillets touch water period. If your half decent at filleting you dont need to wash your fillets.
If you do need to clean them (Scales etc) then run the back of your knife over the fillet.
Bluetonic
Posts: 1147
Date Joined: 09/01/08
+4 I never rinse any fillets
+4 I never rinse any fillets in fresh water & would rather freeze them as is and gently rinse them once thawed then pat dry with paper towels.
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kirky79
Posts: 1354
Date Joined: 13/01/12
Yep I'm with you Paul. A
Yep I'm with you Paul. A quick rinse in sea water. Reckon it keeps better with the salt water too.
Buz
Posts: 1555
Date Joined: 28/08/07
Everyones taste buds are
Everyones taste buds are different.
Give a few different ways a go and see what works for you with the next batch of Dhui you freeze up.
I gave vacuum sealing and only cleaning fish in saltwater a go a few years ago. Ended up giving the vac sealer away after a year or so, as I found that my old method of filleting the fish at home with freshwater then chuck in a zip lock bag straight in the freezer has the Dhui still tasting the same. I did a batch of Dhui fillets up with both methods on the same day, then took a pack of each out to eat after 1, 3, 6 and 12 months. It was more of an experiment just to see how much 'worse' Dhui cleaned in freshwater, and zip locked bagged and frozen tasted than vac sealed.
Well when the time came to eat the 12 month old Dhui(Vac sealed and Ziplock bag) was happy that both still tasted awesome for my taste buds.
Cheaper, less hassles, and for me tastes the same doing my old method rather than vac sealed. But as I said try a few methods see what works for your taste buds and stick with that!
Bradlze
Posts: 96
Date Joined: 06/02/12
ive started to vaccum seal
ive started to vaccum seal cray tails, will see how that turns out in 6 months time
Rob H
Posts: 5806
Date Joined: 18/01/12
don't get caught out doing
don't get caught out doing that. If Fisheries check you out its goneski.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Saulty2
Posts: 658
Date Joined: 28/05/10
just hope fisheries dont read post
Lol ...... must keep crays whole in the freezer , not allowed to store just tails, theres also possesion limit in your freezer
Vinesh87
Posts: 2751
Date Joined: 02/04/11
Haha yeh sealing whole is a
Haha yeh sealing whole is a pain too they pierce the seal. But gotta do it, good problem to have. I Vac everything im not esting straight away.The cost is not much more than zip lock bags!
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
i find with crays, wqrapping
i find with crays, wqrapping in newspaper and a rubber band to hold it together does the trick, still taste the same 12 months down the track!
mc
Posts: 91
Date Joined: 10/09/13
So much good info on this
So much good info on this site, cheers for sharing
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
Don't wash
Yep ,don't wash the fillets before you seal and freeze. If you realy have to , give them a quick rinse in salt water after you thaw them out.
sea-kem
Posts: 15012
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Yeah I had an old mate of
Yeah I had an old mate of mine who was had an old spring mattress at his old shack in Leeman, fillets would go straight on there to drain off any excess liquid. He would give me the death stare if I tried to rinse them in water. Just pat them off he would growl lol. Bloody good bloke though!
Love the West!
strike_zone
Posts: 403
Date Joined: 09/09/10
Old bloody wives tales
Washing your fillets in freshwater has absolutely no affect on smell taste anything before you vacuum seal plus the fact you know you haven't sealed in any dirt or other shit in with your fillet everybody has there own ideas but the simple fact is it makes diddly squat difference just makes me laugh at all the old wives tales you read on here
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
There are reasons
There are reasons why you dont wash meat and fish besides taste.
Just one quote i found, and you will find most chef's dont wash because of the spred of bacteria, this can also affect the taste.
Not only is there no scientific evidence to support your mother's practice, science is actually against you on this one. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as food agencies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, advises against washing poultry. Rinsing chicken will not remove or kill much bacteria, and the splashing of water around the sink can spread the bacteria found in raw chicken. (Cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit effectively destroys the most common culprits behind food-borne illness.)You don't need to rinse fish, chicken, pork, or any other meat before cooking. Not only does it not get rid of bacteria, it spreads bacteria (if water splashes from the sink in the process of rinsing). What kills bacteria much more effectively is cooking.
So why do so many cooks rinse their fish and chickens? Because their mothers used to ;)
Here is a quote from Cook's Illustrated on the subject:
Fish is not fundamentally different from chicken, so you don't have to rinse it.
Bradlze
Posts: 96
Date Joined: 06/02/12
did I write tails I meant the
did I write tails I meant the whole cray... how silly of me
Saulty2
Posts: 658
Date Joined: 28/05/10
thought thats what u meant LOL
just as easy to edit your post to reflect what you really were trying to say,
D_d_001
Posts: 1522
Date Joined: 09/03/13
little bit of science
Well this has been my take on it anyway.
As soon as a fish is dead it starts to decompose (however little)....yes even when we ice it etc. the decomposition from the bacteria produces Ammonia.
When we wash it in "fresh water"....and here is where the problem occurs. (definition of fresh water is subjective)
most ppl wash it in Scheme water ...which contains an added chlorine.
the trace amounts of chlorine and Ammonia react together, producing .....any chemists here?....I think hydrochloric acid and some sort of chlorine gas. I believe its the gas produced from this minor reaction that emits the smell.
This is where the "old wives tale" "don't wash your fillets, I think comes from.(just don't wash them in scheme water.
Have also heard about the bacteria Grantartic1 is talking about too.
Of course eating shark fillets washed in scheme water is even worse being that the sharks urinary tract ends in the shark skin.....yes sharks leak piss from their skin.
FWIW my property is not connected to scheme water and only have "fresh water" (rain water) to rinse fillets in and have never had a problem....probably why using sea water like a few have mentioned works too.
EDIT: I pretty well vac seal everything
pale ale
Posts: 1755
Date Joined: 02/01/10
Saltwater fish contain a
Saltwater fish contain a certain concentration of salts / water in their flesh. If you rinse in fresh water, osmosis will occur, which means the fresh water enters the flesh trying to equalise the salt concentration. This may be part of the reason why it is not advisable to rinse in fresh water. Quick google found this......
http://forums.floridasportsman.com/archive/index.php/t-53111.html
carnarvonite
Posts: 8672
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Vacuum seal?
Tried some fillets done in vacuum sealed bags are found there is no difference in the ones I do in 2 layers of glad wrap [2 layers to prevent any chance of freezer burn]
Again, agree with the others on not washing fish fillets before freezing. if there is anything that requires cleaning cut it off, don't wash or wipe it.
All filleting is done the next day after getting in, add more ice when you get home for insurance, this allows the flesh to properly set and makes the whole job a breeze.
Paul H
Posts: 2104
Date Joined: 18/01/07
Yep I have been thinking
Yep I have been thinking about getting a vaccum sealer but have tried plenty of fillets after a year in the freezer in gladwrap and they still taste great so why bother - I think the key is giving them a few wraps of glad wrap and removing as much water and air as possible (go through a roll of towelling paer at times but whats $2 with $50-$100 bucks worth of fish). All the fillets wrapped in gladwrap stay in a plastic bag 1 year later no sign of freezer burn (if they last that long).
Youtube Channel - FishOnLine Productions
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22Tango
Posts: 74
Date Joined: 17/11/13
Osmosis theory
The osmosis theory makes perfect sense. I've always been set on getting the fish straight on ice. I'll run a seawater brine from now on I think!
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sunshine
Posts: 2615
Date Joined: 03/03/09
The moment you wash fillets
They get a "rubbery" feel / texture - I NEVER wash fillets, if any dirt or contamination I use a very sharp blade and trim it off and would now never be without my vac sealer as, and I accept that it is a personal view, I believe the fish lasts longer and tastes better and as for Paul's comment regarding the fillets being worth $50-100 - hell you wont get many quality fillets for that, dhuie was $70 a kilo at Kailis last night and even a just size dhuie would give you that, anything larger and retail you are talking big money.
Mind you for my taste I still think breaksea (texture, taste, fine grain of the flesh) is my pick of the best closely followed by baldie and oddly I really enjoy fresh snapper provided the fish isn't too big but only when freshly filleted, seems to be no where near as good after freezing but that is my personal take on eating qualitites.
Good thread with some interesting takes on the issue
Adam Gallash
Posts: 15648
Date Joined: 29/11/05
yep
As everyone else has said; fillet, pad dry them with paper towel, into the fridge for a few hours to firm, then pad dry again for any further moisture/scales and then into the cryovac. Good as gold.
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