Freezing fish fillets for the obsessive-compulsive angler

I also don't like water coming in contact with my fish until it's thawed and about to be cooked. The more the meat is exposed to water before it freezes the more cells will rupture during freezing. Ever notice how a fillet "leaks" water after being thawed?

Cells bursting resulting in higher drip loss when thawed and poorer quality product is not as much do to water contact prior to freezing as it is a function of slow freeze times.
The longer it takes for a fillet to freeze the more cells burst. When freezing on an industrial scale temps are about -30°F and in a blast freezer with large fans that keep the air moving around 50-60 mph. This will freeze sockeye fillets in 2-3 hours.

Good to know!

Yup. Bill is spot on. It also means that chilling your fish throughly before freezing can help with that process.  The entire fish goes faster through the freeze process. Otherwise outside freezes and the warmth is retained longer inside.  Not a huge issue but just another thought for those looking to get every degree of quality.

I have friends with commercial vac pax machines. Ten times better than the food saver crap. In fact my fish that I zip locked and squeezed the air out right look much better than the food saver vac pacs.  On ziplocks that look like there is air in them, I pour a mild salt water solution into the frozen bag, let it drain and seal it up to glaze it. Make sure your fish is cold!!! A frozen fish is not just a frozen fish.  The colder it is, the better the glaze will take.

Good information. I have eaten a lot of fish in my life. My dad is a commercial fisherman and I fish a lot also. We have always frozen our fish in water, like the opening post. It always seemed to taste fine to me. This last Christmas I received a vacuum sealer as a gift. I tried it out and noticed a big difference in quality. I did rinse the fish before i sealed them, but i had to dry them completely first with paper towels, or else the bag doesnt want to seal correctly. Next time i will forgo rinsing until after thawing. I will never freeze fish in water again. I will also start putting all the fish in my chest freezer initially. I think it is colder and should freeze them faster than the fridge-freezer.

i pat my fillets down too before vac sealing, but if you've still got moisture: fold up a paper towel that runs the width of the vac bag, and place it in between the open end of the bag and the top of the fish. it'll catch the moisture that's being sucked towards the sealer.

I will also start putting all the fish in my chest freezer initially. I think it is colder and should freeze them faster than the fridge-freezer.

NEVER PUT FROZEN FISH IN THE FRIDGE/ FREEZER!

Vertical fridge/ freezers dump all the cold air everytime you open the door. The temp of the freezer rises then the motors are running to just get the temp back down to freezing. In a chest freezer the cold air stays inside the freezer. The motor work to keep the freezer very cold all the time. ALWAYS TURN YOUR FREEZER TO MAX COLD!
The colder you hold your fish the better it will hold. My costco $175 chest freezer holds -10 no problem.

i pat my fillets down too before vac sealing, but if you've still got moisture: fold up a paper towel that runs the width of the vac bag, and place it in between the open end of the bag and the top of the fish. it'll catch the moisture that's being sucked towards the sealer.

Good Idea. I wasted a couple bags last time because i couldnt get all the moisture out and get a good seal.

I will also start putting all the fish in my chest freezer initially. I think it is colder and should freeze them faster than the fridge-freezer.

NEVER PUT FROZEN FISH IN THE FRIDGE/ FREEZER!

Vertical fridge/ freezers dump all the cold air everytime you open the door. The temp of the freezer rises then the motors are running to just get the temp back down to freezing. In a chest freezer the cold air stays inside the freezer. The motor work to keep the freezer very cold all the time. ALWAYS TURN YOUR FREEZER TO MAX COLD!
The colder you hold your fish the better it will hold. My costco $175 chest freezer holds -10 no problem.

I didnt have a chest freezer until recently. I would guess a lot of people dont. I checked the temps and the chest freezer was on setting 3 of 7 and at -2 degrees. The fridge freezer was on setting 4 of 5 and at 15 degrees. I turned them both up (down). After 10 minutes, the fridge-freezer is at 0.

Be careful with turning down your fridge/ freezer if they are on the same dial you might start freezing your fridge.

Just checked. Separate dial for fridge. Thanks for the heads up.

Great info... I am using a Foodsaver. Have noticed some of the packages, especially a couple older ones from Fall, are not as tight as they were. In the past , have just opened and re sealed. Sounds like maybe good candidates for glazing, then resealing?
Also,....have not paid enough attention when sealing to how dry they were. Does the wet fillet hinder the contraction of the bag, or does the worry lie in moisture in the seal?

I will also start putting all the fish in my chest freezer initially. I think it is colder and should freeze them faster than the fridge-freezer.

NEVER PUT FROZEN FISH IN THE FRIDGE/ FREEZER!

Vertical fridge/ freezers dump all the cold air everytime you open the door. The temp of the freezer rises then the motors are running to just get the temp back down to freezing. In a chest freezer the cold air stays inside the freezer. The motor work to keep the freezer very cold all the time. ALWAYS TURN YOUR FREEZER TO MAX COLD!
The colder you hold your fish the better it will hold. My costco $175 chest freezer holds -10 no problem.

To add to that, the chest freezers that are NON "frost free" don't cycle to warmer temps off and on to eliminate frost therefore keep the freezer colder all the time.  Most upright freezers and fridge freezers are "frost free" to whatever extent from the manufacturer. The "frost free" freezers can cause freezer burn due to the mini thaw cycles.  Also, NON "frost free" chest freezers are cheaper to start with, and are usually in the chest freezer format.
 
Once my NON "frost free"chest freezer gets the big fluffy frost nodules building up near the opening, I just pop them off with a stiff plastic paint scraper.  Then just let those big frost nodules drop to the bottom to aide as additional ice in the event we have a power outage at some point.  Winter time when the garage is in the 30's or lower, is a good time to take the contents out and reorganize and remove any excess frost nodule piles.
Put everything back in while reorganizing it.   

Eazy Peazy!

 

I'm persuaded that I should start vacuum packing my fish before I freeze it, rather than freezing it in water.  Thanks for all the good thoughts and recommendations.

With respect to the cost of vacuum packing fish versus freezing it in water in ziplock bags, if you have a vacuum packer, the cost of food saver rolls versus ziplock bags is virtually identical - 12 to 16 cents per piece of fish.  Which is trivial compared to the value per pound of the fish.  But if you start amortizing the cost of the vacuum packer over the over the life of the machine to the fish that you package with the machine, whoa daddy!  The vacuum packing gets a lot more expensive.  Big box store consumer quality vacuum packers aren't too expensive, but they also tend to break down and quit working pretty quickly.  Higher quality vacuum packers are a lot more expensive, but hopefully last longer.

This is yet another example of the grim fact that you have to pay to play.  If you want to allocate costs to the fish which you catch, think of the amount of gas which you burn up going fishing.  Or worse yet, think of the cost per mile of driving, as indicated by the IRS mileage reimbursement rate, which is currently 57.5 cents per mile.  Just allocating gas costs would produce pretty expensive fish.  If you're worried about costs, quit fishing, sell all your fishing gear, and buy fish at your local grocery store.  It'll be way cheaper.  If you want to have fun, run out and buy some more fishing toys!  And then get out and have fun using them!

For those that are on a tight budget, or just a "tight ass" when it comes to spending dough on things like vacuum sealers, and bags here is a tip. 

Put that stuff on your Christmas, birthday,  anniversary etc.. lists and be sure it lands in front of that relative, friend or neighbor that likes to spend their money on providing expensive gifts to you. If you end up with multiple vacuum sealers from several gift givers, your only problem now is where to put said extras.  Good problem to have. 

I did a serious analysis of the cost of a food saver bags and the cost of chamber vac bags and how long it would take or a chamber vac to pay for itself in savings. At 4 cents a bag (chamber vac) versus 40 cents (food saver) it actually doesn't take long.  So, since we freeze a lot of fish, other meats and vegetables I went with the chamber vac.  I love it. Recently, I have found lingcod from September 2013 in my freezer and it was not freezer burnt. Obviously it isn't as good as if I had ate it within a few months of catching it, but my kids and I still loved the fish sticks I made with it.  Another cool thing I can do with it is vacuum pack liquids (clam juice for chowder, chili, etc...).  I also put mason jars inside with nuts, salt, and other solid foods and it seals them up very nicely. My wife mocked me when I bought it. Within two days, I caught her using routinely - and loving it.

Oh, and the bags are rated for sous vide cooking. A great way to heat up your frozen chili. 

I did a serious analysis of the cost of a food saver bags and the cost of chamber vac bags and how long it would take or a chamber vac to pay for itself in savings. At 4 cents a bag (chamber vac) versus 40 cents (food saver) it actually doesn't take long.  So, since we freeze a lot of fish, other meats and vegetables I went with the chamber vac.  I love it. Recently, I have found lingcod from September 2013 in my freezer and it was not freezer burnt. Obviously it isn't as good as if I had ate it within a few months of catching it, but my kids and I still loved the fish sticks I made with it.  Another cool thing I can do with it is vacuum pack liquids (clam juice for chowder, chili, etc...).  I also put mason jars inside with nuts, salt, and other solid foods and it seals them up very nicely. My wife mocked me when I bought it. Within two days, I caught her using routinely - and loving it.

An elk hunting buddy of mine has one and it's amazing what brand is yours and where did you get it?