Freezing fish

[ucfireman]

Ok, its been a long time since I have decided to keep and freeze some fish. I used to always just scale, behead, gut and freeze in a zip lock with water in it.
Is it better to clean them and then freeze them without water or with the water? I know store bought is vacuumed sealed, is this the best way (without the water)?
How do yall do it?

 

[whitetailfreak]

I freeze in enough water to cover fish and lay bag flat in freezer.

 

[Quackmasterofgeorgia]

If freeze everything except vegetables in water.

 

[ProAngler]

Wrap each piece of fish individually in plastic wrap making sure to not have any air between the plastic wrap and fish. It will keep better than frozen and water without taking up so much freezer room. It also lets you just take out how ever much you need at a time. I stopped using my vacuum sealer because the plastic wrap works better for me.

 

[TroyBoy30]

Water

 

[Dustin Pate]

Get a vacuum sealer. It will last for years if need be.

 

[little rascal]

If u might not eat within the year, freeze in water in a bag or jug. Vacuum seal is a joke! If froze inside a bag or jug of block ice you can keep for years and will taste like you just caught them! Takes a little more time and pain to thaw out, but you won't have to worry about freshness. Frankly the bag works better because it won't dehydrate. A jug with open top will evaporate a little, and u might have to add water. Even if a tail or a piece sticks out and looks freezer burnt, time it soaks in thawing ice water you'll never know.

 

[tucker80]

Water here too. Mine don't stay in there long enough to need vacuum seal, (although I'm considering it for everything else). Sometimes, they never see the freezer!!

 

[NCHillbilly]

Vacuum sealer. If you don't have a vacuum sealer, get a vacuum sealer. The best alternative to a vacuum sealer is another vacuum sealer. 10000000000000000000x better than freezing in water. Get a vacuum sealer. It doesn't have to be a fancy one, the $99 Food Saver will last you for years for the price of a couple tanks of gas. I use mine constantly-deer and other game, fish, veggies, cheese, store-bought bulk meat, pulled pork, you name it. It's one of the best investments you will ever make.

 

[Dustin Pate]

Not to mention, vacuum sealed food takes up so much less space in the freezer. I agree that the vacuum sealer is one of the most important items in my kitchen.

 

[watermedic]

Vacuum sealed fish, venison, leftovers, etc all last longer than any other method in the freezer. The ones who are against it have never tried it... at least not correctly.

 

[lagrangedave]

The vacuum sealers show up regularly at Good will for real cheap. I have three......$10 a piece..

 

[Lindseys Grandpa]

Vacuum seal.

 

[whitetailfreak]

Looks like I'm gonna have to try vac seal.

 

[Browning Slayer]

Vacuum sealer. If you don't have a vacuum sealer, get a vacuum sealer. The best alternative to a vacuum sealer is another vacuum sealer. 10000000000000000000x better than freezing in water. Get a vacuum sealer. It doesn't have to be a fancy one, the $99 Food Saver will last you for years for the price of a couple tanks of gas. I use mine constantly-deer and other game, fish, veggies, cheese, store-bought bulk meat, pulled pork, you name it. It's one of the best investments you will ever make.

^^THIS^^... ^^THIS^^......^^THIS^^!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[spurrs and racks]

fish don't live long enough in my freezer to worry about it.

I do believe I was a cat in a previous life

s&r

 

[NCHillbilly]

fish don't live long enough in my freezer to worry about it.

I do believe I was a cat in a previous life

s&r

You probably don't go a couple times a year and jug up several hundred pounds of catfish at a time.

 

[Browniez]

If you aren’t going to eat a fish within the year, why kill it? I’ve watched frozen fish be thrown out to make room for more fish too many times.

 

[NCHillbilly]

If you aren’t going to eat a fish within the year, why kill it? I’ve watched frozen fish be thrown out to make room for more fish too many times.

If you vacuum seal them, they will last for a year or more and still taste good. The reason to freeze them is because there is a season for everything. The same reason you can green beans or tomato sauce or make muscadine jelly when the time is right and they're ripe and in season.

There are better times of year to catch lots of fish. For example, I load up on crappie in the spring when they're spawning and easy to catch, jug up a bunch of catfish in the spring when they're up shallow and hitting good, etc. I can't get them reliably in quantity in July, October, or January. In the winter up here, the lakes are often partly frozen over and the fish won't hit, but I still like to eat fish. With a batch in the freezer, I can have a fish fry any time I want one. Vacuum sealed, they taste pretty much the same in January as they did the previous May.

And I can guarantee you that no fish get thrown out of my freezer. If I wasn't going to eat them, I sure as heck wouldn't go to the work and trouble of cleaning and freezing them. Don't judge everybody by some idiot that you saw throw fish out to "make room for more." If they do that with fish, they're going to do it with everything else, too.

Also the same reason I freeze deer meat-apply your same logic to going out and popping you a doe in July because you shouldn't kill it if you're not going to eat it right then.

 

[tree cutter 08]

Always have frozen fish in water. Vacuum seal everything else. Just do it that way because I always have and am the type if it ain't broke don't fix it.