Best method for freezing salmon

[spaceship]

Yeah exactly. I took them over to the neighbors freezer. He told me he'd let me know when he was done eating them.

[zzz]

Even though it's a little late for your fish from this weekend, I'll share what I have learned about freezing salmon (or any fish).

The first thing that you need to know is that the process of freezing damages the flesh of the fish. No matter how good your freezing process is, the texture of the frozen fish will be inferior to fresh fish. The best way to keep fish fresh is to keep it on ice rather than just in the refrigerator. For Keeping fresh for the longest possible period, I would either keep the fish whole surrounded by ice and with ice in the body cavity (making sure that it is well drained), or vacuum pack fillets and keep them surrounded by ice.

Here is something that I think a lot of people don't know: The process of freezing damages the flesh and the longer the process takes, the more damage occurs. This is why flash freezing produces the best quality. Flash freezing usually involves commercial blast freezers which blow very cold air through the freezer. Obviously, most people cannot do this at home but you can still reduce the amount of time required to freeze the fish by doing the following:
1. Turn down your freezer as cold as it will go.
2. Package the fish in thin packages (fillets). Whole fish or roasts will take much longer to freeze through.
3. Place the unfrozen fish on a freezer shelf where air can circulate, seperating each package.
4. Limit the volume of fish that you are freezing. Overloading the freezer with warm items will increase the time required to freeze it all.

Given that frozen fish is inferior to fresh, it's still worthwhile to produce the highest quality possible. To keep frozen fish for any length of time, it is best to vacuum pack before freezing to prevent freezer burn. I have 2 freezers and I use one for the freezing process and one for storing already frozen fish. This helps maintain the quality of the fish as fluctuating temperatures of frozen fish will also deteriorate the quality.

And I also have a way of flash freezing at home without a blast freezer. It's a bit of a hassle but is very effective. If anybody wants to know how to do that, let me know and I'll explain...

[HOOCHIE SLAMMER]

I would like to know how to flash freeze at home, any info would be appreciated.

Thanks, H.S

[JUSTFISHIN']

EAT WHATCHA GOT,,, GO GET MORE,,, THAT WAY IT WILL BE FRESH

[Titan]

Originally Posted by JUSTFISHIN'

EAT WHATCHA GOT,,, GO GET MORE,,, THAT WAY IT WILL BE FRESH

Easy for you to say. Us good fishermen catch so much, it's impossible to eat all up. Neighbors won't open the door when they see me on the porch with a cooler in tow. I am stuffing the dog with halibut steaks as we speak.

[Mo]

Bleed, ice and filet asap. Then Vacumn seal in meal size portions. Thats what I do with all my fish. No air no freezer burn

[zzz]

Yep. Eat as much as you can stand when it's fresh, then vacuum pack fillets. If you don't have a vacuum packer, buy one. If you can't do that, the next best thing is to pack the fillets in ziploc bags. Before sealing the bag, submerge the entire bag in water (in the sink or a bucket) right up to the zipper. This will force most of the air out. Then zip it up being careful not to let any water in.

Ok here's how to flash freeze your fish at home. It is a bit of work and requires some preparation beforehand. You will need:
1. Salt (25 lb. bags are about 3 bucks at Costco).
2. Water
3. Containers to freeze salt water in manageable sizes.
4. A freezer that gets cold enough to freeze saturated salt water.
5. A seperate freezer to store already frozen fish
6. A large cooler to freeze the fish in.

What you're doing here is using the same principle that is employed in homemade ice cream production. Namely that salt water has a much lower freezing/melting temperature than fresh water. The higher the salt content, the colder the freeze point.

What you do is mix in enough salt to saturate the water. How much it takes depends on the water. Rather than trying to use some scientific formula, I keep adding and mixing until no more salt will dissolve and it remains on the bottom. Now put this saturated salt water in containers and freeze it. This may take several days depending on the temperature of your freezer. If your freezer does not get cold enough to freeze the water, you're out of luck.

Now that you have frozen salt water, Mix some more saturated salt water in the bottom of a large cooler. Put your frozen salt water in the cooler and stir it around to cool all the water. You will now have a cooler full of water that is as cold as your freezer. I think mine is around -25 degrees F. Add vacuum packed fillets, being sure to leave room between the bags for water circulation. Stir it around and add more ice as needed. Your fillets will freeze very quickly depending on thickness. I think a 1" fillet will freeze solid in about 10 minutess. I just leave the fillets in the salt water for about a half hour, then transfer them to my deep freeze (the one that I use exclusively to store already frozen fish). You will need to wear heavy rubber gloves for this task to avoid freezing your fingers.

Then I take the cold salt water and whatever ice remains and put it back in containers and into the other freezer to get ready for next week's fish. I would not bother to do this if you only have one freezer. If you're willing to go through all this trouble to maximize the quality of your catch, you want to store the frozen product in the coldest possible freezer that does not have the temperature fluctuations caused by adding unfrozen contents.

[lugger]

If you have the facility large refer or its cold enough . we used to gut dehead a salmon , and hang in tail up in the fish hatch in alaska ,
twine around tail and hang buy loup

Hang it for 24 to 36 hours then cook it and eat it ,
It drains all the blood out like a deer , and best sockye or fish you will eat , we did a taste test one year
took one sockye freeeeeesh caught , cooked and ate it
That was great

cooked and ate the hung one next day . off the chart difference we always had a fish hanging for dinner ,

not a frezzer thing but try it some time you will be suprised

[zzz]

I agree that day old fish is better eating than fish caught the same day. I believe the reason for this is that all dead flesh must pass through rigor mortis. Once the process is finished the flesh relaxes and does not shrink while cooking. If you cook a salmon fillet from a fresh fish fish (caught the same day), it will noticeably shrink on the grill.