You must take care of it, because they are both expensive and are among the most perishable foods we eat. Doing it right is not difficult, but it is best done with a little extra equipment.
First, you need a large plastic container. Ideally you also will have a slightly smaller container that fits entirely inside the larger one.
If you take this step, drill or punch many holes in the bottom of it. This smaller container will hold your ice and your food.
If the smaller container will touch the bottom of the larger one, you will need something to keep it elevated. You will need to keep your fish on ice -- even in the refrigerator.
And ideally, you will keep them with their back fins facing up, as if they were still swimming. The reason for this is because unlike meat, fish will rot quickly, even in the fridge, unless iced.
These animals generally swim in water that is colder than air, sometimes a lot colder. They have evolved to survive in water that can be just above freezing.
This is why fish fat is so good for you. Because it is liquid even at very low temperatures, it does not gunk up your system the way a highly saturated, dense fat such as beef suet does.
Fish fat is also loaded with omega-3 fatty acids, something most other meats lack. When you bring your catch home, make sure the smaller container is up off the larger one, and then fill the smaller container with crushed ice.
It must be crushed ice. Large ice cubes will take too long to melt and can discolor the skin.
Put the catch in, bellies down, backs up, cover the container and you're done. If you caught the animal yourself, you will get as much as a week to 10 days to store it.
A market-bought fish won't last that long, nor will a fillet or steak. Those will remain at peak condition only a few days.
Replace the ice as it melts, and pour off the melt water. If the catch is lean, such as bass or cod or walleye, you get an extra day.
If it is oily such as salmon, trout or sturgeon, take a day off the total time. And of it is a really oily such as a herring, sardine or bluefish, eat it soon because it won't get any better in the future.
Any air that touches your food will destroy it, so you must prevent air from contacting the catch by vacuum-sealing it, glazing it or wrapping it tightly. If you catch a lot or buy lots of fresh fish from the market, buy a vacuum sealer.
If you choose not to do so, you can glaze the food by dipping them in cold water and putting them on a sheet pan in the freezer. Let that water freeze, then repeat the process several more times to get a quarter-inch thick ice glaze on the animal.
You can then put your glazed food into a plastic bag for storage. You can wrap your catch in plastic wrap, and then put them into a plastic bag, but it is not recommend for more than a few days.
It just is not as effective at preventing moisture loss and freezer burn as the other methods. Remember that the weather in a freezer is just fine for many fish.
Never freeze a catch longer than 6 months; after that you will notice a serious decline in quality. Fatty fish, such as salmon or trout, should not be frozen longer than 3 months.
The bluefish, herring, mackerel and sardines should never be frozen. You can glaze them, but they still decline in quality a lot.
If you find yourself with a surfeit of bluefish vacuum-seal them and know that you will probably be making fish cakes with them down the road.
When you thaw your frozen catch, do it gradually. Never put them in the microwave to thaw.
Let them thaw in the fridge or in cold water. Thawing at room temperature is also a bad idea.
Author Resource:-
Tom Selwick has worked the past 21 years in the food storage industry. He suggests buyingfood storage from a quality company so you know your food will last.
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