Smoked Salmon Frig or Freezer

Smoked some salmon and just vacuum sealed some. Should I keep in the frig or freezer?

Have stuck it in the freezer before but not sure if it really matters.

It normally gets eaten pretty fast but there's usually some left over.

Thanks for your input.

Vacuum packed smoked fish will still be good to eat after a year if it is frozen.  The same vacuum packed smoked fish will only last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. So freeze your smoked fish, and defrost a package when you are ready to eat it.

Belly.


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Vacuum packed smoked fish will still be good to eat after a year if it is frozen.  The same vacuum packed smoked fish will only last a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. So freeze your smoked fish, and defrost a package when you are ready to eat it.

Yeah that's what I normally do. Just wanted to see if anyone did it differently.
Thanks

Belly.
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There's only so much you can eat 

I do the same as Pete. I always vacuum seal my smoked salmon in roughly 1 week portions and freeze it. Smoked salmon has a pretty low water content, so it thaws really quickly. Just plop a frozen vacuum baggy in a bowl of cold water and it’ll thaw in a matter of minutes, then store whatever you don’t eat right then and there in the fridge for up to a week or so. (Probably up to a few weeks is fine, but it never lasts that long once it hits the fridge).

I've been freezing smoked salmon in vacuum packs and it comes out great. I've even thawed fresh-frozen salmon, smoked it, and then froze it, and it comes out great! Smoked salmon seems very forgiving when it comes to freezing. Smoking it is the hard part!

Oooh oooh. That looks mighty tasty.  Me wants a smoker and a vacuum sealer.   

You guys look like you've been doing this vacuum sealing thing for a while.

Don't mean to threadjack but kind of vacuum sealer do you recommend?

You guys look like you've been doing this vacuum sealing thing for a while.

Don't mean to threadjack but kind of vacuum sealer do you recommend?

There are two kinds of vacuum sealers: (1) suction vacuum sealers, where you clamp the open end of a vacuum sealer bag between two gaskets, and the sealer sucks air out of the bag, and then seals the end of the bag.  In a suction sealer, the main portion of the bag and its contents are outside of the vacuum sealer machine.  (2) Chamber vacuum sealers, where you put the entire bag and its contents in a vacuum chamber with the open end of the bag lying on a sealing element, close the lid of the chamber, suck air out of the chamber, seal the open end of the bag, and then let air back into the chamber.  When you let air back into the chamber, because there is very little air in the sealed bag, the air pressure squeezes the bag against its contents.

Chamber vacuum sealers produce a better vacuum than suction sealers.  You can seal bags containing liquid in a chamber sealer; if you seal a bag containing much liquid in a suction sealer, the vacuum sealer will suck liquid out of the bag, which can cause problems for the machine, and may interfere with heat sealing the bag.  Chamber sealer bags are somewhat less expensive than suction sealer bags, because chamber sealer bags can be smooth on both sides, but suction sealer bags need texture on one side so air can be sucked out of the bag even when the sides of the bag are squeezed together by the machine's gaskets.  Chamber sealers usually use pre-made bags, but suction sealers can use rolls, which offer a lot of flexibility about the size of the bag which you seal.  Chamber vacuum sealers are typically high quality machines which are way more expensive than suction vacuum sealers.  Chamber vacuum sealers will be much larger, heavier, and harder to move and store than suction vacuum sealers. Suction vacuum sealers can be pretty inexpensive, but they tend to poop out after a couple of years.

Because of the expense, size, and weight of chamber vacuum sealers, for your first vacuum sealer, I recommend that you buy a suction sealer.  You can find adequate suction sealers at Walmart and other big box stores.

I will make a prediction:  You will love having a vacuum sealer.  It's a great way to freeze meat, fish, and many other food items.  So rather than buying the cheapest vacuum sealer you can find, I suggest that you get a medium priced or better suction sealer.  It's an excellent investment, and a mid-priced sealer will work better and last longer than an inexpensive bottom-of-the-line sealer.

After you have gone through one or more suction vacuum sealers, you are fully convinced of the value of vacuum packing your fish and other food, you are doing a lot of vacuum sealing, and you are tired of blowing money on vacuum sealers which crap out after a couple of years, you can consider getting a chamber style vacuum packer.  They are monsters to store and move around, but they work really well.

Here's a couple pictures of vacuum sealed fish.  You can see that the fish sealed in the smooth bags by a chamber sealer has less air in it than the fish sealed in the textured bags by a suction sealer.

You guys look like you've been doing this vacuum sealing thing for a while.

Don't mean to threadjack but kind of vacuum sealer do you recommend?

There are two kinds of vacuum sealers: (1) suction vacuum sealers, where you clamp the open end of a vacuum sealer bag between two gaskets, and the sealer sucks air out of the bag, and then seals the end of the bag.  In a suction sealer, the main portion of the bag and its contents are outside of the vacuum sealer machine.  (2) Chamber vacuum sealers, where you put the entire bag and its contents in a vacuum chamber with the open end of the bag lying on a sealing element, close the lid of the chamber, suck air out of the chamber, seal the open end of the bag, and then let air back into the chamber.  When you let air back into the chamber, because there is very little air in the sealed bag, the air pressure squeezes the bag against its contents.

Chamber vacuum sealers produce a better vacuum than suction sealers.  You can seal bags containing liquid in a chamber sealer; if you seal a bag containing much liquid in a suction sealer, the vacuum sealer will suck liquid out of the bag, which can cause problems for the machine, and may interfere with heat sealing the bag.  Chamber sealer bags are somewhat less expensive than suction sealer bags, because chamber sealer bags can be smooth on both sides, but suction sealer bags need texture on one side so air can be sucked out of the bag even when the sides of the bag are squeezed together by the machine's gaskets.  Chamber sealers usually use pre-made bags, but suction sealers can use rolls, which offer a lot of flexibility about the size of the bag which you seal.  Chamber vacuum sealers are typically high quality machines which are way more expensive than suction vacuum sealers.  Chamber vacuum sealers will be much larger, heavier, and harder to move and store than suction vacuum sealers. Suction vacuum sealers can be pretty inexpensive, but they tend to poop out after a couple of years.

Because of the expense, size, and weight of chamber vacuum sealers, for your first vacuum sealer, I recommend that you buy a suction sealer.  You can find adequate suction sealers at Walmart and other big box stores.

I will make a prediction:  You will love having a vacuum sealer.  It's a great way to freeze meat, fish, and many other food items.  So rather than buying the cheapest vacuum sealer you can find, I suggest that you get a medium priced or better suction sealer.  It's an excellent investment, and a mid-priced sealer will work better and last longer than an inexpensive bottom-of-the-line sealer.

After you have gone through one or more suction vacuum sealers, you are fully convinced of the value of vacuum packing your fish and other food, you are doing a lot of vacuum sealing, and you are tired of blowing money on vacuum sealers which crap out after a couple of years, you can consider getting a chamber style vacuum packer.  They are monsters to store and move around, but they work really well.

Here's a couple pictures of vacuum sealed fish.  You can see that the fish sealed in the smooth bags by a chamber sealer has less air in it than the fish sealed in the textured bags by a suction sealer.

Wow! That's an awesome explanation on the two types of sealers. I actually have an Amazon bought Geryon vacuum sealer with the gaskets...and well...it sucks like shit. Half the time, I think it's broken because I don't see the air coming out fast enough. Although it's small and portable.

Add me to the freezer group.  Works great.

PMMPete,  great explanation of the different styles.

Another reminder,  for those of you with the suction types,  dont forget to open them up and clean them.  if you are losing suction, this could be the culprit.