Not really a recipe but more on fish prep. Interested to hear what others do.

Last year, I made the mistake of filleting and freezing my salmon on the same day that I caught them. I learned later that the flavor of the fish improves (how can it improve from day 1!? I thought) with aging for 24-72 hours or more. With my recent catch, I put it to the test.

On the day that I caught it, I bled it well on the water. At home I took out the guts and gills and cleaned out the bloodline. I scaled it. Then got 60 pounds of ice in a big cooler and buried the fish in there. I put a layer of 20lbs of ice in first. Then put the fish in and the rest on top. The cooler was tilted so that water can drain, but the fish was suspended in the ice, if that makes sense. The fish was on ice that way until the afternoon the following day, about 30 hours post-mortem. At no time did I want the fish in water, just ice cold.

I then filleted the fish and vacuum sealed my fillets, saving one for dinner that night. Poki and sashimi. Yes, I know the FDA guidelines around parasites and the required temps and time. Salmon is the only fish I eat this way. It was delicious.

I put the vacuum packed fillets in the fridge overnight. According to the meat industry, vacuum sealing does not impact or reduce the enzymatic reactions necessary for the meat to tenderize and give rise to umami. I figure the same would be for fish. In fact, it’s the oxidization and aerobic bacteria that spoils fish and you can keep fish vacuum sealed for up to a week refrigerated, compared to just a few days without vacuum sealing (web reference from a food industry site. I think it’s legit).

On day 2, roughly 55 hours post mortem, I opened one of the vacuum sealed bags for dinner.  Nigiri, maki, hand rolls, seared salmon belly, and air fried salmon skin. It’s not Nobu but it keeps the family happy. The difference was very noticeable! Texture, oiliness, umami, all were improved from the night before.

I then took all the refrigerated packs and put them in the -20.  Not that I’m worried about it, but they will meet fda guidelines the next time we eat it (after a week or more).  The goal is for when those packs are defrosted, they have the same bust of flavor and texture as the 55 hours old fish. I hope they do!!

Curious to know what others do w their fish. For the halibut, I am aging it 3 full days. I did the same thing, vacuum sealed in the fridge on the day after catching.