Frozen fish

Hello out there,

Just eat the last fish I had in my freezer. That was a funny looking ling cod, I said funny because did not look too good but I eat it anyways I caught this guy last year, on my last trip to the Gran Sur, so that fish was sitting there waiting to for me to eat it:smt001 for a about 4 to 5 months in the freezer and did not tasted so good like I tough it was going to be. I made Ceviche with it and I usually make gooood ceviche, I'm a cevichologist , so I know my stuff but this time just did not tested right, I'm wondering if Ling Cod is just not good for this type of food or just was to them old after the first tostada I put it back in the refrigerator to let all the juices fuse together while I drink a couple coronitas than was OK but not even close to the taste of fresh fish ceviche. so what did I learn ? no more freezing fish for a long time.

How long do you keep the fish in the freezer ? does anybody have ling cod ceviche before? was it good ?

Kayakito I make ceviche with lings all the time but fresh is the best! I took some frozen vac packed fillets out last week to make some ceviche for my niece but when it defrosted I decided to cook it instead. The texture of the frozen made me , change my mind. It probably would have been fine there was no freezer burn or funky smell, and it came out great grilled in a foil pouch w/sliced onion, a sprinkle of herbs and a couple pats of butter.

Have you ever tried adding some orange juice after cooking it with the lime/lemon juice?

Kayakito I make ceviche with lings all the time but fresh is the best! I took some frozen vac packed fillets out last week to make some ceviche for my niece but when it defrosted I decided to cook it instead. The texture of the frozen made me , change my mind. It probably would have been fine there was no freezer burn or funky smell, and it came out great grilled in a foil pouch w/sliced onion, a sprinkle of herbs and a couple pats of butter.

Have you ever tried adding some orange juice after cooking it with the lime/lemon juice?

I was thinking to buy a food vacuum sealer for the same reason. I usually eat my fish right away but in my last two fishing trips i did really good so i had plenty fish for a long time witch is good, but fresh fish is the ticket for a good ceviche. I never have try orange on it. I will try that with chile habanero next time.

Mr. Cevichologist could you please post a recipe so the rest of us can enjoy some ceviche.   

I've been vacuum sealing all my fish for a little more than a year now (17months), and i have to say, it is awesome. Some fish come out of the freezer good as new. rockcod seems to seal and freeze really well, salmon ok, halibut pretty darn good...

nothing of course compares to fresh, but if ya have to freeze it, vacuum is the way to go

Ramon,

Please DO post a recipe or two!

ChuckE served Cabezone cheviche at Del Valle that was KILLER...  and it had to have been as old as your ling, I'm guessing...  but he won't share his recipe...

vaccuum sealers are great.  They allow you to freeze fish for a long time without freezer burn.  About a month to go amigo, then we dont need to worry about frozen fish!

Eugene

Thats happened to me and I hate wasting fish, sometimes it just doesnt last, but heres my method and it works great. First a ling has a lot of blood so I cut the gills in a few spots when I catch and put it straight into the cooler I bring out with me. I dont even bonk it, they bleed out painlessly and completely when you dont , when you bonk it, I think their pump system is affected, when I clean it onshore, I dont rinse the fillets off either, water will f*ck it up, soaks it up like a sponge, so I just wipe it off, bag them in the truck cooler and freeze them overnight when I get home, not touching, wax paper in between works good. Also overnight I put a big pitcher of water in the fridge, the next day put on some rubber gloves, this is some cold ass sh*t, lay the fillets out over the sink on a rack and brush the cold water on, or pour the water in a suitable container and dip them, wait a minute do it again and repeat for at least half a dozen times. This is called glazing, you can put some of these in the same bag together now and they wont stick to each other and last a pretty long time-1-2 mnths, and for the fillets that are going to be eaten in a long time from now, 6 mnth and over, vacumepack after glazing. A quick rinse just before cooking and pig out! Abs are easier, clean them and put them in a half gallon milk container and fill it full of water an freeze the whole thing.
Im hungry for fresh taco.

ChuckE served Cabezone cheviche at Del Valle that was KILLER..

AMEN 

Fuzz made some out of white sea bass (which he speared) and it was da bom 

Wow Ben, good knowledge! Thanks for posting that. Hopefully I'll refer back to this post in about, oh, 31 days.

And I completely agree about bleeding before bonking. A dead fish's heart pumps no blood...and therefore is unable to remove the blood from the flesh.

Would smoking help a freezer burned fish become edible once again?  Or would soup be a better way to go? 

Got my vacuum packer at the end of last season, but still had some fish in the back of the freezer that was in baggies and forgotten...

Thanks guys for all that info but I still think fresh fish is the right way, specially now that cod season is around the corner so freezing fish is just not for me and besides that if I want fresh fish I just have to go and get it witch is just fine with me
 
Any ways, lets talk about Ceviche. I have made ceviche with just about every meet. ( no poultry ) My personal favor one is Crab Ceviche, than shrimp, fish, clam and beef, yes BEEF ( back home people call it carne apache " apache meet " same as ceviche ) Ceviche can be made in a few different ways depending what vegetables you like to cook it with. Mexican Ceviche looks more like a salad. Peruvian ceviche uses only onions, cilantro, and avanero and served with sweet potato and a piece of corn called choclo. Really, really good. I don't know exactly how they prepare it but is just about the same idea. I eat it at this Peruvian restaurant in San Leandro ( Luisa's place ).

My Ceviche:

One pound  of fresh fish.
Lime Juice ( I prefer small mexican limes )
Half red onion
Tomato
Cilantro
Chile serrano and chile abanero ( Be careful with the abanero is HOT )
Fresh small pickle or cucumber ( I like pickles )
One avocado
Salt and black pepper
Six pack of your favor beer 

1) Cut the meet in small chunks ( pinkie nail size ) place them in a glass bowl.

2) Squeeze the lime juice on the meet ( do not squeeze so hard to avoid lime    skin juice, that makes it taste funny )

3) Add salt and just sprinkle it with black pepper.

4) Mix it all up, put it in the refrigerator and the same time grab a beer and start drinking

5) Cut the onion, tomato, pickle, cilantro and peppers if don't like it to hot just use half of a serrano for flavor. By the time you finish the should look white ( cooked ) add all the veggies to the meet, mix it up and open an other beer.
by the time you drink your second beer that should be ready.

6) Serve it on tostadas with a few slices of avocado on top or just cut the avocado on half and slice it on little pieces, scoop it out with spoon mix it all together and eat it with corn chips or salted crackers like a dip and an other beer.

Salud Copadre. Con todo respeto excuse my english senores. enjoy.

Man that sounds good, cant wait to try that. Last year at Reef campground, Bloodbath made some out of ab, sheepshead and ling, like 5 lbs of it, and brought it over to our camp and it was like feeding time at the alligator farm, I dont think anyone lost any fingers, but Im sure it was close. And Chucks at Del Valle, Mmmmmm.
Oh, and freezer burned fish does not resurrect unfortunately, the best thing is to use it for crab bait, although it might work as jerky, but I doubt it. Fresh is best.

Awesome...  I am salivating...

Thanks, Ramon!!!

Ben, those two times you mention are my only exposure to ceviche, and I am hooked for life.