Freezing Rockfish?

Is it worth it to freeze blacks, blues, reds, gophers..., which hold up well, which don't?

I haven't frozen much rockfish this season, but it seems like the blacks & blues hold up best, and the reds don't.

I vacuum seal all my fish, and the red fillets still seem to get that "off" look to them. They don't go bad, but just don't do the fish justice like when it is same day fresh.

I don't freeze rockfish because there is a significant drop off in quality. WSB holds up the best, salmon second, halibut 3rd, ling 4th rockfish 5th. If you do freeze, how you care for the fish from when the time you catch them to the time they are frozen makes a huge difference. Bleed and gut right away, keep cool and get on ice ASAP.

Don't do it!

LOL!

So much better fresh....invite your friends and family over and celebrate your catch with them!

For any RF under 18-20 inches I also recommend cooking whole instead of fileting...scale and gut while out on the water to minimze mess at home. Fry, BBQ, steam, bake etc whole and serve it up...a whole fish on a platter with some rice and veggies is such an awesome meal and a great way to use the whole fish rather than just the filets.

 

Just my 2 cents of course. Everybody has their own preferences when it comes to food.

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Darn Jim .... you have me drooling at the keyboard at work again.  People here are starting to wonder........   

If you are going ceviche, yes, its worth it 

before Nathan became a spearo, we froze rockfish for the winter months and it was OK but not great.  Never really noticed a big difference in variety quality.  Like Scott said, careful prep, vacuum seal are important.

before Nathan became a spearo, we froze rockfish for the winter months and it was OK but not great.  Never really noticed a big difference in variety quality.  Like Scott said, careful prep, vacuum seal are important.

I freeze/vac seal RF. I haven't noticed a massive drop off. Granted I used frozen RF for ceviche and fish and chips. So perhaps quality decline isn't that noticeable.

The way I freeze it tastes like I just caught it!

First, I try to keep the fish alive as long as possible. Get on ice as soon as you can and filet as soon as you can. Its better to filet fish cold, less blood, which will taint the meat. Also be sure to filet on a clean surface, if you filet at the docks, read no more!

Second, I filet and leave the skin on, take extra precaution not to puncture the stomach cavity, place the flesh of two filets together in a ziplock, skin to the outside to protect from freezer burn. Seal ziploc in a bowl of water to remove air or vacuum seal. Do not rinse filets!  I then place my ziploc'd filets in a brown paper bag and put in a part of the freezer protected from the cold air inlet.

Third, when defrosting, only defrost 3/4 (partially frozen) and filet the skin off as well as any pink or Brown (fish fat), cook to taste., enjoy (3-5 months ideal freeze time).

Important: do not let the fish thaw out completely in the bag, if there is water or fish juice the meat will be ruined. That's why you filet partially frozen.

Molly, who hardly eats fish and is very picky can't tell the difference between frozen and fresh prepped this way, and it tastes exactly the same to me. It may seem like extra work but if you live far from the ocean, dont spear fish and can't make it through the closed season, its worth it!

 

Diroblo, that makes a lot sense.  The part that gets "fishiest" is always facing out and you are essentially leaving the skin on as a shield.  Will have to try it.

Bleed, gut on the water.   At home, pat dry and wipe slime off with paper towel, no water rinsing.  Vaccum seal whole fish.  Fillet it when you're defrosting and ready to eat.

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Here's a relevant passage I had bookmarked:

http://content.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt6m3nb1gn;NAAN=13030&doc.view=frames&chunk.id=d0e329&toc.depth=1&toc.id=d0e320&brand=calisphere

All lots of fillets from the various rockfish were tested prior to freezing and storage and found to differ in appearance, texture, and flavor. Flavor was rated as either good or very good for all species. After having been held in cold storage at 0° F. for varying periods of time, there were striking changes in appearance and flavor of some of the fillets. Pacific ocean perch was judged as having the best cold storage quality and the longest cold storage life (32 weeks). Bocaccio was second best (29 weeks). Vermilion rockfish deteriorated so rapidly that they were considered unsuitable for frozen storage. The remaining species tested had an acceptable cold storage life of 20 to 24 weeks. Atlantic ocean perch fillets were quite similar to those of Pacific ocean perch in appearance, flavor, and texture throughout the storage period. They had an acceptable cold storage life of 29 weeks.

I'm not as careful with the rinsing, stomach juice, blood...etc. as I should be, but I do filet and freeze as quickly as I can.  Soaking in some milk for up to 24 hours while defrosting can do wonders for removing 'fishy' tastes.

I was told by a old timer once that he would only use salt water when cleaning his fish and would add a little in a ziploc bag before freezing his fish. Sounded interesting but I've never done it yet.

All I know is I thawed some vaccuum sealed lingcod the other day, tossed it on the BBQ with some olive oil and of all things Montreal Steak seasoning.
One of the top 3 best fish dishes I ever ate next to my italian seasoned bbq smoked salmon and garlic butter and dill hali.
Guess what's for dinner tonight???? LING BABY!!!!!!