That frozen fish smell...

Hey Guys,

Now matter how I freeze my lingcod, rockfish, and halibut...there's always that off smell it produces.  You know, that smell of ....well..... previously frozen fish  .  Is there anyway around that?  I've tried freezing fish fillets in solid ice, freezing whole fish, vacuum sealing, etc.  Looking forward to some good advice on this matter.  Thanks.

-Eric

Eat it fresh & don't freeze it 

I know I know... 

Good question. Hopefully there's a good answer because it'd earn me some WAF for sure!

How are you defrosting it?  I have best results by wrapping in paper towel and defrosting all day in the fridge. A fast defrost or defrosting in its own juices adds to the fishy smell.

Also, try the lemon-glaze technique ... http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/fish.html

-Allen

Loletaeric posted before about defrosting it in milk and since reading that I've tried it many times and can say it works well with getting the fishy smell off. Using a foodsaver will help a lot too

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ice asap once the fish is caught. if you are using storebought or tap ice try not to let it touch the fish directly (unless the water came from a well). The chlorine in municipal water starts to cook the fish right away.

I don't like freezing fish, but I do anyway. I try to consume it within a month. Some fish holds up better to freezing. rockfish does not hold up well IMHO.

Maybe try soaking it in a pan of milk? This can pull out fluids from the fish and is often recommended for things like shark that might have residual blood/urea in the meat.

Irince my fish after deboning the filets and pat dry before vac sealing.
Then defrost in cool water.
I kinda think the point of fish is fish, so I havent ever thought about it.  Its kind of like asking to get rid of that beef smell on a steak 
2c

I'll give all these tips a try.  The milk soak sounds like that's nice little trick.

Fresh fish doesn't have this smell at all.  Something about the freeze/thaw that causes this "off" odor to come about.  It's definitely worse in older frozen fish or poorly frozen fish.  Not a fan but I hope these methods help remedy it.  Thanks.

Good thread.  I've never had a problem with the "fish" smell of thawed fish (though I do notice it sometimes), but these tips could come in handy for when I'm cooking previously frozen fish for guests who are averse to the smell.  Thanks everyone!

I don't really find it in all species and I always felt rockfish, halibut, and lingcod were the worst offenders. 

Salmon, trout, WSB, MFE, perch, and striper all defrosted fine in my experience. 

I don't really find it in all species and I always felt rockfish, halibut, and lingcod were the worst offenders. 

Salmon, trout, WSB, MFE, perch, and striper all defrosted fine in my experience.

I agree.  Lingcod is probably the worst IMO.  Surprising, given that it's such a lean fish.

A couple things I've found, mostly already mentioned,  a whole milk soak, and rinsing before freezing,  I mean allot of rinsing til it seems you've washed the flavor right out to the fish, seems to make a difference.

If you have to do a milk soak after defrosting, then the damage is already done.

Try the lemon wash.  Here's more info on what causes the fishy smell.

http://www.nutrition.org/asn-blog/2011/08/is-fish-smelly/

-Allen

Very cool read.  Thanks for the link.