Posted on August 23 2021
If you’re a fan of fresh fish, you may be in for a pleasant surprise. Previously frozen fish doesn’t have to be tough and tasteless. If you freeze your fish properly using a glaze-seal technique, the meat will retain its delicate texture and flavor after its thawed. Your friends and family will never even know it was frozen!
Prepare your fish as you normally would by skinning it and removing its head and tail. Filleting the fish is optional. Place the fish in a shallow container, and place the container uncovered into the freezer. Allow the fish time to freeze solid. This time frame will vary depending on the size of the fish, but most fish are well frozen after approximately an hour.
After the fish is frozen, remove it from the freezer and prepare a bowl of ice water. Dip the fish into the ice water. Saturate it completely for two to three seconds before removing it from the bowl and returning it to the shallow container. Place the fish back into the freezer for five to ten minutes. You don’t want to leave the fish in your freezer for very long. The goal is merely to coat the already frozen fish with an ice glaze and “glaze-seal” it.
Remove the fish from the freezer once an ice glaze forms. Submerge the fish in the ice water again and place it back into the freezer for another five to ten minutes. Once the fish is removed from the freezer a third time, the ice glaze should be thick enough to lock in the fish’s natural oils and flavors. You may then place the fish into a vacuum seal bag or airtight container, and return it to the freezer until you are ready to prepare it. You can glaze-seal multiple fish at once by using a larger container or cookie sheet covered with wax paper.
For those who don’t have a vacuum sealer handy, glaze-sealing offers the advantage of not only preserving flavor but protecting the fish as well. Fish is particularly susceptible to freezer burn, even under the best conditions. A fish that is glaze-sealed, however, is protected from the freezing air that can damage its tender flesh and rob it of that fresh taste you love so much. Although glaze-sealing can be time consuming, its a small price to pay to keep your fresh catch tasty until you’re ready to make it into a meal.
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