As far as smoked frozen fish goes, I've found that the fish turns out good if immediately removed from the plastic while frozen and allowed to dry overnight in the fridge, then allowed to reach room temp before devouring. Otherwise it seems to turn out too wet. Just a tip I learned through trial and error.

You need to know what type of freezer you have. Auto defrost freezers are not friendly for frozen fish. Manual defrost freezers allow your frozen items to last much longer. I see a variation in the replies here......perhaps this is the reason.

I've taken some of my last summers catch and cooked the salmon in the microwave or oven, then chilled and flaked it, re-packaged and re-froze it for use in making salmon paddies, salmon & creme cheese dip, flaked salmon with pasta. That and smoking seem to be useful ways to use older vacuum packed salmon.

It isn't the equal to fresh frozen, but it provides some pretty good meals.

If Vedder would share one of his CR upriver brights with me, there would be no danger of it even making it to the freezer.

He did it once, before he had the chance to put the other half on the Barbie, since then I've been out of luck on those CR fish handouts.

That fits with experience that just about anytime the flesh is exposed, it starts to deteriorate.

And, yes, we are talking fish here.

i've noticed something here. nobodys complaining about the bag somehow losing the airtight seal. i've tried every tip preventing this. i'm done with the food saver system for fish.

I've found a year max on a well sealed bag. After 6 months I smoke it. Taking off the skin will help. I wipe down my fish with paper towels now and have stopped rinsing off my fillets before I seal. Canning is also a good option. It's better than store bought tuna any day! One more...I don't use a frostless freezer for ANY of my fish. That slight thaw and re-freeze is brutal on quality.

Brewer is right on. A high quality sealer is more important than my tackle.

Wilsoncj6,

It depends how low your standards are. If you're a fish snob, flash frozen and vacuum packed is good to 6 months and can be as good as fresh if your freezer is cold enough, like sub-zero. Regular vacuum packed and frozen is almost good for 2 months. However, if your standards are about like a dog's, then frozen fish lasts a long time.

I don't have access to a flash freezer, so I'm firing up my BBQ every night until the spring chinook is gone so as to avoid freezing it and compromising the quality.

Sg

Sounds like someone caught a springer or two recently.....?

I ate some "08" butt the other night and it was good and moist.That being said anything the was well taken care of and the seal not broken should last up to a year.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

I have the same problem with food saver, the bones poke through the bag and only 2/3rds of the packages seal.

Thanks all! I threw it frozen on some tin foil and put it in the oven at 350 and it turned out great. I should add that I'm not super picky, but I think I did a good job! I'm just glad I didn't mention it was pink salmon!

Brett

Digging up this old thread from 2010....

Been a little disappointed in the quality of vacuum packed salmon fillets after a bit, and thinking of trying the method a couple folks mentioned here (basically freezing whole gutted fish).

For those who use this technique, what do you wrap the fish in?

A few years ago I started wrapping fish in butcher paper first, write the particulars right on the paper, and then vacuum sealing it. Besides keeping the sealer clean and dry, it makes a defrosted product that's easily twice as good as vacuum sealing alone...and no bones poke thru the bag, and zero freezer burn.

Fish on...

Todd

Even frozen the fats in salmon will slowly go rancid.

That's true, Same with pork. Why you seldom see frozen pork. Learned that the hard way when I raised pigs. Several unsmoked hams hadda be tossed. IMHO no matter how you freeze that fat slowly goes rancid.

I have been using Food Savers for 30 years. Been happy with the results but salmon does start to turn after a few months. Beef seems to last much longer. Never a problem with broken seals or punctured bags. Just be carful about what you put in. The place I fish in SE-AK vacuum packs and freezes your fish every day. The bags are much heavier than the food saver ones. We had a chunk of halibut tonight that was caught in 2014. Was still pretty good. I don't normally let it sit around that long. Salmon hits the smoker after just a few months.