First thing first, whenever you buy a fresh whole fish, fish fillet or frozen fish fillet, make sure you keep them at cold space such as ice box, white foam box or any insulated bag/box to ensure they don’t deteriorate in warm/room temperature along the way back home. It’s even better if you have ice within the ice box to keep cool! When you get home, just follow these steps to store your fish for a long time and defrost when you need them !
1. Remove Waste
Whenever you bought a fresh whole fish, make sure to ask the fish monger to remove the fish scales, gills, and stomach are removed. Why? because these parts will leave you a strong and unpleasant fishy odor that can spoil the flavor of fish meat. Secondly, the fish monger is likely to be more professional !
2. Rinse it
Rinse the fish with cold water to wash away any leftover blood stain, scales or any waste, and gently dry it with towel/paper towel.
3. Store into Freezer bag
Use Freezer bag to store the fish is the best. Alternatively you can go for plastic wrap, aluminum foil or food storage bag.
4. Vacuum Sealed it
Use air vacuum machine to extract all the air as the air can lead to a loss of flavor and faster spoilage. Don't worry if you don't have one ! we can use this smart method to vacuum pack it! or simply push out as much air as you can.
5. Put into FREEZER !
Put it into the FREEZER ! and done !
Secret Technique:
If you want to store your fish for a very long period, like 3 months or more. Try wrapping them with newspaper that acts as an insulator! You might have seen your parents or your grand parents storing fish, meat, and vegetables using newspaper. This magic definitely works ! Try it !
Lastly
These steps are well known to be able to keep fish fresh for up to 12 months, but to have best taste, it is better to consume it within 3 months. Also, defrost your frozen fish at refrigerator ( fresh zone area ). Never defrost your fish using microwave or leaving it out at room temperature. Here's why…
Thank you !
Hope this article helps you in storing fresh fish!
References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIW_5hrmbWw
https://www.takemefishing.org/how-to-fish/how-to-catch-fish/how-to-store-fish/
https://www.thespruceeats.com/storing-fresh-fish-at-home-1300627
https://www.respectfood.com/article/how-to-store-fish-so-it-stays-fresher-for-longer/
https://www.wikihow.com/Store-Fresh-Fish
https://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1233/fish-handling-safety-and-storage.asp