Texas Fishing Forum

Freezing striper on the half shell??

Posted By: rkd

Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/09/21 02:41 PM

Is it ok to freeze a bunch of striper filets with skin/scales left on one side? (on the half shell) Caught a bunch on Texoma yesterday and kept a few filets with the skin left on. Thoroughly cleaned the scale side as well as the flesh side and froze them in a bag of water. Will the scales end up making the meat taste too fishy??
Posted By: PKfishin

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/09/21 03:30 PM

Why would you clean a striper like that? If you leave that red meat in that fillet, it will be very fishy.
Posted By: captaincam3

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/09/21 04:29 PM

Originally Posted by PKfishin
Why would you clean a striper like that? If you leave that red meat in that fillet, it will be very fishy.



Many people clean and eat their stripers this way, particularly for grilling. Half shell not recommended for freezing if not vacuum sealed. Although, a lot of butter, Tony's, lemon and guests with a belly of beer will solve the added taint of the half shell freeze.
Posted By: Valsus

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/09/21 05:00 PM

I find that on stripers any blood line becomes highly fishy once frozen even when vacuum sealed. If I freeze, I fully cut out any blood line. However, I usually grill. Perhaps it’s not an issue of deep fried or pan fried with lots of add one.
Posted By: Osbornfishing

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/09/21 05:01 PM

You can freeze it that way. The skin will not effect the taste as much as leaving the red meat in the fillet. I like my fish mild so all the red meat comes off of my fish. I have friends that gut them, scale them, throw them in the freezer, thaw them out, then cook them with the head on. They say that is the only way to get the true taste of the fish and not waste any meat. thumb
Posted By: fmclee

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/09/21 05:54 PM

If you bake or grill like this, The red meat stays with the skin.... The white meat flakes right off of it all ....
Posted By: rkd

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/09/21 06:29 PM

Thanks for the feedback. I know about taking out the red meat. Did the best I could on removing the red meat (that was visible) and ribs before freezing. Don't have a vacuum pack so hopefully the frozen water will help minimize air pockets. Will probably blacken and grill them within the next 7-10 days. Will report back. Just to be safe I did "traditional" filet the remaining fish so I'll have backup just in case the frozen half shells end up too fishy.
Posted By: iluvfishin

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/09/21 07:27 PM

I recommend bleeding out the fish right away once caught. You'll have less of a blood line to worry about.
Posted By: DU SOUTH5

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/10/21 02:29 AM

I vac seal striper on the half shell all the time. Excellent for the grill. The red meat will flake right off and does not affect the flavor of the meat. Now,.....I wouldn’t eat the cooked red meat 🤣🤣but the remainder is awesome. Limit the fish to 6 months or less frozen.
Posted By: G Love

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/10/21 01:28 PM

When I keep filets on the half shell, try to vacuum, If not, I'll try not to freeze them for too long. I freeze them two per bag. When I'm not feeding a bunch of people, this is how I prefer them. I don't worry about the red meat, and it's not very far from the flavor caliber of Redfish, this way. At least when I do it. But I'm also a pretty good cook. haha
Posted By: GoT2BeFishin

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/11/21 01:39 PM

Suggest zip-lock bag, add water and freeze, the water helps to prevent your fillets from getting freezer burn if you can't vacuum seal
Posted By: Osbornfishing

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/11/21 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by rkd
Thanks for the feedback. I know about taking out the red meat. Did the best I could on removing the red meat (that was visible) and ribs before freezing. Don't have a vacuum pack so hopefully the frozen water will help minimize air pockets. Will probably blacken and grill them within the next 7-10 days. Will report back. Just to be safe I did "traditional" filet the remaining fish so I'll have backup just in case the frozen half shells end up too fishy.


Just for an experiment, cook some on the half shell and traditional at the same time and see if you can tell a difference in the taste. thumb
Posted By: RiverRoad

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/17/21 02:05 AM

Half Shell……Striper, Hybrid, or Red Fish is all special. My preferred way to eat any of these fish.

Vacuum seal is a must if not eating fresh (don’t quick thaw……overnight in fridge and it is like you just caught em).
Posted By: rkd

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/17/21 12:56 PM

As a quick update I am grilling the half shell tonight. Saving the regular filets for a fish fry this weekend. Will let you know how they taste. And not doing the quick thaw......I froze them in water so it's taking a bit to thaw in fridge.
Posted By: SeaPro-Todd

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/17/21 01:50 PM

Originally Posted by fmclee
If you bake or grill like this, The red meat stays with the skin.... The white meat flakes right off of it all ....

+1 been doing that forever. Wife is a chef. She cleans and cooks for me boys woot
Posted By: rkd

Re: Freezing striper on the half shell?? - 08/18/21 03:19 PM

Quick update on freezing half shell experiment....thawed filets in the fridge then about half way through the day I drained the water out of bag (I had frozen the filets in water) to minimize any fishy taste. Set filets out about 30 minutes prior to cooking and patted dry with a paper towel. Rubbed each filet with melted butter then covered in Tony Cachere's Cajun Seasoning and let them "marinate" while the grill heated up. Grill at 400 degrees, scale side down, till meat flaked easily with a fork. Probably took 10 minutes cooking time as these were small filets. I did not flip them. End result-they tasted GREAT. No fishy taste from the red meat or from being frozen all in the same bag. Even my overly picky kids thought they tasted great.
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