Fish prep

We had a subject that rec'd a ton of respnses about cleaning fish just a little time ago. Now, how about freezing tips from everyone.

I personally, use 1 quart freezer bags with 2 squirts lemon juice, couple dashes salt and enough water to mix it around then freeze.

When taken out, I thaw slowly (24-48 hours before cooking) in fridge, rinse filets with cold water, then dunk in bag with lousiana fish fry batter (catfish on a blue bag) with a dash of pepper then fry!

BTW- Albertsons has that batter buy 1 get 1 free right now. Stock up!

Boy howdy that fried fish sounds good right now! Who needs to wait for lunch.

Hey WW. I find that the Louisiana ff batter is to salty,, I have recently been broiling with a bit of lemon pepper and old bay seasoning, turns out to settle alot better in my belly than fried does

That brings me to another prep for SB.. rinse filets in cool water, lay them out and season with lemon pepper and a dash of black pepper (if you can't tell, black pepper is my fav) and put on the Foreman grill for a minute or until done. NICE!!!!!!!

I take the filets and rinse them off with almost a high pressure type hose, more then the sink, but less then say the carwash and drain them and repeat, you would be amazed at how much fat comes off and how whiter the meat is... A fellow TFF member showed me that and it works.

Now for grilling the fish, he told me the something else. The bigger ones are better, chill the meat and gently filet off most of the redmeat on the back of the filet,, just trimming it. Season and grill on the George Foreman grill, I think it takes about 5 to 6 minutes for them to flake, the whole family likes it here and you do not eat near as many as you do when they are fried.

Think I will have fish tonight now....

milk or butter milk is good to soak fish in also. We soak for 2-3 hours then fry.

My 2 cents:

For freezing, you can't beat a Food Saver. You know, on of those vacuum packers. We have had one for about 3 years now, and it is awesome, Baaaaby! (Sorry, Vitale slam) Seriously, we have had frozen stuff for over a year with no freezer burn or anything. The rolls are the best value, not the premade bags. And we wash the bags and re-use them several times. If you are into outdoor cooking, you can power marinate in the bags too. As you suck the air out, you can actually see the marinate get sucked into the pores of the meat!

I tried some Zatarians Country Style batter last night, way too salty. I will try to make my own next time.

Good Eatin'
Rod

I use the Bradbury technique. Just one of many things he taught me about the 'details' of fishing!

Fillet 'em out. Then get a big pot.

Layer the bottom of the pot with about 5 or 6 layers of paper towels. Then, lay a layer of fillets. Then, on top of the fillets, another layer of paper towels, the on top of the paper towels, another layer of fillets.

Put the pot in the fridge overnight.

The next day, take the fillets out. They are now NICE and FLAT. Insert them in vacuum bags and seal them with a Food Saver!

The vacuum packed fish are good for 2 years without freezer burn.

When you let them thaw at room temp, they are juicy and just waiting for some flour/corn meal mix!!

Rockin Rod:

Where did you get the Food Saver & what was the cost?

Chaser

Like Steve, I take the time to remove most of the darker meat on the back side of the fillets. If you haven't done this I think you will be amazed at how much this improves the taste. I want to try to do more grilling as you guys seem to be talking about. I do not have a Foreman grill. I have a Weber Gas Grill with the porcelain grills. How can I grill fish without it getting stuck to the grates? The Spray non-stick stuff doesn't help. Any ideas or do I need to get a Forman grill. Any secrets to not tearing up the fillets?

Here is another mouth-watering recipe:

Soak the fillets in Teriyaki sauce for about 30 minutes. Put a little olive oil in the bottom of the skillet with some pepper, and cook 3 minutes on each side...medium heat. The teriyaki sauce makes it taste like candy!!!

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I bought the Food Saver 550 at Academy for $109.00.

It works great!!!

I have had a food saver for years and the only thing I have had a problem with is freezing dove on the bone, so I filet them off when I want. This way they are already fileted..Here comes a recipe, modified at that.

Take one filet, put a thin slice of cream cheese on it, then a jalapeno pepper on it and then the other filet, wrap that in bacon and secure with a moist tooth pick(i let mine sit in water for a couple hours) then load up one of those grillng baskets for fish with these little poppers and cook and flip them over. great little snacks.

Ok, Doyle Holman who is a memeber here and one of my dear friends, taught me the high pressure rinse, the filet off the red meat when chilled and the george forman thing, but the best tip he gave me was layering the fish in a pan with paper towels and refrigerate them. I had been using cooking sheets and putting them in the freezer to dry off the water for about 30 minutes.. Now i can do it all at once.

Now I have never power marinated something in the bags, might have to know that i see somebody does it, but how do you get the vaccuum pack to not suck out all the juice? Just not add much to it?

Fellows I am too lazy to wash the bags, but I may start if you guys are doing it. I do buy the rolls and cut my own bags.

Would sure like some input on the grilling but not sticking question. I looked in the prep area and saw posts about leaving the skin and scales on one side. Is that the only way? How do you guys grill if filleted completely? Please help. My wife won't eat fried so I almost never keep fish anymore. Would like to grill some fillets. How about some tips?

Thanks,

deon

Ok, I think I can help with is the gas grilling. I grill fish all the time on my gas grill. The easiest way to do it is to double up some foil and put it on the grates. I usually bend the edges to wrap around the grates to prevent slipping. All you have to do is spray with Pam before you put your fish on. Gives you that grilling flavor without losing your fish between the grates.

Now for the seasoning, I like to make a garlic butter, 6 tsp of butter (about 2/3 a stick) and 2 tbsp of garlic powder (1 whole clove) and 2 squeezed limes (just double all amounts for more). I then baste the fillets, season with Chef Paul's Seafood Magic on both sides. Before grilling spray with Pam to prevent sticking. Grill on Med flame for 7 minutes per side, basting at 2 min per side. WOW, it's great!!! Just had it last night with some fresh Red Snapper. Can't beat it.

cgstrange

[This message has been edited by cgstrange (edited 08-27-2003).]

deon,

Try leaving the skin and scales on some of your next catch. That is the easiest way to grill. I wash the whole fish real good before filleting. Usually have to use sizzors to cut skin off where rib cage came off because electric fillet knife doesn't cut skin too well.

I mariande over night with whatever flavor I want and grill for about 3 hrs at low heat with the skin side down. Around 200 degrees. The skin and scales keep the fish from burning. Don't turn them over. This is more like smoked fish than grilled.

Be sure to use Pam or the one I like is "Bakers Choice" spray on the grate to keep from sticking to the grate.

Serve with the skin still on an eat with a fork which allows you to eat around the red meat if you don't want it.

Bud

Chaser and Steve:

Here is a link at Target: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/sr=...asin=B00004Y2RN

Usually in the store you can get several freebies with it (bags, canisters, etc). Or watch the sale ads. Almost everybody has it now. Don't buy it off TV or you will pay more. That is where I bought mine, but like I said it has been 3 or 4 years.

Steve, what I do is hang the bag over the edge of the counter when doing marinate, it will usually stop most of the liquid from being sucked over the edge and into the machine. Sometimes it takes more than one try, but the results are worth it. I also just bought a Square Cannister for the Food Saver recently. It is about 12' by 12". I used it for a 2.5# pork loin last weekend, then smoked it, and it was soooo tender you didn't need a knife. I would say the cannister is better for marinating.

We always buy meat in family packs and vacuum it. It saves tons of money. We have also done veggies from the garden. They get kind of mushy from freezing, but they are great in recepies.

All in all, one of the best investments I have ever made. And my model is so old it isn't even listed on the companies web site any more!

Good Eatin'
Rod

bought the 820 food saver at walmart 129.00 bout 2 weeks ago. think its the newer model than the 550 improved vaccum.

Dooh, too many thoughts in my liitle head!

Steve, we turn them inside out and shape them like a newspaper hat (knowwhadImean?) and shove 'em in the dishwasher. Or just turn them inside out and hand wash. If they can handle freezer to microwave, they can handle being washed.

deon & cj....you can buy a fish basket at BPS for a few bucks. Mine has about 3/8" mesh and the back side of it has three differnet notches so it will hold filets of varying thickness. And the handle has a wire clamp on it so you can't screw up. I mainly use mine when camping, but it is made for grilling. Just put a some olive oil on a paper towel and wipe down the mesh, it won't stick. And olive oil is good for your ticker.

Ok, back to the Simpsons.

Rod

Got my food saver from the manufacturer.Here is the site,there is more variety than the store has to offer as far as price and sizes. http://tilia.com/index.cfm

Ok guys; My contribution, you can all thank me later.
Foodsaver : Think Ebay, reconditioned, about $50.
Fish batter, Long John Silver style : McCormick GoldenDipt, Fish and Chips style from Albertsons : ) $2.00
Seasoning; Tony Chacheres Cajun Seasoning
$2.00
Great tasting fish , Priceless