Wife been asking?

[Doug Milliken]

My wife has asked me how long can you leave your filleted walleye or perch in a bowl of water in the fridge,I would like her to vacuum seal it that evening but sometimes she doesnt get to it for a day or two.I guess what Im asking is it better to vacuum seal it right away or do you think it loses any of its firmness or freshness sitting in water for a day or two.I know if I pressure her to much I will be the guy doing it.

 

[longrun]

My wife has asked me how long can you leave your filleted walleye or perch in a bowl of water in the fridge,I would like her to vacuum seal it that evening but sometimes she doesnt get to it for a day or two.I guess what Im asking is it better to vacuum seal it right away or do you think it loses any of its firmness or freshness sitting in water for a day or two.I know if I pressure her to much I will be the guy doing it.

I would not leave them in water. Just drain and put in a bowl with it covered and you can wait up to 4 days but sooner is always better.

 

[Buckwheat]

Clean them well, put them into water in a plastic dish, then freeze it. Then pop the ice block with fish out and vacuum seal it. I find freezing it before vacuum sealing makes sure they seal well. If you vacuum seal it without water it tends to get a fishy taste after a while in the freezer. If your eating it soon then don't worry about the water. Just the way I do it

 

[Thirstystone]

My wife has asked me how long can you leave your filleted walleye or perch in a bowl of water in the fridge,I would like her to vacuum seal it that evening but sometimes she doesnt get to it for a day or two.I guess what Im asking is it better to vacuum seal it right away or do you think it loses any of its firmness or freshness sitting in water for a day or two.I know if I pressure her to much I will be the guy doing it.

Putting or keeping fish in water is the worst thing you can do ...even if they are whole and not filleted.......always keep fish on ice...

 

[zxninja]

I have to agree with the above about freezing in water asap. I've had a bag of fillets that was missed.....dated May 24 2013 and had them a couple months ago. They were frozen in water and were perfect. That being said, when I defrost fish that has been frozen in water, I put them in a large bowl with a strainer so that as the water melts, it can drip away so that the fillets aren't getting water logged.

 

[Derkd9]

Putting or keeping fish in water is the worst thing you can do ...even if they are whole and not filleted.......always keep fish on ice...

Could you please elaborate on this statement.
I'm quite curious why you think it isn't good to clean and fillet the fish and leave the fillets in a bowl of water for a couple hours before removing from water and letting dry out then cook.

 

[lloyddenholm]

This is my opinion only - with perch when caught they are kept in a large cooler with plenty of ice blocks. Taken home filleted including the skin removed washed completely then placed in small plastic tubs in the amount you would need for a meal. Add water till the fillets are completely submerged, then put the tight fitting lid on, date the lid and number of fillets and freeze. These tubs are available at the dollar store , are reusable and stack neatly in the freezer. As for pickerel when caught I put them on a good quality stringer with 2 stringer hooks through the lips , cut their throat which bleeds them out and drag them in the water for at least 10 minutes. They are then put in the cooler of ice. The cleaning process is slightly more involved then perch but with them bleed out there is no blood mess and the fillets white as snow. The next step is critical. After skinning the fillet be sure to remove the lateral line and any brown color meat from the fillet. Cut the fillets to your favorite length and thickness and place in the plastic tubs same procedure as the perch. PS-don't forget to remove and freeze the cheeks. I have found that these 2 types of fish when cleaned and stored in this manner can be enjoyed months after catching them and taste as good as the day they were caught . Oh ya - my fish don't usually hang around for that long!!!!

 

[Fish Farmer]

Wash filets, drain and leave covered in fridge 3,4 days.
Or Freeze in a freezer bag filled with water, and make sure no air is in the bag, shake to get air bubbles out and zip they last for years.
Found a bag once in the bottom of freezer that was few years old and were as good as they were just froze.
But nothing beats fresh not froze. I give most my fish to family and friends.
I keep an odd bag of filets for a rainy day, but hec I fish all the time, so why hord. Fresh is better.

 

[the drifter56]

I vacuum pack all of my fish now and find that this works best.
Before i invested in a vacuum packer, I too froze my fish in water.
A trick that I used was to put the fish with water in a bag and submerge the entire bag in water, with only a small portion of the top exposed ( and open to let air out ). Then seal completely and freeze.

Mike

 

[Derkd9]

What about fish that you guys are going to cook the next day after catching and cleaning
Will you leave submerged in water in fridge? Or..?

 

[Leftys Buoy]

Any fish I intend to eat and not freeze, I dry off with paper towel and put them in a ziplock bag and suck all the air out. If I don't plan to eat it after a couple of days then I'll just throw in the freezer. For fish that go directly to freezer I vacuum pack. I used to freeze in a bag of water but found it takes up way more room in your freezer and a lot longer to thaw. All my fish I clean goes directly into a bowl of ice water with sea salt till all fish are clean, then rinse and dry. Never any fishy taste. I also give a cut to family as well while it's still fresh. FRESH IS BEST.

 

[longrun]

What about fish that you guys are going to cook the next day after catching and cleaning
Will you leave submerged in water in fridge? Or..?

Theres no need to leave in water as they will turn faster. like ff said

 

[zxninja]

What about fish that you guys are going to cook the next day after catching and cleaning
Will you leave submerged in water in fridge? Or..?

Nope...no need to water log them.

 

[Derkd9]

Okay thank you for advice!
Much appreciated

 

[Thirstystone]

Could you please elaborate on this statement.
I'm quite curious why you think it isn't good to clean and fillet the fish and leave the fillets in a bowl of water for a couple hours before removing from water and letting dry out then cook.

When a fish is dead and left in the water it deteriates very quickly...just look at a whole dead fish and you will see a big difference in it's quality and looks...Filleted fish lose a lot of their flavour when kept in water. When you clean fish ..do it with the least amount of water you can...never leave fish in water

 

[mick]

if you want quality taste...remove all the moisture/blood from the fillet first by rinsing throughly with cold water and drying the fillet with paper towel...cut the walleye fillet into 3 pieces the back/shoulder, the tail and the rib/belly meat....remove the lateral line of bone....then you need to trim all that fishy tastying brown fat on the outside off the fillet...then you can arange the pieces on a ceramic plate and cover it with saran wrap removing the air and and seal it to the edge...the choice pieces are now ready to cook for the next day...i personally throw the belly portion out along with the skin and bones...

 

[Derkd9]

if you want quality taste...remove all the moisture/blood from the fillet first by rinsing throughly with cold water and drying the fillet with paper towel...cut the walleye fillet into 3 pieces the back/shoulder, the tail and the rib/belly meat....remove the lateral line of bone....then you need to trim all that fishy tastying brown fat on the outside off the fillet...then you can arange the pieces on a ceramic plate and cover it with saran wrap removing the air and and seal it to the edge...the choice pieces are now ready to cook for the next day...i personally throw the belly portion out along with the skin and bones...

Curious why you toss out the belly meat?

 

[Bassassin]

@Derkd9. The belly fat has the most toxins in them. according to the experts. The taste isn't as good either I'm told. Personally I eat the whole thing and I have never glowed in the dark. Including cheeks and now the wings. I don't think belly fat will harm you if you are eating a meal once and a while. I agree removing the brown lateral line will enhance the flavour of any fillet.

 

[mick]

I personally don't care for the taste of the belly meat(silver skin portion) from our larger lake erie walleye...and WhatsthePoint is right about thats where alot of the toxins are is in the belly and fat...the smaller walleye... especially from our northern lakes.. gets all tossed.... right in the frying pan.. lol

 

[Bassassin]

I'll let you know how the belly tastes. We ( Wormdunker and I) got a nice 7.5 Pic today. 59 feet of water 10 colours bouncing bottom. Blue and chrome Ripplin Redfin. It didn't peel any line it did nothing until 15 feet from the boat. I thought I had a boot on, actually was positive I picked something up from bouncing bottom, no way a fish. Not much fun bringing in a boot but sure will taste good tonight! Only other fish was a sheepshead from 07:30 to 12:30. Foggy all AM and not 1 other boat other than the Ministry tug, kinda weird solo on a nice day like today. More hazy than foggy until 11:00, about 2 miles visibility.