Keeping and Dispatching
Firstly, I always try to (80% of the time for fish BUT 100% of the time with Crabs) try to dispatch my catch in an ice slurry. For those unaware, that's ice and a little sea water, the sea water (salt) makes the slurry a lot colder than if using just normal fresh water. I slurry (80% of the time as mentioned) even when land based.
Some fish I would bleed immediately , , , , Salmon and Gummies
With some fish, I scale and gut them as soon as possible , , , , Snapper & Snook I think are important to do sooner rather than later.
I always scale fish before gutting them, makes scaling the stomach area and around the wings easier rather than a floppy gutted fish.
I always clean squid caught by boat with a Scaling Bag , , , , also see reference in the Freezer Section of this Bugatti Aisle
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I try but not always practical, try and clean my catch in sea water. On occasion I may take some sea water home , , , , not for cleaning but for soaking my cleaned catch in , , , , also see reference in the Freezer Section of this Bugatti Aisle
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Again I try and take sea water home to cook (boil) any crabs in.
Freezing
I don't have a Vac Sealer but have heard that they are the Bee's Knees.
I simply use freezer bags or zip lock bags and try and squeeze as much air out as possible.
I freeze cleaned Gar (scaled and headed) in an empty 2L milk bottle that I then fill with water, and freeze it so the cleaned gar are frozen in a block of ice. I find they keep better that way. This method is hard to do with other fish, simply due to the size.
Cleaned Blue Swimmer Crabs I would freeze as/in a block of ice too, in a compatible container (ice cream container etc). Frozen Crabs are a bit mushy in the flesh SO I only do this if I then cook the Crabs in a Wok for Chilli Crab , , , , or , , , , in a pasta sauce.
Cleaning in sea water dramatically reduces Freezer Burn (especially with squid), hence I found that even if the fish were cleaned in normal fresh water, by at least soaking them in sea water before freezing, helps. As far as making the catch "taste" better if they were cleaned in sea water, I can't tell as my bad cooking hides that
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When on an extended Fishing Trip, I put my catch (Squid, Fish, Fillets) in freezer/zip lock bags, which I then place/stack in Berry Boxes that I have placed in the freezer of the Shack. What this does is keeps all the frozen parcels neatly packed together, then I simply take the box of frozen goodies home to my freezer. If they were loosely, individually stacking in a Shack freezer, then removing and then stacking these individually in my home freezer, they never pack in my freezer nicely and compactly as they have all frozen in awkward shapes and never re-stack neatly together again.
Thawing
I try to thaw things slowly in the fridge and not in a sink of water. But busy lifestyles mean that doesn't always happen.
I thaw prawns (I prefer to buy freshly frozen rather than Fishmonger freshly cooked (they could have been cooked a few days prior) or shop thawed prawns) so thaw prawns in a sealed container with a few lemon wedges thrown in, and thawed in the fridge.
Most important tip: If I have frozen fish/fillets that have been frozen for a while, I thaw and then soak the fish/fillets in a bowl of vinegar-ed water for 15-30 mins. Not enough vinegar to pickle BUT enough to cut through the "oldness" of the fish/fillets.
I hope these Bugatti Tips help out
Always nice to hear what others do, as it may improve what we do
Cheers, Bugatti