Michigan
State University Extension
Preserving
Food Safely - 01600800
10/13/97
1. Use fresh fish, cleaned and dressed.
2. Cut fish into appropriate serving pieces. Fish can
be frozen whole or as portions. The most economical way to
freeze fish is in meal-size packages of steaks or fillets.
To separate one frozen fillet or steak from another, insert
a double layer of wax paper between fish portions when they
are packaged for freezing.
3. Dip fish in one of the following solutions to help
preserve quality. FOR LEAN FISH (almost all Great Lakes
fish): Add 1/2 cup salt to each quart very cold, almost
frozen water. FOR FAT FISH (salmon, lake trout, whitefish):
Add 2 tablespoons powdered ascorbic acid to each quart
water. Place fish in solution for one minute; drain on paper
towel; dip again.
4. Wrap or place fish in airtight, vapor-proof
package. To wrap fish, pull the wrap tightly around the
fish, squeezing out any air pockets. Never freeze large
containers of fish. It may take three days before the
center of the pack freezes. In the meantime, quality will
deteriorate. Packages freeze from the outside toward the
center, and the food expands when frozen. This pressure
may turn the fish in the center of the pack to mush.
5. Store in freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
Fatty fish are best used within a few months.
