When we fish, we take care of our fish so much better than what you can buy. No matter what fish we cook, we are told how much better ours are. This boils down to several key things that we do.
1. Immediately bleed the fish when caught.
2. Gut and gilled asap
3. Store on ice till home. I have big Yeti coolers full of ice that keep the fish so cold that its hard to hold them.
4. Vacuum seal fish fillets in commercial chamber vacuum sealer.
5. Store in -20 degree freezers.
6. If canning tuna we do not freeze before canning and do it immediately when getting home. Freezers can and will break down tuna because of its high oil content. We have noticed a loss of taste by freezing them for a period of time before canning.
These freezers completely keep the fish as fresh as possible. The minus 20 degree freezers are not easy to find and aren’t available anymore. Fish and meat last forever and tastes very close to fresh. Halibut doesn't yellow under these colder conditions. Steaks still taste like freshly bought.
How you care for your fish is what makes it top quality. I get zero freezer burn with all of this equipment. It took many years to find such things as a commercial ice machine, commercial vacuum chamber sealers, and minus 20 degree freezers. If you can find one of these freezers, I recommend you buying one or two. I even vacuum pack my carcasses for crab bait and keep them that cold. The crabs love them just like fresh bait.
I hope your fishing season was a spectacular as ours was. Join your local PSA Chapter and make some new fishing partners.
