care of crappie fillets

[Guest]

How do you remove the slime from the fillets? I use an electric fillet knife and invariably some slime gets on the fillets. If I soak them in water they seem to get a bit mushy.
Also, I've read where one can freeze fillets in water to preserve the flavor longer. Won't the crappie fillets get real mushy if you do this? TIA

[Bodyman]

A light rinse should remove any slime from a skinned fillet. With the warmer temps put fish immediately on ice if you plan on eating them. This will help keep the slime to a minimun. I always freeze fillets in water with a light salt solution about 3%. If freezing fillets do it as soon as their cleaned, don't wait 2-3 days then freeze. You'll end up with a better tasting/texture fish.

Fishing is Life.

[G_man]

Personally, if I fillet up some fish, I rinse them under the faucet and then put them in a salt-water solution and leave them in the fridge for awhile, typically overnight. The salt in the water brings out any blood trapped into the fillet, firms up the fillet, and gives it a bit better taste in my humble opinion. After the fillets have soaked, I either eat them or freeze them.

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Life is too short to not go fishing today!

[Guest]

What do you mean by 3%? I want to make sure I get this right. I've been catching lots of fish and plan to start freezing and would hate to mess them up. Thanks

[Fisher Dave]

The best way to freeze fish is in paper milk cartons filled with water. Paper cartons arent always easy to come by.

After your done cleaning your fish .. rinse them well in cold water until they are clean and firm up. Put the fillets in a zip-lock suitable for the amount of fillets, fill the bag with water, squeeze any extra air out, and freeze them flat. They stack nicely in the freezer and will taste great in a year if it takes that long to eat them.

[Bodyman]

A typical salt brine for preparing fish for smoking is about 80%. Thats 2 cups of salt per gallon of water. A 3% solution is very light, I'm not sure of the exact ratio salt/water. I use about 2 teaspoons salt per quart water. It's better to error on the light then heavy side.

Fishing is Life.

[This message has been edited by Bodyman (edited 05-12-2003).]

[united jigsticker]

If you plan to have them in the fridge for more then 2 days, and want to consume them before freezing, it is best to not have any water in the bag at all.

Water creates an enviroment for bacteria. Bacteria is what causes the fish to spoil.

I typically clean the fish and skin it, throw it right into the bag, squeeze all the air out and put the bloody fillets in the fridge. Right before I eat them is when I rinse them.

They can stay in the fridge 6-7 days this way, where as in an envirmoent of water they last 3 days before they start to smell sulfury. Also, I prefer to not let my fresh water fish soak in the chlorinated, flouride treated city water.

The flavor is beautiful as always when eating fish.

Good luck.

[Guest]

when i'm filleting my fish....i try to never "rush it"...for good tasting fillets ..i start with throwing the live fish right on ice in a cooler as i'm catching them...i never put them on a stringer or even a fish basket or live well...some usually die and the flesh starts breaking down immediately...when i'm filleting them..i make sure i don't let the actual fillet touch the fish slime or gut juices if at all possible...i use news papers if at home to fillet the fish on and change it frequently to keep the fish slime down(where all the strong flavor comes from).....plus i wipe as much slime off the fish "before" i even start the filleting process.... "keep em cold and keep em clean"...i found the fillets taste very mild when taken care of this way...jon

[Try Too Fish]

I use a vacuum bagger.For long term freezing they are excellent.No water or air in the bag of fish. And you can use it for everything.Veggies,other meat etc.

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Try Too Fish
Forced Too Work!!

[CrappieJohn]

When you have finished your knife work, rinse your fillets with cold water, drain, and then soak them in a cup or so of milk. If I use whole milk, I add an equal portion of water, Using 2%, 1%, or skim...just add milk. Use enough to cover the fish and toss in refer for a couple hours. This works well on thawed fish fillets too. Rinse again before using. Crapster

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Sure life happens- why wait

[Guest]

I soak the fillets in milk to.....seems to impart a more delicate ,milder less fishy flavor...brings out the sweetness of the fillets i think...alot of the strong "fishy" flavor also comes from the darker "reddish" lateral line meat (especially on northern pike)...I sometimes slice some of that off each fillet(depends on how hungary I am....lol)...jon

[CrawlerKing]

One thing I do with walleyes, and I would think that it would work with crappies to, is that I always bring along a cooler filled with ice. When I'm done fishing I bleed the fish by cutting their aorta...I do this by cutting the small section of skin between their gills...I then put them on ice...when I clean them the fillets are firm and very white....no blood...it makes it a lot easier to clean the fillets when done.

[Surface Tension]

Im with Jullia Childs on this one.
Clean your fish, cut out the red line and if your going to cook it right away dont let it touch water. Thats right no need to wash any thing off cuz your cleaning it on a clean surface, right? If your cleaning a pile of crappies keep them out of the slime and gut jucies. After all slime and gut marinades taste like,,, slime and guts.
Bon Appitte (sp)

[honker23]

I don't want to come off as a jerk, or cause any fights, but I bet most of us can get out fishing enough to catch enough for a meal and eat em. Especially crappies or blugills. I hate to freeze any fish.
I like to keep them alive or in a cooler of ice until I clean them. Then soak in a salt/lemon/or milk solution overnight in the fridge. Then eat them within 3-4 days and go out and catch another meal!
Also another excuse to go fishing for a married man whose wife likes fish!