Experience with using a FoodSaver to store fish

[Tomcat]

During a summer walleye trip, I watched a fishing colleague use a FoodSaver to vacuum seal harvested and cleaned walleye (skin on and fillets connected at tail). We then froze these packages (1 walleye per package) in preparation for the eventual trip home. My colleague claimed that fish stored this way could last up to 2 years in a freezer without any freezer burn. A search on FoodSaver on OFC turned up nothing. Can anyone share their experiences (positive or negative) with a product like a FoodSaver for preserving fish? Thanks in advance.

[fishindevil]

Well we used to use them all the time,for use with freezing walleye filletts,and for freezing bait,and they work very well,just remember to buy the thickest grade wrap you can,as the thinner grade wrap will get small holes in it if it rubs on anything in the freezer,and the thick stuff just works better,and it will melt together better as well,the frozen packages will last 1 year no problem if they are sealed perfectly !!!! its a great way to keep the fish very fresh,its a great thing to have,oh ya my freind even freezes,the individual packages in water as well,it will last like forever if you do it that way !!!!...hope this helps bud...cheers

[Billy Bob]

I really like the Food Saver way but before this came about I use to freeze fish in square qt. containers with water added. You just fit in the amount of fish you want and then fill up the container with water. Once frozen for a day or two you then turn the container upside down in the sink and hit it with HOT water. The ice block with the fish will drop right out and then you can just drop that ice block into a a paper lunch bag, fold over the end and tape it closed. Now mark the bag with a marker giving the date, fish and amount. These square qt. containers stack up real nice in the freezer without using up wasted space. You can reuse the plastic qt. containers over and over to freeze fish. I have a friend that still does this and measures his fishing outings by how many quarts of fish he came home with.

 

As far as the Food Saver way, the bags are VERY VERY expensive. You cannot use just any bags, the bags must have ribs on the inside for the air to be sucked out.

 

Bob

Edited September 6, 2008 by Billy Bob

[Greencoachdog]

I use the food saver system for all of my fish freezing!!!

 

It also will keep cheese and bacon almost indefinitely!!!

 

All of our leftovers go into food saver bags and into the freezer, pull a bag out and drop it into boiling water for 20 mins.... quick and easy supper!

[bassfighter]

It all depends if one is finicky and can tell the difference between fresh fish killed and cook on the spot versus and frozen fish defrosted and fried. Unless you are use to eating fish killed fresh and then cooked immediately like many Asian do, Frying fish will not matter much in taste, storing it on freezer bag will last couple months at least.

 

By frying, using freshly killed fish or frozen fish will not matter much.

 

If one cook by steaming the fish just like the way Asian restaurant cooks them, or eating it raw like sushi, any fish dead for more than a day regardless of frozen or not does not taste the same. To make sushi out of any fish, the fish has to be super fresh or almost eaten after killing it.

 

If you want to experience close to the taste of fresh fish, The fish must not be cut open or de-scaled, put the entire fish in a large bag, fill it up with water and freeze it immediately. It will be fresh and will not experience freezer burn.

 

Freezer bag will not deter freezer burn, just prolong it. The freezer bag also prevents other frozen meat from creating different smell on the freezer.

 

When is the last time we have tasted fresh cut fries taken off from the farmer's field fried in fresh oil? No other fries will beat the taste of it.

[bigugli]

When is the last time we have tasted fresh cut fries taken off from the farmer's field fried in fresh oil? No other fries will beat the taste of it.

 

 

I'm having fresh dug tatties fried with my fish tonight. Nothing like the simpler pleasures in life

[Wild]

I did use the system many years ago until I learned the hazards! When you heat up and melt the plastic to seal the bag you are releasing toxic chemicals into the food. By the way freezing food does have it's time limit so while the appearance may be ok after a year the nutritional value will have degraded so what's the point?

[Canuck]

Here are some tips:

 

Buy the bag rolls at Costco - much cheaper

 

Don't overheat the seals. follow the instructions and let it cool between cycles.

 

You can bread (fish crisp) small pieces and then spread them out in the bags before you vacu-seal. Then you have fast food au-natural for the depths of winter when you want a feed of pike or salmon bites. Just drop em in the fryer out of the bag.

 

When you vacuum seal, make sure the sealing end bag is dry. Also, fold up a dry paper towel in the end between the fish and the sealing end. It will absorb the water and ensure a good seal without water messing it up.

 

Reuse the bags if they are still in good shape after you take them out of the freezer.

 

I have thawed out salmon after 2 years in the deep freeze (a nice fillet got "lost" in the bottom) and it was still fine. To be safe, use it within a year.

[Greencoachdog]

I did use the system many years ago until I learned the hazards! When you heat up and melt the plastic to seal the bag you are releasing toxic chemicals into the food.

 

... we call that "seasoning"!!!

 

 

By the way freezing food does have it's time limit so while the appearance may be ok after a year the nutritional value will have degraded so what's the point?

 

 

It makes me sleep good when I go to bed with a full tummy!

 

 

... and I'm sure it's just a minor oversight on the food industry's part to heat seal the plastic bags of candy that people give their children... what with all those toxic chemicals and such.

Edited September 7, 2008 by GCD

[Tomcat]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I've emailed FoodSaver regarding the potential release of toxic chemicals during heat sealing.

[Bernie]

I use zip lock bags. Put in your fillets, add water. Zip it almost shut. Squeeze the air out. Turn the bag upside down and drain the water.It will vacuum out. It takes less space in the freezer and easy to thaw out.

Edited September 7, 2008 by Bernie

[Wild]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I've emailed FoodSaver regarding the potential release of toxic chemicals during heat sealing.

Tomcat since they are selling the product I doubt they will be straightforward with you so ask for a material safety data sheet and I can point you to more details.

[Wild]

... and I'm sure it's just a minor oversight on the food industry's part to heat seal the plastic bags of candy that people give their children... what with all those toxic chemicals and such.

 

It all depends what you consider as an acceptable risk and what studies have been done.

Over 15 years ago I promoted awareness of the toxic chemicals used in the manufacture of different types of plastics and it took until this year for health Canada to react on just one.

[Tomcat]

Hi Wild:

 

Very much appreciate your comments and I would welcome your provision of more details. Over the weekend, I did some preliminary research via the net on the potential hazards (e.g. release of toxic chemicals) related to heat sealing plastics. Lots of data available but one needs to know which plastic (or its major chemical constituent) FoodSaver uses. Writing FoodSaver provides an opportunity to obtain disclaimers in writing. Thanks again for your interest.

[jace]

I can't say anything about chemicals leeching into the food out of the bagging but i can say that if you think you'll be a heavy user, you're wasting your time and money with foodsaver. They break very fast and you'll have numerous problems with bag seals breaking, making a proper heat seal in the first place, bags puncturing, unit not sucking hard enough, etc. A lot of my friends hunt and fish as their primary source of meats and most of them have gone through many food saver units since i've known them, and most of of them have done one of 3 things... forked out the money for a professional quality vacuum packagers (around $1000-1500), pay a commercial packaging service, or switched back to traditional methods with some combination of butcher paper and plastic wraps.

 

In a decade of using foodsaver, i have yet to see a package make it as long as 2 years without flaking out in some way. In most cases, you're lucky if they go even 1 year with no signs of air spaces inside. With professional packaging, however, most will make it a year if it's done by a company that knows what they're doing. I quit using foodsaver for most things years ago.

 

If this came up 6 months ago, i could have shown you guys pictures of sockeye, halibut, rockfish, lingcod (proper), and kings from my freezer with a combination of foodsaver, plastic wraps, and professional sealers and you would have seen how only 1 or 2 of the commercial packages had a small pocket of air/ice crystals..the rest were perfectly flat against the fish all around. meanwhile, there were probably only 1 or 2 UNbroken with foodsaver, and even then it was not in solid contact with the meat.

 

Actually, I might be able to get pictures of things here... I'm still on vacation.

[canadadude]

Never had a problem with my Food Saver.......by the good quality Food Saver Bags, use properly and yes store fish for 2yrs in the freezer. Don't understand how the sealing puts toxins in the fish unless toxins mysteriously travel backwards in a Vacume! I have 2 units one for at home and one for fish'in and hunting trips I love this unit but by a good one less expensive cheap knock-offs don't do the job!