how do I fast thaw fish

[skinny]

I pack my fish in water and freeze them.we hadfriends over and i could have used more so how do you fast thaw

[HTHM]

Put them in warm water.

[skinny]

thought that would mess up the meat

but I guess warm not hot

[F7Firecat]

i take it out of the bag and run cold water over them separating them as they thaw, i dunno about the warm water thing, my wife has made me a germophobe over the years LOL

[kickingfrog]

You can't... safely. The only safe options for thawing fish are in the fridge, or COLD water. Cold water is faster.

 

A microwave is a horrible way to thaw, or cook, meat.

[Roy]

You're right on that one Rob. The food will turn to mush in the microwave.

 

Speaking of mush, I was at an Asian specialty grocery yesterday and saw saran wrapped styrofoam containers of pork uterus. I understand about waste not want not but damn!

 

So I bought shrooms at a very good price...filet mignon...quail eggs which we had some of this morning for breakfast and more quails as I was running out.

 

But pork uterus and pork stomachs? Not sure about that stuff.

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

put them in a sealed ziplock and put them in a bowl of cool water. the water thaws it but the ziploc keeps the flavor in.

Edited October 3, 2010 by Dr. Salvelinus

[mercman]

You're right on that one Rob. The food will turn to mush in the microwave.

 

Speaking of mush, I was at an Asian specialty grocery yesterday and saw saran wrapped styrofoam containers of pork uterus. I understand about waste not want not but damn!

 

So I bought shrooms at a very good price...filet mignon...quail eggs which we had some of this morning for breakfast and more quails as I was running out.

 

But pork uterus and pork stomachs? Not sure about that stuff.

 

i guess its an acquired taste.i dunno...guess it cant be worse than prairie oysters

[camillj]

ziplock bag in a sink full of cool water .. will defrost in under an hour

[xkempx]

ziplock bag in a sink full of cool water .. will defrost in under an hour

Took the words right out of my mouth..... ONLY COLD WATER

[misfish]

So I bought shrooms at a very good price...filet mignon...quail eggs which we had some of this morning for breakfast and more quails as I was running out.

 

Very nice Roy.Very nice indeed.

 

We had a nice stirfry with shrimp and beef with noodles that had 2 duck eggs blended in.

 

As for the defrost part.Running cold water.Never,and I mean never,use warm water to defrost or a microwave.Like mention,running cold water and seperating as you can, is best.

[Spiel]

put them in a sealed ziplock and put them in a bowl of cool water. the water thaws it but the ziploc keeps the flavor in.

 

 

ziplock bag in a sink full of cool water .. will defrost in under an hour

 

Exactly.

[toca]

made the mistake once with hot water. it literally cooked the fish for me and was breaking off in flakes. so i just fillet with the skin on block freeze and thaw in the fridge over night. if i want them now it will be in the bucket of room temp water.

[Vanselena]

made the mistake once with hot water. it literally cooked the fish for me and was breaking off in flakes. so i just fillet with the skin on block freeze and thaw in the fridge over night. if i want them now it will be in the bucket of room temp water.

 

Through my days of cooking school, Chef Apprenticeship and running my restaurant as a Chef we always thaw shellfish and fish in a container with cold water constantly flowing, it doesn't have to be a fast flow as even a dribble will do to keep the water temperature constant. Shrimp will thaw this way in about 10 minutes and fish in 30 minutes.

[dave524]

I vacuum package, helps to prefreeze indivually on a cookie sheet with wax paper and then when sealing freeze one layer thick so they thaw faster, seal in one portion packages.

[blarg]

The don't thaw things in warm water or only thaw things in the fridge is pretty silly, are you going to cook the fish? If yes, it won't matter how you thaw it aside from change in the consistency of the fish, it will be safe, works for anything.

[toca]

fish sticks

[Governator]

I always have them in a ziplock bag in the sink (no air in it) and just turn the tap on cool right over top (you don't need to it on full blast). Just let it run. Just flip the bag around every 10minutes until they are ready.

[Nipfisher]

I pack my fish in water and freeze them.we hadfriends over and i could have used more so how do you fast thaw

 

I was watching Cronzy one time during his campfire talk he scolded all the fisherman(women) that freeze fish in water. He said when it does thaw and you pour out the water you lose alot of the flavor. His suggestion was putting the fish in a zip lock bag without water then if you wanted he said you could put that ziplock inside another one with water in it but I don't see the sense in that. I rinse my filets off then put them wet into the ziplock squeeze the air out and freeze it.

 

To thaw I just put some water (room temp or colder) in the sink and put the bags right in.

[toca]

freezer burn.

 

have you ever had a fillet fish ruined by freezer burn? even in a zip lock bag?

 

Mine might had a hole in it but i dunno i like cronzy suggestion.one big bag and one small bag. done and done!

[kimbyote]

I pack my fish in water and freeze them.we hadfriends over and i could have used more so how do you fast thaw

 

Being in the hospitality industry.. there's only two proper methods used to thaw out food..

 

1) freezer to fridge.. This method is most preferred since it won't water log your food.

 

2) Have it continuously run under COLD water. Thawing it in still water would eventually warm up to the point where bacteria would start to grow.

[DanD]

If you stored/froze your fish according to the ministry it should never take any more then a few minutes and some cold water to thaw the fish.

 

“Ensure fish can be easily counted, package each fish separately, or arrange fillets spread flat in a clear freezer bag. DO NOT freeze fillets in a milk carton, margarine tub or other container. A large lump of fillets frozen together in bags is also unacceptable.”

 

That means in your freezer at home too, while the fish is being stored.

 

I’m just saying a fish in the middle of a lump of ice might also be considered unrecognizable; let alone the extra thawing time?

 

I’ve been using a vacuum sealer for years and it does exactly as what the water does; keeps the air from getting at the meat; no freezer burn. Take out what we want; oh lets say 10 or 15 minutes before we want to start cooking; stick them in a sink of cold/room temp water and we’re good to go.

And for the people that are worried about spoiling the meat during the thaw; bacteria would take a long time too form because the filets are still in a vacuum.

 

Dan.

Edited October 4, 2010 by DanD

[Guest swiss]

I think the secret is to gradually changing the temperature, by placing the frozen fish to the fridge, then the fridge to room temperature.

[kickingfrog]

The don't thaw things in warm water or only thaw things in the fridge is pretty silly, are you going to cook the fish? If yes, it won't matter how you thaw it aside from change in the consistency of the fish, it will be safe, works for anything.

 

 

Ya ya fire kills everything.

 

Safety, while always a consern, isn't the only reason for proper food handling. The delicate nature of fish meat will be completely ruined by improper handling, and then the over cooking needed to render the meat "safe". If it doesn't matter to you, than eat "fish" sticks and leave the real fish to us.

Pass the katsup.

[Vanselena]

Being in the hospitality industry.. there's only two proper methods used to thaw out food..

 

1) freezer to fridge.. This method is most preferred since it won't water log your food.

 

2) Have it continuously run under COLD water. Thawing it in still water would eventually warm up to the point where bacteria would start to grow.

 

I agree with the exception of the bacteria part. Bacteria multiplies every 20 minutes and if you are going to use the fish right away then bacteria is not a concern. I usually speed thaw as you mention in #2.

 

As for fish quality as mentioned by a different poster, the quality will remain the same as long as the fish is not in water greater then room temperature or for long periods of time.