Michigan State University Extension
Preserving Food Safely - 01600800
10/13/97

### FREEZING FISH IN PROTECTIVE WRAPS

        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.

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