Anybody vacuum seal their catch? Any thoughts on a good one to purchase?
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Anybody vacuum seal their catch? Any thoughts on a good one to purchase?
It’s the only way to keep your fish. Prevents freezer burn for up to a year. Clean fish as normal, rinse and let dry on paper towels so moisture doesn’t get ‘sucked’ out and prevent bag from sealing along the heat strip. Any average sealer is fine, no need to get expensive one. Mine is 8 yrs old from Gander Mtn. Use 11” wide bags that come in the bulk roll that you can cut to size. Saves tons of space in freezer over freezing filets in water.
I have a Cabela's sealer however I never use it for fish. For years i just use Reg freezer bags. Just place the amount of filets you want in the bag fill the bag with water and freeze them. No freezer burn and they stay fresh for over a year. I have thawed bags where the filets were still pink. Good luckQuote:
Originally Posted by Snaggin Wagon
Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaggin Wagon
I use the Cabelas 12” Pro Series. It’s around $100 and it works really well. I use it for venison and fish fillets. It works much better than the foodsaver brand I had before.
Been vacuum sealing my fish for 5+ hrs now.Used to seal in water in zip lock bag.Advantage is you save space and thaw faster.Think both ways,fish lasts a year or longer.I use a 12" GameSaver FoodSaver.Couple of tips I have learned a long the way.
I double seal both ends of a 8" tube I use.Initially the seal would fail once in a while,but not if double sealed.Dampen the foam area of upper and lower oval shape section that creates the suction.That helps pulling air out.
I zipper all my filets.After that I cut the upper dorsal and lower belly area in sections and stack them in sink by type.I then figure out how many bags I need based on amount of filets I have.I put around 1.25lbs per bag.I cut the tube bags 8.5" long and place the pieces in bag so no space left between pieces.Dorsal meat first,then belly meat,and last tail sections.If dorsal meat too thick,will cut that section in half to no thicker than 3/4".
We then get it fried up at Jolly Rogers or cooked up at Crow's Nest.Blackened at Crow's Nest is awesome.
Thank you very much for the info...
Jolly Roger will cook your catch? I have heard that about Crows Nest.
Crow's nest will cook your catch too. I've never done it before but my buddy has. I usually clean and freeze my fish in zip lock bags. I eat it before it has a chance to go bad. 😊
Yes,jolly rogers will fry up your fish for you.Jolly rogers was supposed to move 300yrs west into the old Burger King.Have not been up there in a month so not sure if they have already moved or not.
Thanks, Bob. Good to know.
I like to vac seal some, but I still do the majority in water.
The most significant benefit to vac seal is how fast it thaws. That's why I do some, it is a nice convenient option to have on hand. If I decide I want some fish, I can thaw it in warm water and be freezer to plate in less than 30 minutes.
Whereas the ice cube of fish takes a couple hours planning. The other benefit is saving freezer space but I don't have much of an issue with that.
The most significant drawback is that is a moderate PIA to vac seal if you put up a lot of fish. Moisture is your enemy to sealing with home grade units. A few different ways to deal with that and all are an extra step in the process. If you don't get a good seal it needs to be eaten ASAP.
As far as the quality of the fish, with white fish like walleye it's simply not a factor.
During freezer cleanup I've eaten 2-3 year old fish put up both ways and done properly both achieve the ultimate goal of protecting the fish from freezer burn.
I'm sure that vac sealing works really well if done right. But, I've watched guys do this after a long day of fishing and it sure seems to take a lot of work and time - and the material seems expensive.. We just put the right amount of fish and water in quart ziplock bags and freeze. They will be fine for a year +. We do a lot of fish and I just don't see the need for vac sealing if storage space is not an issue. But to each their own.
I am in the same boat as JERRYA !!! Takes too long to vac seal and freezer room in not a problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by JERRYA
I have one of the autoclave style vacuum sealers ( Vac Master). You can seal anything even bags of water. I seal all of my fish in water. This style uses a very tough industrial type sealing bag. It draws a very strong vacuum. Of course it was pretty expensive in compairison to the foodsaver types. I had a couple of those. This one puts them in the dust. Oxygen is the killer which causes meat to turn rancid. Dehydration is what causes freezer burn. This prevents exposure to both and shelf life is increased many times.
ARY VacMaster VP215 Vacuum Sealer
It is awesome. Use it for deer, fish, everything. It is heavy and expensive.
I still take it on vacation to freeze fish and seafood.
I don't use water. The bags are very reasonable online. It will last forever.
I spent the $$$ and went for the vacuum chamber sealer. Got an off brand for around $500. never been happier. Don't get me wrong. The food saver has done me well for years. I've had two. The issue was wet stuff always messing with the sealing process. The vacuum chamber sealer seals the bag with a 1/4 inch seal line. Also my bags cost about .04 cents a piece. I'd go through a box of rolls of the food saver bags in a hurry packaging a deer. For a cool test I sealed a bag of water. Thing turns on, draws out all the air, seals the bag, then releases. The bag collapses down and the only thing left in the bag is water. It looks WAY cooler that it sounds. If the price gets to you, go in with a few friends. Honestly how many times a day can you use the thing. I sound like a darn sales person but they work That good.
$500 X 2 - Really? Compared to ziplock bags? How long would it take you to do 24 good sized walleyes? I'm sorry - I still just don't get this......We're talking about walleyes here - after a long day of fishing???
I had gone through two food savers. Doesn't take long at all.
Thanks everyone for chiming in. I ended up buying the Weston Pro 2300. I usually fish with a good sized crew so generally there is another set of hands to help in the cleaning process. My freezer space is a bit limited. And I’ll probably use it fir some other types of meat. Got a lot of use out of my food saver before it broke. Hopefully the new one arrives before I head to the lake Thursday.
I have used a Food Saver for almost 20 years (not the same unit, upgraded a couple times). Used to go to Lake Michigan for salmon and still have fillets from 6 years ago that are almost as good as fresh. As mentioned, make sure there is no excess moisture on the fillets. I also double seal the bag. After sealing it once I wipe that seal with a napkin and then seal again 1/4 off the first seal, just to make sure. Never cared for freezing in water as it just takes up room.
I do just about everything with my vacuum sealer, but I still do my fish in freezer bag with water. As far as storage I lay the bag flat on a cookie sheet to freeze them. After they are frozen then you can stack the flat packages.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaggin Wagon
I have done the exact same thing for the last 20 years. Vacuum sealing the fish take much less room in the freezer and double sealing the bag the fish last for years. Any vacuum sealer will work but get the one that will cut the bags to different lengths.
I vacuum seal all of my fish I have had some for 3 years with no freezer burn. I always get vacuum bag rolls on ebay I can get 2 11" x 50' rolls for $25.00. the rolls are to big for my sealer but for the price I can keep the tube they are rolled on and fill it with 1/2 the 50' roll. Makes bags cheep.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snaggin Wagon
I have vacuum sealed fish and they have still been perfectly fine after 3 years