Making your own SALT ICE - does anyone here do it?

Enniberg

Well-Known Member
If so, how do you go about doing it?

I understand that commercial salt ice is not sea water, but drinking water with salt added.

Is there as reason for not just freezing sea water?

I used to have the luxury of being able to access salt ice easily, but that is no longer the case unfortunately.
 
Have been wondering the same, I used to have a good ice supply but now I freeze 2 l rectangular water bottles and was thinking of adding salt but ?
 
I’ve done this before. Would add a couple tablespoons of table salt into the mix. Not sure if I really noticed a difference but try it for yourself.
 
Could always just add coarse/pickling salt so that as your ice inevitably starts to melt the ice/water/salt slurry will be much colder than just straight freshwater ice and water.

Cheers!

Ukee

Done this, works great in big plastic milk jugs. Keeps cold long time. Used it on hunting trips to keep meat chilled on the way from camp to butcher.
 
I am little confused to the science behind this, I get why people want salt ice from a vender as it is much cooler than regular ice.

However if you at home using your own freezer it's going to cool salt ice and fresh ice down to the same temperature say -15C.

The salt ice will melt but it will still be below 0C, where as fresh ice will melt at Oc. I suppose your slurry with salt ice will be below zero but your slurry with fresh water will be around zero C.

I guess the advantage is the slurry being colder so your catch will be colder but in terms of longevity i don't see the advantage.
 
It will cool down your catch faster and keep it at a colder temp, but it will melt faster so you would need more of it compared to regular ice. I suppose it may have merit on a longer trip where you must keep fish on ice for the better part of a week. This is as long as you have access to enough salt ice.
 
It will cool down your catch faster and keep it at a colder temp, but it will melt faster so you would need more of it compared to regular ice. I suppose it may have merit on a longer trip where you must keep fish on ice for the better part of a week. This is as long as you have access to enough salt ice.

I definitely like salt ice for the fact that it is very cold, but I hardly ever keep fish on ice for more than just a few hours since it is just day trips and fish is processed, packaged and frozen at the end of each trip.
I guess I was trying to get salt ice more for the reason that I've been told numerous times that it is not good for the catch to get in contact with melting fresh water. To be honest, I have used plenty of fresh ice cubes in the cooler in the past, and cleaned the fish using freshwater - don't recall that the quality we got at the end of the day was much different from what we got after switching to salt ice a few years back.
 
I am a believer in as little contact with water as possible once a fish is cut, as in headed, filleted or steaked. If you have to use water saltwater is better. However gut and gilled still preserves the membrane in the body cavity protecting the meat so icing fresh or salt is acceptable to me.
 
Last edited:
I dunno. i’m not buying this whole “ zero contact with fresh water” thing, like it somehow instantly ruins the fish quality....

however there are steps i take to come home with the best quality product. why go thru all the hassle and expense only to end up with an inferior product on your table.

when i go on my annual west coast trips we thoroughly clean ANY and all blood from our fish. Blood left on or near your salmon will taint the meat faster than any other introduced substance. This includes complete removal of the gills ( which make excellent hali bait btw; fresher the better )

Ever catch and clean a chinook, or more often a coho and the guts burn your skin? sorry but i’m taking water to the stomach cavity and hosing that nastiness out of the coho. no way that is good to leave in there.

We always belly ice our salmon. The remaining cavity membrane prevents water from directly permeating the flesh of the salmon. having said that, if the salmon is sitting in a cooler full of half-melted ice-water slurry, this is no good for the quality of the flesh.

the water has to drain from your cooler. i leave the drain plug removed from my cooler and i store the cooler on an extreme angle so it drains.

( wolves frequent our cabin so i usually lash the cooler shut with a ratcheting tie down as both my igloo clasps are busted, but I digress; that’s another thread)
one of the factored expenses of our trip is ice. it is what it is; i buy it often and keep the fish iced as possible for the duration of the trip.

When i am home and processing my fillets, i will wipe off any foreign substance from the flesh side careful not to damage the grain structure of the filets. Never blast your filets with your hose as it will tear and ruin the flesh, making it look opaque and less desirable. my 2 cents
 
Back
Top