Need advice, Spongey/mushy salmon...

[CanuckGame]

Hey everyone,

So i live in Kamloops, but during February i took a trip to Vancouver Island and fished for some Spring, i ended up bringing home 5 fish.

i caught them and put them on ice in a foam cooler and left for home the same day, when i got back i went and bought myself a Vacuum sealer, so i could safely store the fish, and enjoy nice fresh salmon all summer long.

when i finally got home, i fillet all the salmon, and washed them off, i then sealed each fillet and they have been sitting in my freezer ever since. they look great, way better then when i used to store things in Ziploc bags.

this is the 2nd time since then i have thawed a fillet out and when i cook it, it has a very spongy like texture, and feels water logged..

its very hard to enjoy, its not nice and flakey, i really hope this salmon isnt ruined, i hate wasting anything ive killed, maybe there is a mistake made during the defrosting period? all i do is take it out of the freezer and put it on the counter for a few hours, or the fridge to defrost.

any advice is greatly appreciated. i have 8 fillets left and really hope i can figure out a way to get it back to the way it should be nice and flakey!

thanks for any advice.

 

[Dogbreath]

Washing Salmon with fresh water and putting it away wet is a mistake I doubt the stuff can be salvaged for anything but burgers.

 

[CanuckGame]

i patted it dry with paper towel before i put it in the vacuum sealer...i hope that isnt what made it like this...

 

[scott craven]

I would never expect a frozen Salmon to tastes anything like fresh.
I 've pretty much given up on freezing them, except short term.
I'm sure that many will disagree, but after eating fresh, frozen is pretty lame.

 

[Kildonan]

My vacuum sealed fish is really good IMO. My favourite method right now is I thaw the pack in cold water in the sink before use, cook it in a very hot pan until medium rare and let it stand for a few minutes to finish cooking before eating.

It's always really tasty, moist but never mushy.

 

[Hookin'up]

best is to thaw it slowly (read refridgerator overnight),
how are you cooking it, different methods will yield different results as well
a covered pan will retain moisture, if its too moist remove the lid, same as BBQ if its too moist open the lid,
always sear at high temp skin side up to start for a couple minutes then flip and cook till finished (flakes easily with fork) skin side down.
gas ranges and BBQ's will also yield moister food over electric,
if its too moist for your liking no lid and give it a couple extra minutes to remove extra juices
JMO

 

[SpringVelocity]

I don't have any of this at all. If I freeze I put fish in not wet, and I saran wrap them, and then freeze. If you don't do that the regular food savors I find are not any good. I am going to get a chamber sealer eventually but that is my work around now.... Fish is never mushy, and with the extra saran wrap it has made a huge difference.

 

[fogged in]

best is to thaw it slowly (read refridgerator overnight),
JMO

From my experience and advice from a chef, if they are cryovacked , thaw quickly under cold running water. That's the safest way to do it without compromising the texture of the fish.
Works for me

 

[Prawn Star]

I don't rinse with water. I pat the fillet down with paper towel to clean off any blood then wrap in saran wrap, freeze then vac pack. I have eaten fish that was a year old and it was still good but obviously not as good as fresh. I'll take a spring that's been frozen for a year over a "fresh" farm raised salmon any day.

 

[the fog ducker]

sometimes it has to do with how the fish was dealt with once put onboard ,
if the fish are not bled immediately , and kept cool minimal until ya get back to the dock , they
will deteriorate very quickly , especially in the warmer summer months ,
i see guys come back to the dock with there catch after being out there for 6-10 hrs lol ,
there fish dont look to healthy lol , seen some try to fillet there catch , and the meatwas flaking kinda ,falling apart .. thats done !!
to the pooch it goes , best advice is, in warmer weather... bleed it , gut it , keep em cool , dont let em sit in water..
heard of a story that a freezer breaker was accidentally turned off for a few days ( Construction ) , all meat thawed but still cold , re froze , the salmon meat was mushy after , garbage...

m2b

fd

 

[jeffywestcoast]

I find that if your fish is sitting in water at all after you clean it, you could experience mushy fish.. I would say that is what happened..

 

[Tips Up]

Sounds like the fish was ruined in transport.
If you packed the cooler with ice and some melted, leaving the fish in water (melted ice), the meat was ruined.
Gotta drain the cooler and keep cold on ice without the flesh soaking in water.

Unfortunately the fish is toast.
You may try smoking it to salvage something.

Happens to a lot of people.

Good news is you did not get caught transporting 5 fish, assuming you were the only fisherman.

Tips

 

[Birdsnest]

Sounds like a form of freezer burn but it sure has not been long enough for that to take place though it may have. Could they have been frozen and thawed a couple or few times? I always tray and freeze my salmon pieces before vacuum sealing. This ensures a proper vacuum as you would get with a chamber sealer. If you vacuum seal wet (unfrozen) product it will not allow all the air to be removed prior to sealing(the exception being a chamber sealer). It takes very little air to ruin frozen fish. I can leave salmon frozen for 2 years without incident using this method.

 

[RiverBoy]

Sounds like a form of freezer burn but it sure has not been long enough for that to take place though it may have. Could they have been frozen and thawed a couple or few times? I always tray and freeze my salmon pieces before vacuum sealing. This ensures a proper vacuum as you would get with a chamber sealer. If you vacuum seal wet (unfrozen) product it will not allow all the air to be removed prior to sealing(the exception being a chamber sealer). It takes very little air to ruin frozen fish. I can leave salmon frozen for 2 years without incident using this method.

That is such a good idea. I'm going to try this.

 

[superstick]

Freezing fish to slow can also turn it mushy

 

[Dave S]

Maybe the filet you cooked was bruised either while on the boat or in the cooler. If you're lucky, maybe the other didn't get the same pressure to the flesh and aren't bruised. The other thing that can do it is not staying cold after killed. If it were me, I'd try one more filet, change your cooking technique, and if that doesn't help, smoke the rest. Everyone loves smoked salmon and removing the moisture from the flesh with a dry brine should help.