Is it best to clean the fish before freezing (or just after catching it) or better to clean it before cooking (after removing from freezer and towing it)?
The best thing would be cleaning them right after your catch.
Stun the fish before doing this if they are alive.... the meat will taste better, and more humane towards the fish....
I have always freezed the fish directly and it always tasted good. However when cooking fresh fish it does taste better.
I am still not sure about this cleaning before freezing bacause fishshops and restaurants do not clean the fish before freezing. However I heared that some fish must be cleaned before or the meat will stink.
So are you talking about all fish types or only certain fish?
it is very important not to clean any fish before freezing ;) ax wara xar fil freezer tista tarmih
Ijwa mela. This is the expert way of doing it mate ;) Mhux ivintat
PRESERVING YOUR CATCH FOR FREEZING
Fish caught on a fishing trip are good for freezing for later use if they are brought home in good condition. Proper preservation begins the moment the fish is hooked and pulled from the water. How you initially handle a fish can greatly affect its quality, taste and storage life.
First of all, the fish should not be allowed to flop around on the ground or in the bottom of a boat, where repeated bumping against raised ribbing and other objects can cause bruising and result in defects in the frozen product.
Once the fish has been restrained and the hook removed, it is best to keep it alive as long as possible. Most modern sport fishing boats are equipped with a live well designed specifically for this purpose. If a fish is too large for the live well or a live well is not available, the next best method is to use a stringer or a fish basket hung over the side of the boat, or put it in a container of clean water.
If a fish dies, it should be gutted and cleaned as soon as possible. In the meantime, remove the dead fish from the water so its flesh doesn't absorb water and swell. If a cooler of ice is not immediately available, wrap the fish loosely in damp cloth or paper and place it in a shaded area, out of direct sunlight (under a boat seat, for example). Leave space around the wrapped fish for air to circulate and evaporate the moisture from the wrapping material, which will help keep it cool.
Keep the wrapping material moist so the wrapped fish stays cool and its skin does not become dry.
Pack your catch in a cooler with plenty of ice before transporting it home. The cooler or ice chest should have a raised false bottom to collect the water from the melting ice. This will keep the fish from floating in and possibly soaking up water in the bottom of the chest. If the trip home is a long one, you should occasionally stop and drain the ice-melt from the chest. Once you are home, the fish should be processed and frozen as soon as possible.
Failure to promptly ice your catch may result in the flesh having a soft, open texture. Severe deterioration is indicated by a condition called "belly burn" in which the ribs have become separated from the flesh. Inadequate bleeding and delayed gutting will cause blood clots to form in the flesh. Such fish are not suitable for freezing.
So do not clean fish before freezing right? This applies to all kind of fish?
I have often seen fisherman cleaning spearfish (pixxispad) on the shore - is this normal procedure?
And about tuna and albacore- some ppl say you have to drain all blood by currint off head. Do you have to clean guts also?
we clean swordfish because it is then sold as steaks.
Lol spearfish = swordfish :)
So steakfish must be cleaned before or can be cleaned afterwards?
lately we are not cleaning tuna/ swordfish because when we sell them to the hawker he deducts 10% from the weight as rubbish. But all steakfish is cleaned before freezing.
swordfish is usally cleaned because if it was caught with long lines and especially those who pick up the lines the next morning would have the bait usually kavalli still in their stomach and the swordfish will be already dead when you catch it. so you have to clean it as soon as possible from the bait.
Ok what about big deep bottom fish - hanzir, dott etc?
you dont clean big bottom fish if you are going to sell it and always cover it with a wet xkora and dont leave it for long in the sun. if you catch a 20 kg hanzir try your luck for maybe another 1.5 hrs especially in summer and go back in. if you are going to eat it clean it in the sea and them go to fish shop to cut in steaks
Busu no one (fisherman) is cleaning the swordfish anymore as soon as it is caught. The guys from pixkerija deduct 10% from the fish's weight and that is it.
bigboy they are not cleaning swordfish because when they export them the outer flesh of the stomach changes colour till the time that it arrives at the destination so they werent cleaning them. than everyone stopped cleaning them even for local
Due to the amount of bacteria present in the guts, It's safer to gut and rinse with clean sea water right away. I never had any problem with fish goung bad in the freezer.
Will have a try then and clean some fish while at sea next time.
since I was a kid I was always told to clean sworfish immediately as its flesh changes taste. Other fish if I keep i clean in saltwater and keep cool. Alungi I bleed and keep in very cold water when i am about to get to shore i clean like all other fish.
Same here. A chef once told me to always clean your fish before deep freeze. So, like Shanook, before I enter port, I clean all the fish I intend to keep, rinse in clean sea water, wrap them in plastic (stretch and seal) and back into the cooler or fridge again until I arrive home. I use 5 or 6 2ltr bottles frozen overnight to keep the temperature down in the cooler. If I'm going out for Lampuki, I stop at the barge opposite Haywharf and buy a sack of salt water ice flakes.
Interesting Idea about the saltwater Ice flakes :) Anyother shop selling those?
About cleaning - do you just remove guts or remove scales too?
The cold stores at Marsa also sell salt water ice flakes. I'm not sure, but probably also Azzopardi fisheries. I remove everything, guts, gills and scale.