Question re freezing fresh caught bait

[61 crusher]

I’m wondering if anyone has any good techniques for fresh squid or baitfish to freeze, I generally put them into a ziplock bag & carefully lower it into a tub of water to expel 99%  of the air (making sure no water gets in) before sealing & putting into freezer, any better ideas or suggestions would be appreciated, cheers Dieter 

Edited May 5, 2019 by 61 crusher

[Berleyguts]

Vacuum sealer. Simple to use and the contents last longer. I cryovac all my bait and fish fillets not eaten fresh. I think you can buy a cheap one at KMart.

[Captain Spanner]

On 5/5/2019 at 10:42 AM, 61 crusher said:

I’m wondering if anyone has any good techniques for fresh squid or baitfish to freeze, I generally put them into a ziplock bag & carefully lower it into a tub of water to expel 99%  of the air (making sure no water gets in) before sealing & putting into freezer, any better ideas or suggestions would be appreciated, cheers Dieter 

I have the Sunbeam Vac Sealer and while it is good it does require you to buy bags, does get messy during use and require cleaning, still leaves some air in it and if you are using it for bait then you need to take a snaplock bag on the boat with you to put it in the second you cut it open to use it.

So i have gone back to using the method you describe above with the snaplock bags. I like the Hercules Brand ones with the double zip. They are tough and have a good seal. If catching squid for bait i bag them on the boat using the bait tank full of salt water to push the air out, then put the bags in the clean esky that is full of frozen bottles. When i go fishing i throw the sealed bag in the bucket of water to thaw so the squid/fish isn't getting soaked while it thaws.

Same for fillets for wating, I thaw them still in the sealed bag in a saucepan of cold tap water too (you need to put a weight on them to hold them under because they float), change the water when it gets too cold to maintain efficiency of thawing. When thawed, remove from bag and wipe slime off with clean, dry paper towel.

Edited May 6, 2019 by Captain Spanner

[anthman]

I often fillet and heavily salt any slimies I have leftover - then freeze in zip lock bags.

[campr]

I also use double seal zip bags but have found something a bit better.  If you look around you will find them that have been designed for wraps that are long and thin.  Perfect for bait fish like pillies but I mostly use them for squid.  They hold 6-8 pillies, 1 big squiď, 2-3 medium squid a heap of little river squid or quite a few salted slimey fillets.  Ron 

[Volitan]

This may be useful or it may not.

i often chop up fruit and freeze it for smoothies. What I do is get a steel plate and put it in the freezer till it has reached ambient temp. Then I spread the chopped fruit on it and leave it till frozen. Then I slide the fruit off and bag it.

1. The fruit is already in chunks and can be used frozen.

2. The steel ‘snap freezes’ the fruit. The reason food often goes mushy after freezing is because as it cools long, destructive ice crystals are built up within. Snap freezing eliminates (well, reduces) this because the long crystals don’t have time to form, so you get a smaller, non-destructive ice formation. The steel speeds up the freezing because it sucks the warmth out of the fruit. This is the basis of snap freezing which was invented by a bloke called Birdseye and revolutionised food supply around the world.

The point of this all is that you should end up with better, firmer, tastier bait. 

Anyway, it’s a better way to freeze.

[Volitan]

Another point in the quest for rapid, non-destructive freezing is that it makes a big difference where you put the bait for the initial freeze. We have a vertical freezer, and I just opened it and measured surface temps with an infrared thermometer. It’s -18 a the top and -7 at the bottom, so there are big differences within the freezer so check to find the coldest spot.

[Captain Spanner]

4 hours ago, Volitan said:

This may be useful or it may not.

i often chop up fruit and freeze it for smoothies. What I do is get a steel plate and put it in the freezer till it has reached ambient temp. Then I spread the chopped fruit on it and leave it till frozen. Then I slide the fruit off and bag it.

1. The fruit is already in chunks and can be used frozen.

2. The steel ‘snap freezes’ the fruit. The reason food often goes mushy after freezing is because as it cools long, destructive ice crystals are built up within. Snap freezing eliminates (well, reduces) this because the long crystals don’t have time to form, so you get a smaller, non-destructive ice formation. The steel speeds up the freezing because it sucks the warmth out of the fruit. This is the basis of snap freezing which was invented by a bloke called Birdseye and revolutionised food supply around the world.

The point of this all is that you should end up with better, firmer, tastier bait. 

Anyway, it’s a better way to freeze.

Have you tried making ice slurries in buckets/tubs for snap freezing? I haven't done it with a pre-chilled one yet but whenever ive tried to freeze tubs of saltwater in the past it takes about a week. How thick is your steel plate to be effective? Does it have to be like a thick cast iron BBQ plate? Have you tried it for bait yet? Do the snap lock bags freeze to it or are you able to dry the plate and bags enough that they don't?

[Volitan]

No, I haven’t tried it with bait, which is why I put cautions in my answer.

you guessed correct. I use an old barbecue plate. I haven’t tried experimented with anything else so can’t comment. 

Snap freezing in a tub of ice slurry won’t work. Logically, the slurry will be greater then 1degree Celsius, otherwise it wouldn’t be a slurry. You want about -20 for snap freezing, with the addition of some way of draining the warmth from the bait very quickly, which is where the metal comes in. Most domestic freezers are factory set at -19, but will go down to about -22 if they have a dial.

the snap lock bags would indeed stick to the steel. But you don’t want to be using them at this point. Freeze the item naked, then put it in a bag. If you put a bunch of pillies in a bag then freeze them then the ones in the middle will take several hours to freeze fully, which is what you are trying to avoid with this process.

ps. The fruit sticks to the plate, so I’m sure the bait will too. I  come back to it every now and then to turn them over. That works, plus it probably freezes them quicker as it exposes a new surface to the metal.

will this work for bait. I don’t know, I was just explaining the basics of snap freezing and how it leads to firmer, better quality produce.  I can’t try it because we only have one freezer and my wife doesn’t like smelly bait in it.

[JonD]

The vacuum sealed bags I use for my fish fillets get re-used to vacuum seal bait ( to expensive for a one use only ).  Sometimes they don't vacuum enough on the second or third use so I have to manually override the seal process ( simply push the seal button as it's still vacuuming). Each time the bags are used they get smaller because I cut the seal off.

[Berleyguts]

52 minutes ago, JonD said:

The vacuum sealed bags I use for my fish fillets get re-used to vacuum seal bait ( to expensive for a one use only ).  Sometimes they don't vacuum enough on the second or third use so I have to manually override the seal process ( simply push the seal button as it's still vacuuming). Each time the bags are used they get smaller because I cut the seal off.

I rarely use the bags. I just buy the rolls online and cut them to size when needed. Pretty good value IMO.

[61 crusher]

Some great tips & suggestions I’ll definitely be trying out a few, I mentioned to my other half that we should invest in a vacuum sealer & she reminded me of one we bought a couple of years back from Aldi,         doh do’h!!! definitely give that a go, hope it still works 

Edited May 9, 2019 by 61 crusher

[JonD]

8 hours ago, Berleyguts said:

I rarely use the bags. I just buy the rolls online and cut them to size when needed. Pretty good value IMO.

Yes I do the same, I was calling them bags because that's what they become after cutting them.  Only genuine same brand seem to work with my sealer, tried Aldi and other rolls from online and the sealer doesn't stop sucking " it sucks" maybe time for a new one.