Question/help: CEVICHE!

[Oz]

Shoot... my vacuum sealer has been broken so I ended up just putting the fillets into ziplock baggies. I see frost on them too. Not *too* much though. I need to get a new vacuum sealer :( Is the fish still okay even though it hasn't been vacuum sealed?

as long as u dont see any discoloring in the fillet then the fish will be good. u can tell when the fish is freezer burned. best bet is go get a vacum sealer man...costco always has the best deal on them. also in there lil booklet they give for free, theres a coupon 2 save more.

Jplee I have yet to buy a vacuum sealer and at this point I probably just bite the bullet and do so. In the interim I put my fillets in a quart sized ziplock, fill it 2/3 with water, press the air out and freeze....no more freezer burn and fish is good for months!

TD

hmmmmmm u do it the opposite way i have heard of TD...my friend puts the fillets in a ziplock bag with as much air out as possible. then puts it in another ziplock bag with water so it seals it like a block when frozen. so no water touching any part of the fillet.

Im thinking the fishy taste was the yt it has a stronger flavor than the rest even more so if you dont remove bloodline

yea thats right on the money.

[victor101]

Sheephead makes some of the best ceviche ive tasted...booooomb!

[cappo]

Sheephead makes some of the best ceviche ive tasted...booooomb!

you should try triggerfish, its so good.

[jplee3]

Actually, YT tasting 'fishier' makes sense - I marinated all the fish in lemon/lime juice and can tell that the YT is darker - this would make the most sense. The first YT I caught the guy bled it right away, and I recall the meat not being as dark as the YT I caught this time (the deckie did not bleed the YT this time), so I'm thinking it probably affects the flavor. The more blood present in the fish, the faster/more the flesh will degrade it seems. Even soaking the fillets in brine doesn't seem to help that much. At least in terms of flavor. Ughhh...

I noticed the sheepshead flesh gets really 'fluffy' after being frozen. I ended up chopping it up and throwing it in anyway. Will that still be okay for ceviche?

[jplee3]

as long as u dont see any discoloring in the fillet then the fish will be good. u can tell when the fish is freezer burned. best bet is go get a vacum sealer man...costco always has the best deal on them. also in there lil booklet they give for free, theres a coupon 2 save more.

Yeah, I just need to go get a replacement one. The one I have isn't that great either - I brought it down to Mexico with me and over half the bags had water from melted ice seep into them, tainting all the mahi mahi we caught >:T

[sansou]

Jplee,

Over the years I've gone thru a number of vaccum sealers. My best guess from having owned maybe 4 or 5 of them now, is that either you spend a bunch and get an industrial model, or you just make do with what you have.

As for dorado, they are a difficult fish to preserve if you wish to retain it. They don't hold up very well in the freezer. It requires quick processing and very very fast freezing technique.

The issue of your bags leaking is common. As your sealer gets older, you need to think about double sealing (both ends). I have this problem too when my machine gets older.

What I have found is that making a slurry of salted ice keeps them the coldest possible without them partially freezing, while I travel back home. Once I get to my kitchen, I put the plastic bags/ziplocs w/fillets in my garage deep freezer while I process the bags one at a time. I make a bunch of double sealed vaccum bags ahead of time, then I sparingly wipe down and trim the fillets and prep them for vacuuming.

The more you wash your fillets with water, the more you are leaching the oils/flavor that makes your fish taste good. In addition, you want to have a near frosted fillet when you put it in the vaccum bags.

The key is to make sure the vaccum sealed bags get frozen QUICKLY. That means making sure your freezer isn't overstuffed, and that you don't stack unfrozen bags on each other.

The quicker the freeze (which is why I use salt slurries until I get home and temporarily put the bags in my kitchen freezer until transferred to my deep freezer) equates to a smaller water molecule being frozen (also pat fillets down w/paper towel to dry them out if wet). The slower the freeze (not good) equates to a larger molecule being frozen, and translates to a mushier fillet upon defrost. (this is why commercial processors use "flash freezing").

Also, keeping the skin on helps a lot with minimizing freezer burn (just take skin off upon defrost if you want).

Salt slurry in the fish hold or cooler: ice + some scoops of saltwater (best is rock salt and chipped ice). You know you got a good slurry going when it is painfully too cold to keep your hand in the water.

This is what works for me after trying other methods over the years.

[troutdog]

Nice breakdown Rich, thanks for the feedback on what works best for you....I'm just going to make things easier on myself and swing by your pad with my catch from now on. Thanks!


TD

[jplee3]

Thanks guys! The ceviche turned out awesome! Everyone enjoyed it thoroughly. One of my buddies had like 5 servings of it... >:T :D

But yea, one of my friends hates that "fishy" taste and said that she didn't even taste it.

I added serranos and jalapenos after (as I forgot to get them) and it gave it a nice kick. Stupid me didn't rinse my hands well enough though and I ended up rubbing my eyes at one point. Needless to say, it burnt like a *****!!!!

Anyway, thanks for all the help guys!

[greygrizz]

Sansou I am sorry to hear your bags are leaking as you get older.
I have used dry ice to freezes chiles and some fish. It works fast ,a little extra cost but it my be worth it. I put items in vac bags then place them between news paper cover dry ice,put in freezer or in small ice chest.

[sansou]

Sansou I am sorry to hear your bags are leaking as you get older.
I have used dry ice to freezes chiles and some fish. It works fast ,a little extra cost but it my be worth it. I put items in vac bags then place them between news paper cover dry ice,put in freezer or in small ice chest.

Excellent idea!