Kept Fish - Handling and Storage

[beaser]

(04-01-2012 03:42 PM)OldTimer Wrote:  - Use a stringer, live well, or fish basket to keep the fish alive until cleaned, or killed/iced.

- Or kill the fish quickly by spiking it, cutting its gills, or breaking its neck – then put on ice. I’ve found the quality of some fish improves if bled out.

OldTimer

Could you explain how to "bleed" a fish and expand on the methods of killing the fish. I had always delivered a sharp blow above the eyes. I know very little and would appreciate the correct methods.

What you say makes perfect sense. When freezing or chilling it is advisable to do so as fast as possible. Chilling by using crushed ice and freezing as quickly as possible. Slow freezing causes the ice crystals withing the flesh to be overly large, this ruptures any cell structure and turned firm meat to mush. (I was a refrigeration field engineer for over 40 years.) I chill my beer quickly simply because I am impatient

It breaks my heart to see someone take a beautiful steak or any meat and stuff it into a freezer incapable of a fast freeze. If your ice cream is rock hard then your freezer has the ballz.

Edit
Are all stringers created equally? What should I look for?