How long can you keep fillets refrigerated

I had some success today, which is Saturday, and I’m wondering how long I can keep fresh fish fillets refrigerated. I have family coming in Monday, and I’d like to serve them fish. Keep‘em in the fridge until then, or freeze and thaw? I know that family and fish start to stink after three days, but I’m curious what others think.

keep fresh//clean water on them you’ll be good!!!!!! and of course in the frig!!!

I have had no issue keeping fish up to five days. Typically I will keep them submerged in water to limit exposure to the air.

thalweg87 wrote:

I have had no issue keeping fish up to five days. Typically I will keep them submerged in water to limit exposure to the air.

X2

Should be good.

glenn57 wrote:

keep fresh//clean water on them you’ll be good!!!!!! and of course in the frig!!!

Yup change water in case it gets a little stinky.

unless i will eat them in a couple days i just freeze the filets in a freezer bag with water. lasts a long time, no freezer burns and tastes just as fresh as the day you got em.

eyeguy507 wrote:

unless i will eat them in a couple days i just freeze the filets in a freezer bag with water. lasts a long time, no freezer burns and tastes just as fresh as the day you got em.

If you have a vacuum sealer, don’t do this. Add a few fillets and vacuum them dry. They last as long as u want and only take a half hour to thaw

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>eyeguy507 wrote:</div>
unless i will eat them in a couple days i just freeze the filets in a freezer bag with water. lasts a long time, no freezer burns and tastes just as fresh as the day you got em.

If you have a vacuum sealer, don’t do this. Add a few fillets and vacuum them dry. They last as long as u want and only take a half hour to thaw

I have a chamber vac sealer. They are the bomb. They are spendy, but worth it if you have a lot of fish/game to process. I’ve had at least a dozen friends but one after they saw mine in action. No more issues with wet fish/meat. You can even seal soup in them. I have the ARY215.

I’ve never heard of a chamber sealer so I looked that model up. Reviews on Amazon sure aren’t very good.

3rdtryguy wrote:

I’ve never heard of a chamber sealer so I looked that model up. Reviews on Amazon sure aren’t very good.

Mine is over 10 years old and I’ve run over 20k 4ml bags through it. I change the oil a couple of times a year. It’s been flawless. I believe mine was made in Italy, but they’re now manufactured elsewhere. Here’s a great thread discussing chamber vacs, https://www.ifish.net/threads/chamber-vac-recommendations.1656489/#post-16813970

This is the model I have VacMaster ARYVP215

In most cases it’s people not taking the time to learn how to use products they complain about. Glad you like yours.

I would not soak my fish for 3 days. (Unless they are smallies. ) Give them a good rinse, put in a zip lock bag, squeeze out the air and zip close. Rinse again when ready to cook.

Bleeding the fish out first goes a long way.

-J.

I eat all fish I keep fresh and keep them in a ziploc in the fridge (no water/no soaking). I like to eat them within 5 days but have left them for up to 7 and they are fine.Any longer than 7 days I would freeze them.

I keep my fish fresh in the fridge for 4-5 days but using a mix of comments from others. I bleed all my fish, filet, rinse well, dry with paper towels and seal tightly in a zip lock bag with little air and no water. Put the bag of filets in a bowl and I keep ice on top of the bag of filets in the fridge. I don’t like to soak fish, especially with city water that might be treated.

Dave

I’ve read holding fish a day or two can actually help if you intend to grille them. It allows the meat to go into full rigor, making the meat firmer. Not so much an issue if you are frying. Beyond 3 days I usually vac seal and freeze. Extra day or so, probably ok.

I’ve kept them 3-4 days in fridge in ziploc bag w/ no water more than a few times with no issue. That’s my anecdotal input

If you dry them they’ll keep longer in the fridge

By the way, how do you tell if sauer kraut goes bad??

I’m not sure the answer but I assume the fish in the grocery case are there a solid 4-5 days by the time they get caught shipped and sold.

Netguy wrote:

If you dry them they’ll keep longer in the fridge

By the way, how do you tell if sauer kraut goes bad??

Might have been a rhetorical question but the kraut my FIL made would get salt crystals on it when it turned bad.

By the way, how do you tell if sauer kraut goes bad??
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I think ALL kraut is bad. JMO

What’s with all of the recommendations to keep them soaking in water?

Never heard of this one before, and if it is true, I’m wondering why grocery stores and markets don’t keep their fillets soaking in water. I guess it may depend on how you are going to cook your fish but it seems to me like you’d end up with soggy, water logged fillets?

broeker wrote:

What’s with all of the recommendations to keep them soaking in water?

Since refrigerator’s are constantly cycling the air thru, whatever you store unsealed will dry out. So storing them in the water just keeps em soft/fresh a couple days longer. I always freeze mine in water too to keep air off of them. I have a basic vacuum sealer, but doesn’t seem to work well with anything wet, which is probably user error.

Your talking Saturday to Monday like 2 days. Man you worry way more then me.

I have a basic vacuum sealer, but doesn’t seem to work well with anything wet, which is probably user error.
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Roll up a paper towel and put it right in front of where it’s going to seal. Absorbs the water that might be in the filled yet. And makes a great seal. Then I can thaw my fish out in 10 minutes

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions. I refrigerated for 3 days dry fillets in zip lock bags with no air in them. Had a Xmas fish fry today for family and the table fare was excellent.

broeker wrote:

What’s with all of the recommendations to keep them soaking in water?

Never heard of this one before, and if it is true, I’m wondering why grocery stores and markets don’t keep their fillets soaking in water. I guess it may depend on how you are going to cook your fish but it seems to me like you’d end up with soggy, water logged fillets?

The fish does not end up soggy at all. WRT stores and markets – I suspect that part of it may be that filets displayed on a bed of ice present better than if they were in a bucket of water.

I keep them dry (dried with paper towel). On a Styrofoam tray with paper towel. Change paper every day or 2. Can keep 10+ days.