Tips for Neutralizing Fishy Flavor

[Nickofthewoods]

This past Fall my wife and I went to Mexico and were able to bring home a bunch of fish that we caught. Most of it is Mahi Mahi which we love eating, but some of it is Skipjack Tuna. The Skipjack was ok when we ate some fresh in Mexico but it now has a very strong fishy flavor after being frozen and vacuum sealed. I've had a little bit of luck making a tuna casserole out of it and marinating some for use in an Asian recipe, but I'm almost to the point of feeding it to the dog and cat. Anyone have ideas for the best ingredients or techniques for Neutralizing that fishy taste? I don't want to give up on it just yet.

 

[SDHNTR]

You can’t polish a turd. Skipjack yes makes decent poke, and some other things ok when it’s super fresh. It’s cat food or yard fertilizer once you freeze it. I’ll keep a couple every year for poke, the rest get frozen for wintertime lobster bait. Most tuna don’t freeze well, skipjack especially.

And to answer your question…. The best way to deal with a strong fishy flavor is to not let it get that way in the first place. Bleed, gill/gut in some cases, and into a salt brine slush. Then with filets, do not let sit in bloody, slimy nasty fish slime in a ziploc bag. That’s the kiss of death. Put filets on a plate under several layers of paper towel, and wrap over the plate with Saran Wrap. It’s no different than game in that if you want good table fare, you must treat it with care.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

You can’t polish a turd.

That's what I was afraid of with the skipjack. Most of what I have read about them suggests poor table fare. We actually did make fresh poke from one of the skipjack filets the day we caught them and it was pretty good.

To your other point of meat care. When we took the fish out of the coolers and cut out the filets, we put them directly into Ziploc bags then into the freezer in our rental house as fast as we could since our main concern was getting them frozen solid before our flight home. Due to our hastiness the filets definitely could have sat in slimy fish water inside the Ziploc bags during the freezing process. Once we got back home to Colorado we transferred the filets from the Ziploc bags and vacuum packed everything while still frozen. The Mahi Mahi has held up great and each time we thaw and prepare some it is still excellent. I'll remember the paper towel and saran wrap for the future though, that makes good sense. Thanks!

 

[Wyobohunter]

Don’t eat fish.

Couldn’t help myself. I love fish. Citrus usually does a good job.

 

[svivian]

Biggest thing you can do is bleed your fish as soon as it comes on deck. I also like to soak my fish in salt water then pat dry and vac seal.

 

[Longleaf]

Tuna doesn’t freeze.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Well thanks everyone. Lesson learned and next time the Skipjack is going back into the ocean.

 

[huck]

You could try soaking in salted ice water over night rinsing then canning in pint jars with some salt and 1 tsp. liquid smoke or 2 tsp. lousianna hot sauce. Dont know for sure but this can make some pretty shitty fish seem pretty good .

 

[Wireman07]

Soak in milk for 1/2 hour to an hour

 

[Docpk]

Actually if handled properly when boated and vacuum sealed bluefin tuna freezes well.

 

[TSAMP]

You could try soaking in salted ice water over night rinsing then canning in pint jars with some salt and 1 tsp. liquid smoke or 2 tsp. lousianna hot sauce. Dont know for sure but this can make some pretty shitty fish seem pretty good .

This is my goto. Soaking in ice water and changing regularly helps with the oily white fish I get from lake Michigan. I never can them. Just soak in ice bath in fridge for a couple days prior to cooking.

 

[Runningwater]

I ate yellowfin sushi last night that was frozen over a year. It's better fresh and you may need to trim, but it stores ok. You might try smoking some or poaching for tuna salad. The canning idea might work as well.

 

[Longleaf]

Actually if handled properly when boated and vacuum sealed bluefin tuna freezes well.

The bluefin caught here in NC gets put on a jet plane to Japan, the cheek meat getting eaten On the way to the dock.

 

[SDHNTR]

Both BFT and YFT freeze WAY better than Skipjack. We catch all three here.

 

[Stalker69]

Summers Eve ,

 

[svivian]

Summers Eve ,

Lmao now that got me bustin up

 

[MTPipeliner]

Not tuna, but I’ve pickled pike and adding minced garlic to it removed the fishy flavor that one batch had.

 

[DawnPatrol]

Might sound counterintuitive, but I feel like a teriyaki marinade containing a healthy dose of fish sauce helps if I’ve got a piece of tuna that got lost in bottom of the freezer for a couple years. And don’t overcook it.

I eat a lot of frozen albacore, and it’s great frozen if handled well from the beginning. Never tried frozen skipjack.

 

[journeyman713]

+1 on the milk soak before cooking

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Update; My wife bought two bags of this along with some dried ahi when we were in Kauai this February. We opened one of the bags last week and neither of us could finish more than a bite. The dog had some great treats for awhile though. Skipjack may only be good while immediately fresh or with some seriously heavy intervention.