Sarah Harper, Fishmongress at Quality Seafood Market, writes a monthly article for Live Oak Pharmacy on seafood as an essential part of whole body wellness.
There is a lot of helpful information available on how to purchase fresh seafood, but I rarely read any articles that address what to do with the seafood once you leave the market (i.e., how to safely transport and store it). This blog post aims to fill that void.
Transit – If your commute from the seafood market to your home takes more than 20 minutes, then be kind to your fish and ask your monger for an ice pack to keep it cool on the ride home. Even better, come prepared with a cooler and your own ice packs. Just remember not to leave your cooler in the hot trunk while you’re doing all your pre-seafood market shopping. When heated in the sun, a cooler will hold its temperature and act more like a portable oven than a fridge for your fish!
Packaging – Before refrigerating your fish, remove the fillets from their original packaging, wrap them with plastic wrap, and place them on a plate or tray in the coolest part of your fridge (back of bottom shelf) underneath an ice pack. Before freezing fillets, remove them from their original packaging and seal them in vacuum-pack bags using a home food saver. If you don’t have one of these, wrap the fish in plastic, then tightly in freezer paper or a freezer bag, pressing all the air out as you go. Try to store fish fillets in the coolest part of your freezer (near the back cooling unit) so that they freeze as quickly as possible, minimizing the number of ice crystals that form inside the flesh.
Live Shellfish – Be sure that your shellfish have adequate access to circulating air in transit. Ask your monger to use a mesh bag or to puncture some holes in a plastic bag so that the shellfish can “breathe.” Lobsters and crabs should be wrapped in wet newspaper (soaked with saltwater) before being placed in a box or cooler; this helps keep their gills moist. When you get your shellfish home, place it on ice in the coolest part of the fridge. Do not allow water to gather around the shellfish, as the chlorinated tap water will kill them. You may also want to cover your shellfish with a damp towel to keep them moist. Oysters should be laid flat, with the “cup” side down, so that if they open and close they don’t spill out all their delicious oyster liquor!
Shelf life – The shelf life of fish depends on a variety of factors, among them are the oil content, the time it has spent out of water, the time since it was filleted, and whether or not it was properly handled. A fish stays fresher the longer it stays whole (with an exception of the viscera, which should be removed as soon as possible). Your fishmonger should be able to give you the best advice on how many days your product will last if properly stored over ice in a home fridge. If your market does its own processing (like Quality Seafood Market!), then you’re in luck. If you don’t like the looks of a certain fillet, they may fillet you a fresh one. If you don’t live near a reputable fresh seafood market, then this table should give you a general idea of how long to keep seafood in your home fridge. Before cooking your fish, rinse it, pat it dry, and give it a good sniff test. If your fillets have gone sour or have a faint chemical aroma, it’s too late and you should be headed back to the market for newer, fresher seafood!
Raw Cooked
Whole fish (gutted and gilled) 3-4 days 3-4 days
Fish fillets or steaks 1-2 days 3-4 days
Live shellfish (crustaceans) 1 day 2-3 days
Live shellfish (mollusks) 1-2 days 2-3 days
Shellfish (processed) 1-2 days 2-3 days
Learn more about fish at Quality Seafood Market. The opinions expressed by our guest bloggers do not necessary reflect the opinions of Live Oak Pharmacy. The opinions expressed by guest bloggers are their own, unless otherwise stated. No financial agreement exists between guest bloggers and Live Oak Pharmacy.
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