Refrigerating your Striped Bass is not as simple as it may seem. We’ve all seen plenty of fillets at the fishmonger’s stand at our local supermarket and wondered how they keep the fish so fresh for such a long time. Although your fishmonger is professional, there is no secret to it, and anyone can refrigerate their bass properly.
Striped bass can last as long as two to three days when kept raw in your refrigerator. On the other hand, if you freeze the striped bass, its shelf life will be prolonged by up to three months.
You’re probably wondering how to keep your bass in its optimal condition for preparing a delicious meal. Read on to see how it’s done.
Can Striped Bass Be Frozen?
The short answer is yes, you can. Although if you want to store a striped bass in your freezer properly
, consider this:
- Avoid placing the fish in water: Water will give a free range to bacteria growth and completely ruin your striped bass.
- Avoid any humidity: You can freeze your bass in plastic freezer bags.
- Once frozen: It can last up to three months without getting spoiled.
Let’s take a look at how to prepare your freezer for your delicious striped bass.
How To Properly Freeze Striped Bass
For storing your striper fillets for later use, it’s vital to remember that striped bass has a shorter shelf life than most other available fish. Be sure to check the fish’s color, texture, and smell. If it’s slimy or has an unusual and rancid smell, it’s definitely past its expiration date.
A good way to avoid this is to use vacuum-sealed bags for your fillets or to store them in individual freezer bags that won’t break.
- Remove as much air as possible and ensure the fish’s eyes aren’t swelling or going brown. While it’s possible to eat the fish still, it will greatly lose taste when compared to a fresh serving.
- Striped bass also adheres to other smells in your refrigerator. If you want to avoid this, use freezer bags to store your bass in fillets. You do need to cover the fillets with saltwater before storing them.
- When preparing your fillets, remember to clean them well. You can give them a rinse in cold water to remove any unwanted residue. After cleaning them, slice through the backbone with a sharp knife and separate the meat from the skin. Now you’re ready to cook!
Preparing Striped Bass For The Deep Freeze
If you have a deep freezer, a good way to prepare your striped bass fillets is by vacuum-sealing them in the appropriate bags. This will preserve the freshness of your fillets for much longer, although it will change with the passing of time.
- When preparing your cooked striped bass for the freezer, make sure they’re very well done.
- With a meat thermometer as a guiding tool, the fish’s interior temperature should set around 145ºF (67ºC). Since not everyone has a thermometer, you can also use a fork to poke and check to see if it’s properly cooked.
- Once the fish is well cooked, It’s ready for deep freezing.
How To Vacuum Seal Striped Bass Fillets
If you want to vacuum seal your delicious striped bass fillet, make sure you remove the fish’s blood vessels and have the fillets well rinsed.
After the cleaning, you can vacuum seal them to make them maintain both their freshness and good taste. You can save the red blood for future use for other meals, including soups.
When you’re done sealing your fillets:
- Place them in proper freezer bags or plastic containers that won’t break or tear.
- Be sure that no air is trapped before the sealing.
- You can also add a small layer of salted water into the freezer bag and then place the fish fillets inside.
Following our recommendations will avoid an unwanted freezer burn forming crystals and affecting the fish’s color. Freezer burn will also change the texture of the fish and completely ruin the fillet if you want to take advantage of its full savory experience.
How Long Can Striped Bass Stay Fresh?
The first thing to consider for this question is that striped bass usually lives in saltwater. The females spend most of their life in freshwater, while the males usually have their way in saltwater. It’s important to know as they migrate to the ocean to spawn.
- If you have frozen your striped bass in fillets and defrost it, it can last up to three to eight months before losing the bulk of the good flavor.
- Leaving your striped bass out at room temperature for above two hours will ruin it, in which case the safest would be to throw it away.
- In its best case, striped bass can be refrigerated for a week without going bad. If you want to conserve it for longer, freeze the fish before having the meal.
Raw striped bass can be stored in the refrigerator for two to three days as a maximum, although it will be safer to eat it within a day or two after you’ve caught it or bought it.
- Remember that when you store your sea bass in the refrigerator, you must have the fillets wrapped properly or keep them in their original packaging.
- Once you have opened the package, its shelf life will be greatly reduced.
- If your fish is cooked, it can last no more than a week when refrigerated.
To Conclude
Nobody likes eating bad fish, and the striped bass would be a true loss if left to go spoiled in your refrigerator. From vacuum sealing to more DIY approaches, if you have read our guide, you’ll have no problems keeping your fish fresh and ready, just like the fishmonger!
