How to Freeze Fish

Most every body of water in the world contains finned fishes, and a large percentage of these fish are edible. They provide free food that's high in valuable protein. For many species, there's no legal limit, so you can preserve all the fish you catch, creating great survival foods for lean times.

After catching fish, clean them as soon as possible. To dress a fish, remove the head, the entrails, and the scales. If you prefer to fillet the fish, cut along the backbone all the way to the tail. You can remove the skin or leave it on. If you leave it on, the fish needs to be scaled first. Watch the video below to see how a fish is filleted.

After the fish has been dressed or filleted, get it chilled as soon as possible. Rinse the fillets in cool water and place in freezer bags or in plastic containers. If you use freezer bags, double bag the fish. We like to use old gallon milk jugs for freezing fish, but whether you use these or bags, cover the fish with water. Fish will keep for months when frozen this way. Yes, it takes up more room in your freezer, but think about this: In case of a power outage, the fish will still be good to eat for a much longer period of time because the ice will keep them chilled. As an added bonus, the block of ice will also help keep other foods in the freezer cold when you're without power.