How to properly and safely freeze fresh pike

Preparing for freezing

To preserve the taste and freshness of fish, it must be properly prepared for freezing. First of all, we need to decide what we want from pike; in the future it will be mincemeat, steaks, baked fish or cutlets; freezing methods depend on this. Uncleaned and ungutted fish should not be stored. Do not re-freeze fish. In no case should you let the pike “sit” in the refrigerator; the less time passes between catch and freezing, the better the quality of the finished product. A quick freezer is best suited for freezing fish, ideally if the temperature in it is -18 degrees.

Freezing pike in parts

If the housewife plans to cook stuffed fish, then she needs to remove the skin, the so-called “stocking”. To do this, do not rush and cut the pike along the belly to gut it, you can cut off the fins, make an incision around the head and carefully remove the skin. First you just need to very carefully clean the scales so as not to damage the delicate skin.When the “stocking” is separated, carefully remove the entrails from the pike, remove the bones and grind the meat in a meat grinder. Next, you need to carefully fold the stocking, and pack the minced fish in portions in bags or plastic containers.

Freezing whole pike

You can cook pike whole baked very tasty. Freezing fish for such a dish is perhaps the easiest way. First of all, we clean the carcass from scales, cut off the fins, gut it, rinse it thoroughly, put it in a bag and put it in the freezer. It is better not to cut off the head; in this form, the baked pike looks much more impressive.

Freezing pike as steaks

You can very carefully and beautifully prepare pike for frying or baking in the form of steaks. We clean and gut the fish as in the previous case, only we cut off the head. Next, we cut the pike carcass into portioned pieces of the desired thickness, carefully place it in a convenient container or bag and store it in the freezer. There is no need to throw away the head; you can also freeze it and later prepare an excellent fish soup or aspic.

You can watch the video on how to properly freeze pike for the winter.