Re: Random question about "Fresh Never Frozen" vs 'Flash Frozen' etc.
 

Frozen is as good as fresh if done with no air in pack

Also do not let fish defrost in its own juices. Do the final deicing under a little running water and then cook it

It will taste fine

Re: Random question about "Fresh Never Frozen" vs 'Flash Frozen' etc.
 

to answer your question, friend is wrong. all fish sold at retail are not previously or flash frozen. if you want fresh look for local species, black sea bass, fluke, tile even mahi and sword.

Re: Random question about "Fresh Never Frozen" vs 'Flash Frozen' etc.
 

More people need to learn to cook whole fish.

Not only do you stop throwing half the meat away, it freezes better.

I freeze whole fish guts and all. My blackfish hit the freezer alive! It really keeps the meat fresh and intact.

When it's time to eat I clean gut and scale when it's still very cold almost a bit frozen still.

Learned this from island nation peoples, where fish is a much bigger part of the diet.

Re: Random question about "Fresh Never Frozen" vs 'Flash Frozen' etc.
 

I never freeze fish I catch but saying that bacteria begins to grow in fish the second it leaves the water. Local catches are cleaned and stored at 32 degrees until the are displayed in the store but those that have to travel are stored at 32 degrees until they can be flash frozen. Bacteria and histamine are inevitable once fish is caught, cleaned and transported.

I am not sure of the handling laws yet assume all fish is chilled or frozen to some degree if you did not catch it yourself.

Re: Random question about "Fresh Never Frozen" vs 'Flash Frozen' etc.
 

I do this with Porgy, Seabass, Blackfish and even fluke sometimes. It is definitely better to freeze a whole fish with skin and scales on because the meat is much more protected. Never rinse in fresh water that is death to the meat. Half of the fish I cook is whole, even the occasional striped bass and cod, pollack roast very nicely in the oven scaled and gutted.

Re: Random question about "Fresh Never Frozen" vs 'Flash Frozen' etc.
 

Maybe it's just me but I've been filleting fish for 30 years, rinsing them in fresh water and vacuum sealing them and they taste great. I don't let them sit in fresh water, just rinse them off at home after checking for any bones and as far as I'm concerned there's no effect on taste whatsoever. I also pat them dry with a paper towel to wipe off any excess water. Keep them dry when vacuum sealing. I've had fish after six months using a food saver and they taste no different than cooking them fresh a day after being caught. In all honesty, if you handle your catch right and keep them on ice, they'll taste fine. When I fillet them at the dock, we always grab a bucket of salt water before heading in and make a salt water slush just by adding ice in a 5 or 10 gallon bucket to put the fillets in while filleting our day's catch. When they're all done, they get put in zip lock bags and immediately placed on ice. At home they get rinsed, dried and vacuum sealed and put in the freezer other than what we plan on using for dinner that night or the following night. Those we'll keep in the refrigerator never for more than a day. Vacuum sealing fish makes a HUGE difference. Like I said, using this approach I've never had issues with fillets other than maybe ling and Spanish mackerel which really don't freeze well at all no matter what you do.

Dakota

Re: Random question about "Fresh Never Frozen" vs 'Flash Frozen' etc.
 

You can buy IQF, which is quick frozen on a commercial sister ship. Not bad if baked depending on the freezing method. Sometimes they put a thin layer of ice before freezing or just freeze. Frying is terrible, because of moisture the fish will curl and sometimes soggy and fall apart. Freezing yourself is fine and thaw in water. Fresh is best.