Let's talk Fish Processing
 

Since Makobob just brought up the Vacmaster chamber sealer, I wanted to make a post about the steps I take to process the fish that I catch using the Vacmaster, specifically the VP215. As fisherman and or sportsman I believe it is our duty to preserve and utilize as much of the fish we catch as possible, the vacmaster allows us to do that to the extreme. I want to say again what an awesome machine this is, and if your in the market for a vacuum sealer, consider the Vacmaster VP215. It's not cheap, but for what is and what it does, it's a great value. You can basically seal your fish and have it last for years if need be. Is it better than the food saver...? YES!


Here are the steps:
I lay the table out put a gunny sack or towel down to keep the fish from sliding around. Then I rinse as much crap and slime off the fish as possible.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps6oosazm2.jpg

With a super sharp knife it's time to slab this sucker out! This is a critical part in the process, make sure to take your time on this, it's not a race. If you hack the hell out of it...your end product will not only be less it will look like crap.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscximc1oa.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...pszuukrt4a.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psuxak4pw5.jpg

Now it's time to divide your fish, I like to divide them into sections. Tail section, loin section, and belly section. Then I like to cut them into smaller meal size pieces, then skin them.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps1obvfeb5.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psdjzb5wtv.jpg

Hopefully I had time to label some bags ahead of time...

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psulr9va8s.jpg

Now it's time bring my fish into the kitchen and trim as much of the dark meat/bloodline I can off the fish. You really don't want to seal the bloodline together with the fish, you will most likely have a nasty result.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psjmabz4tc.jpg

Now for the fun part, it's time to bag and seal with the VP215!

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psq5mqsy07.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscepkbvg6.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps3ptxrofs.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...ps1qqgemqw.jpg

Behold the Mountain of MEAT!

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...pscaoh2ifi.jpg

Let's not forget to send in the head to HUBBS! I took mine to the local DFG office here in Los Alamitos, they accept heads as well. The DFG scientist who took the head was really excited to see it.

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...pstlml58dp.jpg

http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u...psah1pqztk.jpg

OOpppps posted in the wrong section...Move it if you like MODS!

But the blood lines are SOOOO FLAVORY!!!

Nice write-up Tony :cheers1:

drooling as I read this...

For me this is a very timely report. My VM 215 is on a truck heading my way NOW. Tony I have a few questions if you please.

1. What is your prefered bag size for induvidual servings?
2. How well do the stickers hold up in the freezer and where did you get them?
3. Do you use yours for marinading or making poke?

Thanks for posting this Tony.

1. What is your prefered bag size for induvidual servings?

I used 8x13 3mil bag for years...I bought a case years ago and it's taken me that long to use them up, and I use the hell out of em'. I recently bought a case of 8x10 4 mil by accident, but it's working out great! Less waste as I usually cut off a few inches anyways on the 8x13. Get the 4 or 5 mil bags, having that extra thickness is totally worth it.

2. How well do the stickers hold up in the freezer and where did you get them?

They are not stickers they are just labels that I made and printed up with my computer. They are secured with clear packing tape, they never come off even when wet.

3. Do you use yours for marinading or making poke?

I haven't yet...but I have vacuum sealed fruit like watermelon and honeydew melons with it before....if you ever try it, you will get an interesting tasty result.

Thanks again Tony, I hear you also use yours to seal spare Hobie parts and tools for use on board your Hobie. I hope this will allow me to bring back fillets from Baja to donate to our friends at HOW.

It sounds like the Vacmaster 215 is the go to product when selecting performance over price.

Just curious if anyone can recommend a similar solution that places more emphasis in price over performance?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

1gal ziploc freezer bags submerged in a pot of water to squeeze the air out. The MOST price conscious option for vacuum sealing there is. :farmer:

ALMOST TRUE. .05 a bag for vacuum bagging. Ziplocks are expensive if doing lots of fish. As to Foodsaver ask Greg Andrews about how many he has bought over the years.
Buy the Vac Masters the VP 215 is on the TOP of their line, you can get a lower model and save a couple hundred, and still have a machine that will last a lifetime.
If you are UNDER 50 it is a life time investment. If over 65 like me it would make less cents, but this one will be left in OUR Gonzaga Fish Camp for the future BWE fishermen to use. I should be long gone before it needs replacement. Tight Lines.

My old foodsaver always struggled with fish since they have a fair bit of moisture in them. Anything solid it did great. Probably need a stronger vac to do the job for longer term storage. Maybe later foodsaver models have improved but per price, I doubt it.

Makobob,

If going with a less expensive option than the VP 215, which model from Vacmaster would be your choice?

VP112 or one of their suction units?

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Once I get the $$$, I plan to buy one of these. When any of the fellas bring their vac-sealed fish/lobster to eat, the quality is noticeable.

Thanks for the great post !
Learned a few tips. (gunny sack...)

Wish I had known the 4-5 mil bags are better than the 3 mil.
I had bought a lot of it already .

Watch out , the pump oil that came with make some bad smell (maybe just my machine ? )

I purchased other high quality pump oil from amazon.com , the smell decrease, and finally gone.

Enjoyed reading this post. Great to maximize the quality of the fish

Thanks Tony, very cool.

by the way, I need one of those vacuum sealers, but who
keeps fish for over a year? Eat more fish, more often!

My grandparents and inlaws to be. Both really love getting fresh fish but both really don't get around to eating it while fresh. And they have a second fridge/freezer as well (Asian...)

Sent from my XT1060 using Tapatalk

Here's a good example..
 

of the effectiveness of the vacmaster. I have some yellowfin tuna that's about a year old, not fresh by any means. It also was my aunt's 80th birthday just this past weekend. I brought them some halibut, seabass & tuna for the party and for them to eat whenever. I get a text the next day they cut it up and ate it raw sashimi style. They were thanking me for all the "Fresh" fish that I brought for them...when little did they know that yellowfin was a year old...To me the vacmaster has paid for itself many times over, just in the ability to preserve the fish that I catch, to be used at anytime I choose. The point is if you can eat year old fish raw, enjoy it and not instantly puke...you did something right. Is that not worth $$$??? I say it is.

This is how I clean the bigger fish :

2 saw horses with a wooden board ( with side edges raised , and slanted ).

A plastic sheet wrap at the end of of board, direct the bloody water into a 5 gal bucket.

Since my backyard is concrete slab, I don't want blood all over.
The bloody water can be used to fertilize my fruit tree in other area.

Works for me !

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/a...1&d=1464367994

in order of MY preference.
VP 215
VP 210
VP 112
VP Suction unit
Food Saver below all others.