The quality of your seafood is intrinsically linked to how it’s handled, on and off the boat.
Good fishing and handling practices helps ensure frozen seafood has all of that fantastic quality locked in! What happens when it arrives in your kitchen is also just as important.
There’s a few rules you need to follow when defrosting your seafood to ensure you’re going to keep that amazing quality and maximize shelf life.
Without a doubt, the trick is a slow, cool defrost! You can typically achieve this in one of two ways…
1. An ice brine OR 2. Overnight in the fridge.
The process of ice brining is simple – salty water and plenty of ice. This cold, salty water ensures that the seafood is kept just above freezing but still allows the process of defrosting to occur. You can do this in the kitchen sink, bowl, or an esky.
Please, for the love of seafood, do NOT defrost under hot tap water! If you’re really in a pickle and need your frozen seafood defrosted in a rush, placing the packaged product under cool running water is an option.
If you don’t have access to ice and of salt, simply placing your seafood in a container and into the fridge over night also a good option. Again, slow, cold, defrost.
Following these simple steps, you’re going to maximise the quality and shelf-life of your product!
