Storing Smoked Fish

Gene said:

I caught some Kakone in Idaho last month. My friends had some of it
smoked. The smoked fish was then inserted into a vacuum bag and
sealed. It looks like it was done with a good home vacuum machine.
The fish does not look as tightly wrapped as you might see with smoked
salmon in a store.

So, does the smoked fish in the vacuum bag need to be refrigerated?

Yes. Vac packing doesn't obviate the need for refrigeration.

Quoted message said:

It arrived at my house through Fed Ex packed in dry ice. But we were
not home to receive it.

How can I tell if the fish is okay to eat.

Thanks in advance.

How long did it sit, thawed, with no ice left? Was it still cold
inside the container (I assume it's styrofoam)?

Generally, if it sits for anything longer 4-5 few hours above
40 F then you need to be concerned.

--
Reg

Gene said:

I caught some Kakone in Idaho last month.

Is this the landlocked salmon? Many years ago I caught some of that
in Lake Pondereille (no doubt misspelled--they pronounced it Pon-de-
ray). Really delicious. I'm envious.

Quoted message said:

My friends had some of it
smoked. The smoked fish was then inserted into a vacuum bag and
sealed. It looks like it was done with a good home vacuum machine.
The fish does not look as tightly wrapped as you might see with smoked
salmon in a store.

If the vacuum is good the wrapping doesn't matter so much.

Quoted message said:

So, does the smoked fish in the vacuum bag need to be refrigerated?
It arrived at my house through Fed Ex packed in dry ice. But we were
not home to receive it.

Refrigerating is a good idea. Best eaten after you let it come back
to room temp. Smoking is a preservation technique, of course, but
refrigeration also impedes any deterioration. It can also be frozen,
with a subsequent loss of texture, but you probably are going to have
it all eaten before needing to do that.

Quoted message said:

How can I tell if the fish is okay to eat.

Occasionally, after at least a week or more refrigerated, you may get
little spots of mold on smoked fish. We just cut 'em out and eat the
rest. -aem

Gene said:

I caught some Kakone in Idaho last month. My friends had some of it
smoked. The smoked fish was then inserted into a vacuum bag and
sealed. It looks like it was done with a good home vacuum machine.
The fish does not look as tightly wrapped as you might see with smoked
salmon in a store.

So, does the smoked fish in the vacuum bag need to be refrigerated?
It arrived at my house through Fed Ex packed in dry ice. But we were
not home to receive it.

Yes. You will sometimes see flat pieces of gravlax that doesn't
need refrigeration, but they have loads of preservatives in them
to keep them at room temp.

You can even freeze some of that, probably.

If the fish was still cold when you opened the package, it's
probably OK to eat.

-sw

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I caught some Kakone in Idaho last month. My friends had some of it
smoked. The smoked fish was then inserted into a vacuum bag and
sealed. It looks like it was done with a good home vacuum machine.
The fish does not look as tightly wrapped as you might see with smoked
salmon in a store.

So, does the smoked fish in the vacuum bag need to be refrigerated?
It arrived at my house through Fed Ex packed in dry ice. But we were
not home to receive it.

How can I tell if the fish is okay to eat.

Thanks in advance.

Yes, refrigerated for sure. Give it a sniff - there's no mistaking bad
fish.

--
Peter Aitken