Can I freeze my smoked salmon after I vacuum seal it?? How long will it last in the freezer?

I do it all the time. If you have a good vacuum packer it should last at least 6 months.

-Jim

Jerry Garcia on the board does it all the time and it turns out excellent!! Im sure that when he gets back to his computer on Monday, he can give you the details.

Ditto. I vacum pack my smoked salmon regularly. It will usually keep at least six months but around my house, it gets eaten long before then. I usally take an extra step of wrapping the fish in plastic wrap before putting into the vacum bags. This protects the vacum bag from any small fish bones. It only takes one of those to punture the bag and lose the seal.

Vaccume packed it will last at least a year in a good cold freezer. The trick is getting it to last that long. Do your self a favor and vaccume pack it and then put a few packs in the coldest part of your fridge. They will keep there for at least a month and tasts better if it's not frozen. I'v gotten so spoiled that I don't like it as much if it's been frozen. Sometimes you have no choice, but fresh is much better. Also get a sharpe (felt pen) and date stamp your bags also list species, etc. This helps when sorting the freezer bins.......

I just vacuum packed a batch of smoked silver and found that the taste and texture of the fish is not as good as fresh. I think I should have waited for the fish to dry more or something. The top of the fish is slightly different color than I am used to and it is wet coming out of the bag. What have I done wrong this time? I have always lived by "eat it fresh" and will probably go back to that. I just thought I could use the vacuum bags to send the fish back east to a friend. I don't think I would even have to vacuum pack it for that?

After I smoke my fish I always put it into a couple of big ziplock bags in the fridge for at least a week. That allows the moisture in the fish to equalize throughout the pieces. Then I vacuum pack it and into the freezer it goes where it will be good for a year, I've never had any longer than that but if I did I would probably give it away to someone who wouldn't know the difference.

This may seem like a no-brainer, but I know of several people who don't do this. Always remove the skin prior to packing. Your fish will last much longer. The skin has an uncanny ability to reconstitute that slime, even after 6-8 hours in the smoker. The people that I know that leave the skin on do so because it continues to trap some of the oils between the meat and skin. I don't know whether there's any science to it or not, but I can guarantee your fish will last longer without the skin, especially when just refridgerated and not frozen.

-Jim

I must say fresh is best, but it's nice to have a little stash in the freezer for a Christmas snack or gift. I'll usually will smoke 5 to 10 batches this time of year and vacuum it up for the winter months.

I'll pick out all the bones I see to prevent puncture in the freezer from being stacked on to of eachother, vacuum and then date for stock rotation. seems to turm out better if I smoke if a bit longer than normal. good luck! and happy smoking!!