Why does the Costco/BJ's individulay frozen fish have bad taste/texture vs when I freeze it myself?
We have access to both BJ & Costco and in an effort to eat more fish I have tried those individually frozen fish pieces that come in packets. For some reason they are always tougher than fish that I have frozen myself and the taste is off. From what I know, which is not a lot, it would be my assumption that their fish should be better as it is frozen quickly, fairly soon after being pulled off the boat, and in vacuum bags vs ziplocs for me. I have tried several different varieties, and always with the same results.
When I buy fillets cut them up & freeze them myself they are always better.
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You are correct with most of your assumptions about how fish is commercially individually quick frozen (IQF) in blast freezers.....however, the products almost always include a saline solution, which affects both the taste and texture, which you have surmised correctly.
My experience is that larger fish, are better than smaller ones, e.g. steaks cut from loins, rather than fillets from flat fishes..
