Best way to freeze spot prawns

S

skiptowns98033

Member
Parts of the shells and tails of the uncooked spot prawns we are pulling from the freezer are black. We've always frozen them individually on a cookie tray and put them in Ziplocks bags.

Anyone got an idea of what's going on or what do to to keep them better?
 
Are these tails or the whole shrimp?

We separate the tails from the body after catching, put in bags and on ice.
Once home, we put 20 tails in a one quart freezer ziplock bag and fill approx 1/3 full of water. Squeeze all the air out and zip shut. Put them flat on cookie sheet until frozen and stack in bin in freezer.

We have excellent shrimp when we take out of freezer and thaw and take shell off and cook. The tails surrounded by water keeps the air away from the tails and does a great job of preservation.
 
Exactly, freezing them in a ziplock freezer bag with water. When the shrimp are fresh the quicker you separate the heads from tails and put them on some ice the fresher they will stay. As soon as they die they let out a little toxin into their bodies and that turns them black. You can ice them, no water, when you first catch them and they will live longer. Just watch them and when you see them dying stop, quickly separate heads from tails and put the tails on ice. They should keep real nice in freezer in water 3 to 6 mos maximum depending on how much air you remove. I also get some each year from a commercial fisherman friend of mine. He does almost the same but gives them to me in one of those clear plastic square jars that Costco Mixed Nuts come in. After he fills the jar with tails he fills it with water and freezes. I've had them in the freezer over 6 months and they were awesome.
Enjoy,
 
Exactly, freezing them in a ziplock freezer bag with water. When the shrimp are fresh the quicker you separate the heads from tails and put them on some ice the fresher they will stay. As soon as they die they let out a little toxin into their bodies and that turns them black. You can ice them, no water, when you first catch them and they will live longer. Just watch them and when you see them dying stop, quickly separate heads from tails and put the tails on ice. They should keep real nice in freezer in water 3 to 6 mos maximum depending on how much air you remove. I also get some each year from a commercial fisherman friend of mine. He does almost the same but gives them to me in one of those clear plastic square jars that Costco Mixed Nuts come in. After he fills the jar with tails he fills it with water and freezes. I've had them in the freezer over 6 months and they were awesome.
Enjoy,
 
I freeze the tails with water in ziplocks just as everyone else mentions; however, I use salt water. I find fresh water washes out the taste a bit.

I've had them frozen in water this way for over a year, and they were fine (not like fresh mind you, but fine).
 
we use freezer containers large enough to hold 20 to 25 tails. fill with water and freeze them
once frozen I take them out of the containers and use the vacuum sealer to to bag them.
then write date on them and stack in the freezer. works well and we have kept them for over a year with no problems.

once frozen and thawed the shrimp shell a lot easier.I use a kitchen scissors to cut the tails down the back of it and then pull the shells off either side. also helps to devein them if need be.
 
We pull off the heads and freeze them on sheet trays lined with wax paper. Then, I put them in food saver bags lined with pieces of cardboard (usually from a carton that contained canned soda). Then I vacuum pack. They stay great this way. Without the cardboard, the sharp edges poke through the bag.
 
We pull the heads off while still out in the boat. Put about 2 dozen per ziplock on ice that we've sprinkled rock salt on. Usually by the time we are back in harbor, the shrimp are nearly completely frozen.

Same goes for fish filets. The sooner they're frozen, the better they taste.

Then at home they get vacuum-bagged.

Pat
 
SENSEI":1xo3jgfy said:
we use freezer containers large enough to hold 20 to 25 tails. fill with water and freeze them
once frozen I take them out of the containers and use the vacuum sealer to to bag them.
then write date on them and stack in the freezer. works well and we have kept them for over a year with no problems.

once frozen and thawed the shrimp shell a lot easier.I use a kitchen scissors to cut the tails down the back of it and then pull the shells off either side. also helps to devein them if need be.
Click to expand...

Ditto. Great minds think alike.
:wink:
 
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