Photos by Michael Piazza

Question: Which is better, fresh or frozen fish?
Answer: Both!

Here in eastern Massachusetts we’re lucky to have abundant seafood options and well-managed fisheries. If you have a reliable source of fresh fish, such as a favorite fishmonger, the ability to participate in a community-supported fishery (CSF) or a seafood vendor at your neighborhood farmers market, you are fortunate! Buying, cooking and eating fresh fish, particularly local varieties, is a luxury much of the country doesn’t share.

But even with access to fresh, quality seafood, sometimes it’s not convenient to get to the market. Or the seafood you prefer isn’t seasonally available. These are some of the more obvious reasons why having seafood in your freezer is a big benefit: Dinner is already in the house; no need to go out. And while fresh fish should be cooked the day or day after you purchase it, there’s no pressure to cook frozen seafood. It can last nine to 12 months in the freezer. (See useful thawing and cooking instructions below.)

What’s a little less obvious and less widely understood is that quality, flash-frozen fish is often “fresher” than some of the fresh fish available to consumers. There’s also an important benefit that accrues to our local fishing communities: When processors are able to freeze seafood landed by area fishermen, it helps balance out supply and demand. It can add to supply in future months when stocks are low and brings greater market and price stability to the industry.

Boston-based Red’s Best is one local processor that buys its seafood from fishermen up and down the East Coast and sells it both fresh and frozen to wholesalers and distributors, as well as at its retail shop in the Boston Public Market. Jared Auerbach, founder-owner and CEO, explains that in the company’s plant on Boston’s Fish Pier, fish are cleaned, fileted, portioned, vacuum-sealed, frozen (or shipped out fresh) within 24 to 48 hours of landing, and stored all under one roof.

As you might expect, Auerbach eats seafood four or five times a week. He eats tuna, various white fish filets and steaks, monkfish, redfish and whatever else lands at the pier. “The type of fish doesn’t matter much to me,” he says. Interestingly, this man in the fish business eats more frozen fish than fresh. “Having fish in your freezer means you’ll eat more fish,” he says. (Or put another way, he says, “If you only eat fresh fish, you won’t eat enough fish.”) Having fish in his freezer is more compatible with his hectic schedule, and the time commitment of shopping for fresh fish a few times a week and making sure you cook it within a day or two can outweigh the benefits.

So what is “fresh” fish, really? “Fresh fish” generally means it was never frozen. But there is no precise definition of “fresh”—specifically, how long since the fish was caught or harvested—nor is it a guarantee the seafood hasn’t been frozen. “If kept cold and clean, fish stays fresh for over a week,” says Auerbach. The general assumption is that fresh seafood at our markets has not been frozen unless it’s labeled as such, and that it is, indeed, fresh. It’s important to note that neither of the words fresh or frozen is an adequate indicator of quality.

The FDA recommends that fresh fish be refrigerated (at 40°F or below) or surrounded by plenty of ice. Fish should smell fresh and mild, not fishy, sour or ammonia-like, and should not be discolored or dry. It’s best to ask your fishmonger about the freshness (days after catch or harvest) of the seafood. If it’s a local species and out of season, it’s likely to have been previously frozen.

While it seems counterintuitive, often the freshest and safest choices are frozen seafood from a reputable company. “We freeze fish at the peak of freshness,” says Andrew Wilkinson, chef and seafood specialist at North Coast Seafoods. The Boston-based company buys from fishermen locally and around the world and processes, packages and distributes seafood. Wilkinson says that when seafood is properly frozen, quickly and at extremely low temperatures, its flavor and texture are preserved.

“How seafood is handled all along the supply chain, from sea to plate, will greatly influence the quality,” says Wilkinson. Chef Auerbach adds, “There is less handling of a piece of frozen fish than fresh fish.”

The frozen fish available today are not your grandmother’s frozen filets. “Frozen fish had a bad reputation because the practice used to be that when fish was getting old, the industry would freeze it,” says Wilkinson. Today, the technology used to freeze fish, super-fast at negative temperatures, allows frozen fish to be a high-quality, convenient alternative to fresh, says the chef.

“The key is getting fish below freezing fast and then storing it at -10°F,” says Auerbach. (For seafood that will be served raw, Red’s Best freezes the fish and stores it at -120°F to kill any parasites.)

For North Coast’s Naked Seafood line, the fish is flash-frozen (also called IQF, or Individually Quick Frozen) using nitrogen tunnels within hours of harvest, says Wilkinson. The seafood, including Norwegian salmon, Atlantic cod and sea scallops, is coined “naked” because it’s free of preservatives, antibiotics and chemicals, including those that cause the protein to absorb water, adding to its weight. (Excess moisture prevents seafood, and especially scallops, from browning; they end up steaming instead.)

Beyond the benefits of frozen fish for consumers, Auerbach explains that when processors like Red’s Best and North Coast are able to freeze fresh seafood it helps fishing communities. “Fishing is a very regulated industry to protect our oceans and fish stocks,” he says. “It’s a tough industry to compete in. We want to encourage [fishermen] to catch what’s abundant and within quotas.” If demand for a particular species at a particular time isn’t strong, says Auerbach, “our ability to freeze fish allows us to smooth out the supply curve. In the industry, there’s a large variability of supply but demand is fairly constant.” Per Economics 101, when supply is greater than demand, the price drops—and fishermen don’t get paid as much. “We freeze it and can sell it later,” says Auerbach. “This brings price stability for the fishermen.”

The availability of frozen fish also helps reduce waste. While minimal to no seafood is discarded at the processor level, there is an unfortunate amount of waste at the retail level if fresh fish isn’t sold and in home kitchens if it isn’t cooked in time. There’s far less rush to sell frozen fish at supermarkets and, at home, it can be thawed and cooked as needed.

Here’s what makes good sense for all: “If we want to be able to eat fish—a very healthful protein—and maintain a thriving local fishing industry, we need to be willing to pay for and eat what is caught, whether it ends up being sold fresh or frozen,” says Auerbach. The availability of frozen seafood provides good eating all year round. Conveniently located in your own freezer.

HOW TO THAW FROZEN FISH:

It’s best to thaw frozen seafood in the refrigerator overnight in its packaging. For faster thawing, place it, still in plastic, under cool running water or in a bowl of cold water (and change out the water a few times). Unless the fish is very thick, it will thaw in about 30 minutes. After the fish is thawed, pat it dry before cooking.

Don’t thaw fish at room temperature as this puts it in the danger zone (between 40° and 140°F), where bacteria grows quickly.

According to the FDA, you can also thaw fish in a microwave—only if the fish will be cooked immediately thereafter—using the “defrost” setting and stop the defrost cycle while the fish is still icy but pliable.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO STORE THAWED FISH IN THE REFRIGERATOR?

Pat fish with paper towel to remove excess moisture. Wrap thawed fish in plastic wrap to prevent exposure to air. (Air can cause it to spoil faster.) Then, place it in the coldest part of the fridge (usually towards the back). Place wrapped fish on a plate to catch any potential dripping. Place a frozen ice pack on top of the fish to bring it to an even colder temperature. The best way to prevent spoilage is to keep the core temperature below 34°F. The ice pack will ensure this.

The storage time for thawed fish can vary depending on many factors like the type of fish, how it’s stored and its starting freshness when frozen. Generally, thawed fish can be stored in the refrigerator for two days, even longer if the core temperature is kept low. However, it’s best to consume it as soon as possible for the best taste and quality. If you’re unsure about its quality, you can perform a smell and texture check before cooking. Fish will always smell like ... well ... fish (a relatively mild, clean smell similar to ocean mist). But it should not have a foul, “fishy” odor.

HOW CAN YOU TELL IF FISH HAS GONE BAD:

Use your senses!

SMELL: Spoiled fish will have a strong, unpleasant odor, often described as “fishy” or ammonia-like.
SIGHT: Look for signs of discoloration, like a “yellowing.”
FEEL: Fresh fish should feel firm and springy to the touch. If it feels mushy or slimy, it’s likely past its prime.

Eating spoiled fish can lead to very uncomfortable food-borne illnesses. Chefs all around the world will say: “When in doubt throw it out!”

HOW TO FREEZE FISH YOURSELF:

While commercially flash-frozen fish is far better than what you can accomplish in your own freezer, there are times when you might need to freeze it—like if you’ve caught the fish yourself, or you purchased fresh seafood but don’t have time to cook it the same day, or if you purchased too much. Rinse the fish, pat it completely dry with paper towels, wrap the fish snugly in plastic wrap and secure in a zip-top plastic bag after pressing out all the air. (Better yet, vacuum seal it!) Label and date the package and stash it in the coldest place in your freezer.

This story appeared in the Fall 2024 issue.