biig wrote:

>
> ~patches~ wrote:
>
>>Blair P. Houghton wrote:
>>
>>
>>>I just pulled a piece of AJ's Sicilian rope sausage out of the freezer
>>>(the fridgetop, not even the deep-freeze) that I'd bagged on
>>>2004-05-13, and it was fresh and fantastic in a little pomodoro with
>>>trenne pasta. I think the pasta was about that old, too. The evoo,
>>>finely minced clove of garlic, and Penzey's Italian herb mix didn't
>>>hurt it, either.
>>>
>>>Those Tilia folks are geniuses.
>>>
>>>--Blair
>>>
>>
>>I'd say 14 months. The reason for this is we rotate our freezers. We
>>have 2 chest freezers and the freezer component of the fridge.
>>Vegetables for the most part are home froze in quantities to get from
>>that growing season to the next, approximately one year. Bulk cooking
>>of meals, soups, etc. are froze then rotated until used and not
>>replenished until we are out. The fish we catch goes from one fishing
>>season to the next. Beef and pork for the most part is purchased in
>>bulk once a year so we use it up before buying more. I'm a real
>>stickler when it comes to rotating home froze or home canned foods. If
>>something gets missed to where it is beyond the 14 month period, it gets
>>tossed into the compost pile. Personally I wouldn't have eaten meat
>>that old. I'm glad it was ok for you but that is just beyond my comfort
>>level.
>
>
> Patches...have you ever tried "glazing" your catch? We worked in the
> fishing industry in the 60's and 70's and they preserved fish that way.
> You take the frozen fish and dip them in cold water and (working
> quickly) put them into the freezer. This leaves a skin of ice that
> seals the surface. I don't know if this would be helpful or not, but
> maybe worth trying on a small scale (no pun intended)....Sharon

Yep, there's glazing and packing in water. We do both but glasing is
nicer for larger filets if you want to pull out one or two at a time. I
learned the technique from an old guy that was friends of my inlaws. He
always thought it neat that a woman would teach the kids to fish while
the man had no interest in fishing. He also taught my kids what to do
with large fish heads in order to have some excitement while camping. I
was not impressed!