How to store fish at home and freeze it properly
Your fish arrives the next morning, cleaned and cut the way you asked, in a sealed ice box. From that moment, what happens in your kitchen decides how it tastes. This guide covers where to put it, how long it keeps, and how to freeze whatever you are not cooking today without losing the flavour.
The moment the box arrives
Take the fish out of the box straight away and into the fridge; do not leave it on the counter. If you are cooking it today or tomorrow there is no need to wash it again, it arrives cleaned. Pat it dry with kitchen paper, put it in a covered dish or a closed container on the coldest shelf, which is usually the bottom one.
In the fridge: how long it keeps
Fresh fish is at its best the same day or the next, and two days is the sensible limit in a properly cold fridge. A whole fish holds a little longer than fillets because the skin protects it. The best method is a layer of ice in a deep dish, the fish on top, covered, with the melt water drained off every few hours.
Keep it away from strong-smelling food and never uncovered. A fishy smell coming from the fridge means the fish has waited too long, not that the fridge is at fault.
Shrimp, calamari and crab
Shrimp and calamari are best cooked the same day, the next day at the latest, kept on ice and covered like fish. Crab and lobster should be cooked on the day they arrive; they do not take waiting well. Clams and oysters the same day too.
Freezing it properly
Freeze fish while it is at its best, meaning the day it arrives, not two days later. Dry it well, divide it into meal-size portions so you only thaw what you need, put it in a freezer bag and press all the air out before sealing. Write the item and the date on the bag.
Whole fish and fillets keep their flavour well for up to three months in a properly cold freezer. Shrimp in the shell also up to three months, and the shell protects the flesh. Calamari takes freezing better than anything else. Cooked fish should not be frozen for more than a month.
Thawing without ruining it
The best way: move the bag from the freezer to the fridge at night and it is ready in the morning. In a hurry, put the sealed bag in a bowl of cold tap water, about an hour for small pieces. Never thaw on the counter or in warm water; the flesh goes mushy and bacteria get to work.
Fish that has thawed should not be refrozen raw. Cook it, and any leftovers can then be frozen cooked.
Signs the fish has waited too long
An ammonia or sour smell, soft flesh that keeps a fingerprint, dull slimy skin, and sunken cloudy eyes. If you see these, do not cook it. Our fresh fish guide explains the same signs in detail at the point of buying.
Common questions
How many days does fresh fish keep in the fridge?
Best the same day or the next, and two days at most, on ice in a covered dish on the coldest shelf.
Should I freeze fish before or after cleaning it?
After. Your fish arrives cleaned and cut, so freeze it as it is on the day it arrives, in meal-size portions with the air pressed out of the bags.
Should shrimp be frozen in the shell or peeled?
In the shell is better; the shell protects the flesh from drying out. Up to three months in a properly cold freezer.
Can I thaw fish in warm water to speed it up?
No. In the fridge overnight, or in cold water with the bag sealed if you are in a hurry. Warm water turns the flesh mushy and makes it unsafe.
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