How to store NZ Seafood
New Zealand seafood is an excellent and safe source of Omega-3s.
Seafood is always best eaten on the day you buy it. But you can also put it on ice in the refrigerator and it will stay fresh for several days. Here’s a quick guide to the correct way to store different types of seafood.
How to store fresh fish
To keep fish in good condition until you are ready to cook it:
1. Put a layer of ice on the base of a storage container.
2. Cover the ice with a sheet of plastic and put the whole fish or fish fillets on the plastic. Don’t let any ice touch the fish for any length of time — it will spoil the texture of the fish.
3. Put another sheet of plastic on top of the fish and cover this with ice.
4. Store the container and fish on the bottom shelf of your refrigerator and replace the ice as it melts.
Fresh fish will stay fresh stored in your fridge for between four and six days. The number of days the freshness lasts depends on how fresh the fish was when you bought it. And if you left the fish out of the fridge of any reason, take away one day of shelf-live for every hour that the fish sat at room temperature.
How to store frozen fish
As long as you’ve correctly packaged and stored the fish, you can make a great meal from frozen fish — although fresh will always have the best flavour and texture. It’s best to only store frozen fish in a domestic freezer for one month, but you can store it for up to two months. Keep frozen fish frozen solid right until you need it, then cook it from frozen. Frozen fish is best cooked while it is still frozen or icy. More freezing instructions »
How to store live shellfish
Live shellfish with two shells
Live mussels, cockles, pipis and other shellfish with two linked shells must be stored at between +2 and +4 degrees Celsius under a cover of melting ice. It’s important not to let the ice make direct contact with the shellfish (you’ll kill them with cold), so use the following method:
1. Put the shellfish into a container (preferably one with drainage holes like a colander).
2. Cover the shellfish with a towel or sacking, and then cover this with ice.
3. Keep the container in a cool place but not in the fridge.
If you have caught the shellfish yourself, you can store them for a short while in a container filled with salt water.
Live shellfish die if you:
- store them at a temperature that’s too high or too low
- store them in the fridge for more than five hours
- cover them with fresh water for too long.
To test if mussels, cockles or pipis are alive before you cook them, leave them at room temperature for 20 minutes then tap the shells lightly or hold them under fresh water until they close. If the shell remains open about one centimetre, the shellfish is dead — throw it away.
Scallops and oysters
Scallops and oysters are usually bought out of the shell, or open on the half-shell. To store them, keep them in the fridge and use them as soon as possible.
How to store frozen shellfish
It is best to only store commercially frozen shellfish in your freezer. If you plan to freeze shellfish yourself, only freeze top-quality shellfish. Freeze them as soon as possible and protect them with freezer-proof packaging.
Shellfish in stored in your home freezer should be stored so that:
- the wrapping and seals on the pack are not damaged
- the shellfish are solidly frozen and not damaged or broken.
Poor freezer storage technique can result in:
- defrosting and refreezing (you’ll find a lot of ice within the package)
- a strong smell
- freezer burn (you’ll find bleached, lighter, or dehydrated patches on the flesh).
Any of these storage problems will damage the quality of the shellfish so that it is not as good as it could be when you come to eat it. It’s best to use freezer damaged shellfish for chowder or soup.
How to store rock lobsters
Whether you’ve bought fresh or frozen rock lobster, always keep it cold. Never leave it in a hot car unless packed in ice or in a cooler.
To prevent frozen seafood defrosting on the journey from the shop to the kitchen, keep it wrapped in several layers of paper or use an insulated picnic bag. Put it into the freezer as soon as you get home. You can store rock lobsters in your freezer for up to one month, but no longer. Then when you’re ready to cook, pop the rock lobster straight from the freezer into boiling water.
After buying a live lobster, be sure to get it in the refrigerator covered with a damp cloth as soon as possible and cook within 12 to 18 hours. Do not let it sit out at room temperature for more than half an hour and never put a live lobster in fresh water to store it.
Dispatch live lobsters before you cook them. Do not plunge a live rock lobster into boiling water — this spoils the quality of the meat.
For how to dispatch a rock lobster humanely look on the Handling and preparing page.
How to store crabs
Fresh crab meat should be used as soon as possible. Frozen crab meat can be stored for up to four months.
For how to dispatch a crab humanely look on the Handling and preparing page.