(How) Can I Eat THis? Frozen Fish Edition

May 19, 2023 1:48 PM

So, I have a small sealed package of tilapia fillets. I was going to cook them in a sauce tonight, but events have made that impossible. The package says to that in the refrigerator for 5-10 hours, and I took them out of the freezer (and put them in the refrigerator) about three hours ago. They are still very hard and cold. My options:

1. Put them back in the freezer. This seems like a bad idea.

2. Wait until tomorrow mid-morning, which is the next time I will be back in the kitchen and cook them then (they would have been out the the freezer for about 12 hours). I would then refrigerate them and eat them for dinner later.

3. Wait until dinner time tomorrow (about 20 hours of thawing) and cook them then.

4. Throw them out. Sad, but they aren't that expensive.

The sauce will be a tomato, onion, and pepper thing with some added shrimp and diced sausage, if that makes any difference.

posted by GenjiandProust to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

I’d say 2 or 3 would be fine. FWIW, fish sealed in plastic defrosts relatively quickly if you put it in a big bowl of water (maybe even quicker if there’s running water pouring into the bowl so it’s constantly overflowing, I think?) but I’m not sure whether your window for defrosting and cooking is now closed for today, or if you still have time in hand.

I sometimes cook salmon fillets from frozen, FWIW - just wrap them in foil and put them in the oven for twice as long - and they seem to come out fine. I don’t know tilapia, so don’t know if that would work as well.
posted by penguin pie at 1:55 PM on May 19, 2023

Response by poster: I will not be able to cook them tonight.
posted by GenjiandProust at 1:57 PM on May 19, 2023

Thawed fish is safe to store in the refrigerator at 4°C (40°F) or lower for up to two days, but the quality may be better if you cook it sooner and/or keep it on ice in the refrigerator to keep its temperature closer to 0°C.

That said, I frequently thaw tilapia filets overnight (about 20 hours in the fridge without ice) and they come out just fine.

Many sources say to remove fish from vacuum-sealed packaging before thawing overnight, to prevent growth of anaerobic bacteria like Clostridium botulinum.
posted by mbrubeck at 2:00 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Why not put them back in the freezer, take them out again tomorrow morning, and then cook them tomorrow night?
posted by jamjam at 2:06 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

I would put the fish in a glass dish that nestles into another glass dish that I fill with ice. Change the ice tonight and in the morning. Enjoy for dinner tomorrow.
posted by RoadScholar at 2:07 PM on May 19, 2023

Best answer: They'll be fine to stick back in the freezer. Really.
posted by hydra77 at 2:09 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I also agree that if they are still frozen that you can put them back in the freezer.
posted by RoadScholar at 2:32 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: If you're just cooking them in a sauce, there's no reason you can't just plunk them in straight from the freezer in the future.

With these, I'd be perfectly comfortable letting them thaw in my fridge overnight and cooking them tomorrow.
posted by kdar at 2:43 PM on May 19, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Any of 1-3 is perfectly safe. (Well, 4 is also safe, but silly.) 3 seems like the best fit with your dining intentions!
posted by staggernation at 3:00 PM on May 19, 2023 [3 favorites]

Best answer: 5. Run them under cold water for 10 minutes and cook them. I feed my family these exact filets and always thaw them that exact way.
posted by chasles at 4:07 PM on May 19, 2023

Best answer: The package is saying that it takes 5-10 hours to thaw the package in the fridge. That's not the maximum time they can stay in the fridge, which is certainly at least two days.

Agreed that it's often easier to thaw these quickly in tap water in the package immediately before cooking or by placing them, out of the package, on an aluminum sheet pan.
posted by ssg at 4:18 PM on May 19, 2023 [3 favorites]

When you thaw food, the ice crystals in it melt. When you refreeze it, new ice crystals form. This can affect the texture of food, esp. fish. It does not affect safety. The fish has been safely cold. Refreeze it and cook it when convenient or let it defrost and eat it in the day or so. Cook it as you would normally, but accept that it may have slightly less firm texture.
posted by theora55 at 7:58 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

The "put them in a bowl and run a trickle of cold water over them for 20 minutes" trick absolutely works to quickly thaw a filet or two.
posted by mediareport at 9:05 PM on May 19, 2023

I would not refreeze it. It will be fine to eat tomorrow or the next day if you just keep it in the fridge.
posted by oneirodynia at 10:21 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]