Safe supplies: how long can you store fried fish in the refrigerator

Without knowing how long fried fish can be stored in the refrigerator, it is easy to get food poisoning. This is due to the fact that in the early stages of decomposition the product looks and smells like fresh, but the amount of toxins in it is no longer safe for the human body. The general rules are as follows: cooked fish can be stored in the main compartment of the refrigerator for up to 3 days, in the freezer for up to 3 months.

How to store fried fish in the refrigerator?

Depending on the desired shelf life, fried fish is placed either in the refrigerator or in the freezer.

The selected device must provide the following temperature regime:

from +2 to +6°C – the freshness of the product is maintained for 36 hours;
from -18 to -24°C – within seven days the loss of taste will be minimal, and the fish will remain suitable for consumption for up to three months.

It is important to take into account the fact that the temperature in household refrigerators is not always stable. Their chambers are designed in such a way that there should be free space between the shelves and the products located on them for the circulation of cold air. However, housewives often stack plates, pots, bags and trays almost side by side - this leads to an increase in temperature by 3-5 degrees, as a result of which food spoils much faster.

Cooling

Before placing the fish in the refrigerator, it is removed from the stove and kept until it reaches room temperature.Then they are transferred to plastic or enamel containers with lids and placed on the bottom shelf. If special containers are not available, you can use a plate well wrapped in cling film or tightly folded aluminum foil.

You cannot store fish in a cast iron frying pan, even if it has been fried there. This metal reacts with foods and accelerates the oxidation of omega-3s.

Freezing

At catering establishments, food is frozen using the shock method, which cannot be done at home. For this reason, fried fish should first be cooled to room temperature, then placed in a regular refrigerator for an hour or two, and only then put in the freezer. This method will ensure uniform freezing of each piece and better preservation of taste.

It is advisable to freeze fish by placing it in special bags in one layer. After it has completely frozen, in order to save space, it can be folded into a container more tightly.

Do not leave the product in the freezer in an open container or untied bag, as this leads to “frost burn” - a rapid loss of moisture, as a result of which the fish becomes tasteless and unattractive in appearance.

Packing fish before storage

For long-term storage of fried fish, not only the temperature in the refrigerator is important, but also the packaging, since it performs several functions at once:

Localization of odor. If you put the dish on a plate and put it on the shelf in this form, the rest of the food will be saturated with a specific fishy aroma. Butter, cheese, fruits and eggs are especially susceptible to this effect.
Protection against microorganisms. No matter how clean the refrigerator may seem, colonies of pathogenic bacteria and mold fungi still live in it. And fatty protein foods are an ideal substrate for their reproduction, so fish stored in open containers becomes hazardous to health much faster.
Moisture retention. The longer food sits in the refrigerator, the more liquid it evaporates. Consequently, the attractive appearance and taste are lost.
Preventing foreign objects from entering the product. Insects from poorly washed greens or pieces of other food (for example, cake crumbs) can get into the dishes where the fish is, causing it to become infected or spoil prematurely.

The ideal container for fried fish is vacuum bags, in which it does not dry out even after a long period of storage in the freezer. In addition, in an airless space, the fat oxidation reaction occurs very slowly, so the product does not taste bitter.

An alternative to such bags can be sealed containers. For freezing, you should choose those that can withstand sub-zero temperatures. But foil, cling film and ordinary plastic bags can only be used for short-term storage in the main chamber of the refrigerator.

Warm up before use

Fish that has been stored in the refrigerator for less than 12 hours at a temperature of +2 to +6°C can be eaten cold if desired. If it spent longer there, it should be warmed up before use - fry it in oil for at least two minutes or boil it in sauce. The second method is preferable because the taste of the product is better preserved.

Frozen fried fish must be defrosted in the main compartment of the refrigerator and only then reheated. The product should not be re-frozen as this will significantly shorten the shelf life and impair the taste.

It is not recommended to use a microwave for heating: the fish will acquire a “rubbery” consistency.

It is better to keep fish in the refrigerator raw (chilled or frozen), using it for cooking as needed. But if it happens that you fried more pieces than you can eat at once, there is nothing wrong with leaving them for later, observing all storage rules and temperature conditions.