How to Tell if a Fish has Gone Bad
When you finally pull that fish you’ve been waiting to cook from the refrigerator or freezer, you might have a dozen or so recipes in mind for what to do with it. However, something is bugging you about the fish. Looking at it, something seems off and, suddenly, you’re not sure if you should cook it or not.
If this has happened to you, you are not alone. This is a common scenario for cooks when they’re preparing to cook fish. Honestly, fish is one of those protein staples for a recipe that can destroy a whole meal if it’s spoiled. And consuming bad fish is no joke.
Before you roll the dice and deal with rotten seafood, do a little homework (or just read this). Most of what you’ll use involves your senses and a calendar. Basically, here’s how to tell is fish is bad.
Proper Fish Storage
If you’ve been keeping the fish on ice, there are still rules to how long you can store it. Fish will only keep so long, whether it’s in the fridge or in the freezer. Here are some “rules” you can use to gauge how fresh the fish will be by the time you want to prepare it.
Refrigerated Storage
Fish should be stored in a refrigerator that is 40℉ or colder. When you put it in the fridge, try to use the fish within two days of buying it. Always check the expiration date before you purchase the fish because it will give you a better idea of when it hit the market.
Also, try to get the fish into the refrigerator as soon as you bring it home. Fish will quickly deteriorate when exposed to temperatures over 40℉ and most homes are much warmer than that. Leaving it out for an hour or two could render a spoiled fish before you’ve even had a chance to put it away.
Freezer Storage
Fish last much longer in the freezer and it’s generally recommended to freeze the fish if you don’t plan to cook it within a couple of days. White-fleshed fish can last up to nine months in a freezer (although it’s better to stick to six months for better tasting fish). Pink-fleshed fish has a freezer shelf life of between three to six months.
If you didn’t buy prepackaged frozen fish and want to prepare it for the freezer, make sure to use airtight plastic wrap that protects the fish from incurring extra moisture. You want to wrap it as tightly as you can before putting it away.
Use Your Nose
One of the best ways to know if fish has gone bad is to smell it. “Spoiled fish” will typically smell obnoxiously sour and reek uncomfortably of ammonia. Fish is supposed to smell slightly of the ocean because it is, after all, fish. An aquatic animal is going to smell a bit like where it comes from, right?
There are degrees of how much a fish should smell like the water from which it came. A light fishy smell is generally okay. More than that, it isn’t good. Immediately upon death, fish start to degrade because of increasing amounts of bacteria, particularly when the fish is not stored properly after being caught.
Improper handling “freshly caught fish” is the first step toward a smellier-than-normal fish going to the market. So, when you’re buying fish, smell it first. This can help prevent bringing home a product that was already on its way to spoiling. If you catch it yourself, follow proper handling and storage procedures to keep it as fresh as possible.
However, if the fish straight out stinks or is suspiciously on its way to being so, toss it out.
Take A Good Look At It
Your eyes are almost as powerful as your nose when it comes to telling if a fish has gone bad. Fresh fish will have bright, clear skin and visibly white or slightly pink meat. If you’re buying fillets or other parts of the fish, this rule should hold true.
If you’re buying a whole fish, this actually gives you an extra important clue as to whether the fish is fresh or not. Look at the eyes. If the eyes are clear, it’s a good indication that it’s a fresh catch that hasn’t gone bad. If the eyes have cloudiness lurking, that fish has sat around too long and probably isn’t good to cook. Pass it by or toss it out.
Touch and Feel The Fish
Touch is another useful sense to detect whether or not a fish has gone bad. When dealing with a “fresh” fish, gently press on the flesh. Did your fingers leave an indentation or did the flesh spring back to form? Is it firm to the touch or spongy?
If your fingers left an impression, that’s a sign that the flesh is not so fresh because enzymes have begun breaking down the protein structure of the fish. That’s also why you’re feeling for firm flesh and not a squishy consistency. Firm flesh is good news. Squishy is not.
Also, pay attention to the scales when you touch the fish. If they easily flake off upon touch, that fish has sat around for too long. If you pull it from your fridge, put it in the trash. If you’re at the market, politely decline that fish and find another one.
If In Doubt, Do Not Taste
If you suspect a fish is not in good shape, do yourself a big favor and DO NOT taste it. This is the one sense that gets a caveat because bad fish can cause violent food poisoning.
If the fish passes the other date and sense tests, you may feel more confident about cooking that fish and giving it a try. However, if any of the previously mentioned tests fail, it’s much safer not to take a chance and risk illness.
Use the rules and apply them to suspicious fish. The bottom line about how to tell is fish is bad is this: if in doubt, throw it out.
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