Tuna Handling - To Slurry or Not to Slurry?

[carpeweekend]

Just getting ready for the Bamfield tuna derby and was looking for everyone's opinion on whether to use a slurry prior to putting your fish into the ice hold or not? We have always had a large garbage can on board where we put a mixture of saltwater and ice to bleed the fish out and get the temperature down.
The argument against this approach is that by cooling the fish before it is fully bled out, the blood clots and hinders getting all of the blood out. Also seems like you go through a lot of additional ice adding to the slurried blood bucket to keep it cool.

Looking at doing a thorough job bleeding out the fish just using saltwater to help and then straight into the ice hold?

Thoughts, comments, opinions?

 

[trophy fisher]

If you have room do a bled out bucket and then an ice slurry.

 

[Bottomfeeder1]

I’m not an expert by any means but agree with trophy fish !! Looking at a lot of videos this last month and all suggest bleeding for 15 min then an ice slurry bath to dramatically drop temperature evenly. Then ice !!! Good luck !

 

[Rain City]

We went out with Johnny from Tonquin Charters and I was surprised to see he didn't use a slurry. But that's only because I've always seen it done. He cut the gills and left them in the engine well for 10 minutes and then into the soft bags with a scoop of ice on top. It was way less of ordeal than I had pictured it based on the videos. All of the fish was delicious and kept extremely well. I think the processing and freezing afterwards is the more critical thing to get right. We had it all done professionally in Tofino.

 

[fishbadger]

If you have the deck/boat space, slurry. I'm no expert either, but it is the preferred route to chill these warm critters out, especially if you didn't yard em in fast and they're all hot and bothered. I have a bleed bucket which I lash onto the swim step (a rectangular garbage bin, round ones won't stay put). I put a drain plug with a ball valve on the bottom of it, as low as it'll go. I fill like a quarter or 1/3 with ice, add salt water with the washdown hose till it's slurry-ish. When we get it rolling, brain stick em, bleed em, and head down in the bleed bucket, which acts as a slurry bucket and bleed bucket combined (valve closed). If we're on a good stop, we'll rotate dead units out of the slurry and pack in ice. The valve is closed to keep blood outsta the water, or elst the blue sharks will come and ruin the stop. When the stop's over, open the valve, drain bloody melt water, get on the drag again. Add ice and salt water as necessary and close valve for the next stop. That's how we do it, although I'm sure there are more experienced or better setups than mine. Speaking of, my stash is low, I gotta get a trip together!
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[seadna]

I have a large rectangular trash can on the swim step. We first brain spike and then bleed the tuna in the can. Then we put them in a slurry inside of a 150qt Igloo marine cooler. I have pieces of plastic surveyor tape that I number so I know which fish went in first. Depending on the size, we get 6-10 fish in the slurry at a time. Then I transfer to fish holds in the floor of the cockpit and cover them with ice.

 

[Bottomfeeder1]

We went out with Johnny from Tonquin Charters and I was surprised to see he didn't use a slurry. But that's only because I've always seen it done. He cut the gills and left them in the engine well for 10 minutes and then into the soft bags with a scoop of ice on top. It was way less of ordeal than I had pictured it based on the videos. All of the fish was delicious and kept extremely well. I think the processing and freezing afterwards is the more critical thing to get right. We had it all done professionally in Tofino.

Just a question- how much does it cost to get all that tuna vacuum sealed ???

 

[CBsqrd]

~$4.00 - $5.00/lb (includes vacuum bags) for loins.

$3.30 - $4.25 /can for canned tuna and $6.00 - $6.50 / lb for smoked tuna at St Jeans.

Our processing bill for 1,500 lbs (100 fish) a couple years ago was more than the fuel bill from four days chasing tuna.

 

[Rain City]

Just a question- how much does it cost to get all that tuna vacuum sealed ???

I seem to remember my processing cost ending up being about $10 per loin. Or at least that's what I reminded myself when I was giving away "free" fish.

 

[fishbadger]

Ouch! Keep em on ice, process and vac-pack at your house next day. Smoke and can at your house too. Those rates are out of control, even with the exchange rate.
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[Bottomfeeder1]

Ouch !!!!!!

 

[Rain City]

Ouch! Keep em on ice, process and vac-pack at your house next day. Smoke and can at your house too. Those rates are out of control, even with the exchange rate.
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I agree it was a lot, but I was on a walk-on ferry with no vehicle or way to get it home. It was actually nice to just walk away and come back and get packaged fish a few weeks later. Still less than half the cost of buying the fish. And like I said you really can't beat the quality. Those loins were like day-one fresh after two years in the freezer.

 

[carpeweekend]

Ouch! Keep em on ice, process and vac-pack at your house next day. Smoke and can at your house too. Those rates are out of control, even with the exchange rate.
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Yeah, we do the same. Pack our vacuum sealer with us, leave the fish on ice in the hold overnight, and spend the next morning processing. Two guys on the knives, one guy running the vacuum sealer, and one guy moving fish and guts. You get pretty good at it after the 40th or 50th tuna and doesn't take that much longer than a salmon, even with skinning it. We also have gone to smoking and canning our own. A lot better results and a lot cheaper than St. Jeans.

 

[trophywife]

slurry to drop them quick and not just burn through ice.
once they are slurried or chilled, it is just a matter of keeping them cool after. we keep a tote of sea ice at the dock and when we get back we pack them in ice. next day the meat is firm and far cleaner and easier to cark. no need to pack out so much ice on the boat. cool em quick and just keep them cool until returning.

 

[BC Coast Pilot]

I bleed em in my live well for 20 min, fits about 6 or 7 fish then shift to a slurry for 20 min in a 55 gallon insulated garbage can, then onto ice in the lockers. Very happy with the product, very little blood and the ice really lasts, there's lots of reading on this subject, try a meat thermometer to monitor as the fish will initially be warmer than the water temp. Personally I think it's important to complete the bleeding before you chill and begin coagulation.