How to store smoked fish when traveling?

How to store smoked fish when traveling? - Fresh fish on stall at market

We went to an island for a trip to explore local fish markets. This place is mainly exporting fish. We managed to get one of the best smoked fish (tuna, mackeral etc) from their local markets. This is different from smoked salmon and rather very hard in texture.

Just before the flight we packed them with original plastic bag (no ziploc) into a packaging box and taped it - put in the dedicated luggage. That was it.

This all led to a very painful experience just now. However, after coming back from nearly 8 hours of flight + another 2 hours, we opened the box and dropped dead to find the dust type fungas layer on all the fishes. It has become slightly moist.

Next time around I want to take precautions and have disaster management; how can I best store smoked fish when traveling? What sort of packaging material should be used?



Best Answer

Are you sure it was fungus, if it was just a dust? I don't know what else it would be, but 8 hours seems short for that to grow.

In any case. Keep it very dry, perhaps by wrapping in parchment or muslin and packing in rock salt before sealing all in plastic. Cool it with ice, sealed in a separate plastic bag, or preferably gel freezer packs, also separate.

I've never been in that situation, so I can't say I've tested this advice.




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How to store smoked fish when traveling? - Person Smoking Outdoors
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Quick Answer about "How to store smoked fish when traveling?"

Keep it very dry, perhaps by wrapping in parchment or muslin and packing in rock salt before sealing all in plastic. Cool it with ice, sealed in a separate plastic bag, or preferably gel freezer packs, also separate.

How long does smoked fish last unrefrigerated?

HOW LONG WILL SMOKED FISH KEEP WITHOUT BEING REFRIGERATED (DURING TRANSPORT)? It will keep for 2 to 3 days even in warm and hot weather conditions because of the special process it has been submitted to: the salting, smoking and vacuum packing.

Does smoked fish need to be refrigerated?

Hot-smoked fish are moist and juicy when properly fin- ished. Because of this, they have a relatively short shelf life and must be refrigerated.

What is the best way to store smoked fish?

  • If you don't plan to immediately eat the smoked fish you've vacuum-packed, put it in the refrigerator (preferably at 38 degrees F or less) or into the freezer. ...
  • If you're storing the fish for longer than two weeks, tightly wrap and freeze it.


  • How do you pack smoked salmon for travel?

    Salmon shop on Granville Island told me that if you freeze cold smoked salmon, wrap it in newspaper tightly with small ice packs inside a very snug fitting box, it's good for about 12 hours. Imagine it could last longer if you had more insulation and ice packs. That's how they pack theirs to ship.



    How To Store Smoked Salmon With Food Saver




    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Julia Volk, Kate Trifo, Nothing Ahead, Bert Christiaens