What is the best was to preserve minnows.
I have a few left from the weekend and prob won't be back out till soft water seeing all the warm weather on the way.
Would be nice to keep them for cats or gar in the summer.
Is it better to just freeze them or salt them etc
Minnow preservation
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otownyaker
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Minnow preservation
OTownYaker
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Re: Minnow preservation
I had a similar question since frozen minnows turn to mush when thawed without treatment. Everybody has their own technique from windshield washer fluid to some pretty exotic salting techniques. I was inspired by dill pickles / pickled herring. I fill a container with water and mix in a pile of rock salt. Throw the brine into the fridge and when i have dead minnows in they go. After a few days i transfer them to the freezer in a zipper zip lock bag. Tried a few and they are nice and rubbery even when frozen.
Maybe not the perfect technique but pretty good and low effort.
Maybe not the perfect technique but pretty good and low effort.
Re: Minnow preservation
Is rock salt the same as coarse salt ,how much do you put in a jar ,couple of inches.
Re: Minnow preservation
I'd follow this salting method or this one.
The Canning and Pickling salt used in the above recipeis common salt (Sodium Chloride) without the additives like anti-caking ingredients and iodine. I doubt it matters much what salt you use for curing minnows, but a finer grain is probably better. You can also toss in some Borax (Sodium Tetraborate) with the salt. I believe that gives them a nice shine and is a good preservative.
Basically, soak minnows in brine for about an hour [save the brine for later if you want], dry the minnows and then coat them with salt/borax mix, let them sit in the salt mix without touching each other to cure. Once they're cured [can take 2to 5 hours, depending on the size] you can rinse them off in the brine solution, air dry them and then store them in the freezer with paper towels or in a container with some of the salt mix.
The Canning and Pickling salt used in the above recipeis common salt (Sodium Chloride) without the additives like anti-caking ingredients and iodine. I doubt it matters much what salt you use for curing minnows, but a finer grain is probably better. You can also toss in some Borax (Sodium Tetraborate) with the salt. I believe that gives them a nice shine and is a good preservative.
Basically, soak minnows in brine for about an hour [save the brine for later if you want], dry the minnows and then coat them with salt/borax mix, let them sit in the salt mix without touching each other to cure. Once they're cured [can take 2to 5 hours, depending on the size] you can rinse them off in the brine solution, air dry them and then store them in the freezer with paper towels or in a container with some of the salt mix.