How Long Can You Keep Fresh Seafood In Your Fridge?

The ideal way to consume seafood is to catch it, then eat it. Preferably as fast as it takes to say that sentence. Like Anthony Bourdain once said, food tastes better with sand between your toes. Sadly, since life isn't fair, spending your days fishing and eating what you catch right there on the shore is not feasible for everybody. This is why we have refrigerators and take time to make sure grocery store seafood is fresh.

How long can your seafood last in the fridge, though? It's fair to wonder. While the majority of your supermarket haul can hang out in the fridge, freezer, or pantry for a while, fish is sort of like buying a car. The second your fishmonger hands you a filet, it's depreciating. If you've gone to the trouble of thoroughly checking the fresh fish at the supermarket, you want to make sure that effort is rewarded with a good dinner, right? Here's a handy guide to the fridge life of some fresh seafood.

Tuna, mackerel, and bonito belong to the Scombridae family, which at first glance might seem like the family that contains all of the food fish. Let's eat all the Scombridae, you might think to yourself. Not so fast. The name Scombridae calls to mind the risk of Scombroid poisoning. This happens when you eat fish with high histamine levels, which can develop if the fish isn't properly refrigerated. Scombroid poisoning is like a really bad allergic reaction, with a symptom list that includes swelling, rash, diarrhea, and vomiting. For that reason, these fish are probably fine in the fridge for one or two days, but we recommend eating or freezing them on the first day of purchase. If you notice any sliminess, fishy odors, or weird colors, your fish has likely gone bad.

Tuna, mackerel, and bonito operate on wildly different levels: Canned tuna and mackerel is cheap everyday fare and bonito gets dried out and sold as flakes. But in steak form? These three fish are generally thought of as delicacies — something fancy to treat yourself with. Tuna, mackerel, and bonito do make for delightful dinner plates, but they should be treated with care when cooking.

So you've decided to buy and cook your own live lobster. Brave stuff! Applause is warranted. You'd better not be regretting that purchase, either, because you should probably cook it tonight. Some lobsters have been known to last up to 36 hours outside of seawater, but it's best not to chance it. If you've got a live lobster in your fridge, go ahead and cook it within one day. Also, keep in mind that you should never freeze a live lobster under any circumstances. Freezing live lobster makes it impossible to de-shell properly when cooked, meaning you'll be sacrificing good lobster meat. 

Maybe people used to think of lobsters as sea bugs, but society has improved a lot since those dark days. Almost anything is good dunked in melted garlic butter, but lobster is especially outstanding served this way. The trade-off to this culinary delight, of course, is that lobsters taste best when they were alive seconds before cooking, so if you're making live lobster, it's best to make an event of it. Buy your crustaceans and cook them up immediately.

Octopus might last longer than some other fish on this list, but it's still a ticking clock. There might be some wiggle room between one and three days here, but octopus is still best when cooked on the same day as purchase. If you can't manage that, you've got another two days. It's also important to consult with your fishmonger before attempting to make any kind of nigiri or ceviche, and definitely don't make a raw dish if the octopus has been in your fridge longer than a day. After that first day, you're going to want to fire up a grill for it.

However, if your dinner was flash frozen while at sea, it will stay good for up to nine months without any flavor compromising — as long as it stays frozen. Some chefs even prefer to buy octopus frozen. If you've never cooked octopus before and are nervous, maybe it's a good idea to start with buying frozen octopus. Then, once you're comfortable, try out the fresh stuff.

Fresh salmon, like most fish, should be cooked within one or two days of purchase. Ideally, you're making a grocery store trip on the same day that you're eating fish for dinner. In fact, maybe that's not a bad rule: Grocery store day can be salmon night. If you really want to get in the weeds, you can ask your fishmonger when the best time to buy fresh salmon at that particular store is. A lot of the appeal that comes from eating these meaty coldwater swimmers is their unique flavor. Nothing else really tastes like salmon, therefore, shouldn't you want your salmon to taste as much like itself as possible?

Salmon is the fish so delish, they named a color after it. Tossing a couple of these pink-orange big boys on the grill after they've been doused with some olive oil, dill, and lemon juice? That's good eating, if you cook your fish at the right time. Again, two days in the fridge is totally fine. It's an even surer practice, though, if you're staring at the salmon filet in your cart, making googly eyes in the grocery aisle, and daydreaming about a delicious seafood dinner that night.

Shrimp and crawfish are great party foods. These two bite-sized snacks can be sold fresh (which means live, for crawfish) or pre-cooked. If you're reading food safety charts, you might see that these little guys can last three to five days in the fridge. That's not the case for uncooked shrimp and crawfish, which should ideally be cooked on the day of or day after purchase. Taste-wise, it's worth it to buy your shrimp raw and your crawfish still alive, cooking them pretty soon after.

Buying something that's alive for the express purpose of eating it might be off-putting to some people. That's understandable. If you opt to do so, though, you'll want to make sure your crawfish are active and moving around at the time of purchase. After, they need to be stored at around 46 degrees Fahrenheit. Shrimp don't need to be alive when you buy, but store them on the bottom shelf of your fridge, away from other foods. Like all seafood, shrimp really benefit from being kept cold. 

A versatile white fish that can handle many different types of cooking, sea bass is a true joy. These fish can be stored in the coldest part of the fridge for one to two days after purchase. Since sea bass is so delicate and tastes so much better fresh, we recommend not pushing that time. When selecting either a whole fish or a filet, press on the fish to check for firmness before you buy — the flesh should spring back. As always, don't hesitate to ask your fishmonger for advice or recommendations.

Sea bass is a mild, flaky fish that can come in different varieties: Chilean, European, and Black Sea Bass. Chilean sea bass has a smooth, buttery flavor, while its European counterpart tastes far more delicate. Black Sea Bass is buttery and sweet. Whichever variety you go for, you're going to have a great dinner. Just make sure to cook soon after you buy.

Talk about a food that puts the "delicate" in "delicacy." These little guys shouldn't be out of the water for too long, they don't want to be messed with too much, but you also have to cut that little muscle off of the end. There are plenty of common mistakes to avoid with scallops, but a seared scallop dinner is absolutely worth the effort. Something to remember is that fresh scallops might give off a mild gassy odor that should dissipate after you open them. They should not, however, smell fishy.

As with all seafood, scallops need a cold environment. Not only should they be stored on the bottom shelf, but they should be stored near the back of your fridge — in case you've never lost a soda can in your fridge's deep recesses before, the back is much colder than the rest of the fridge. Scallops should always be firm to the touch before you cook them. Fresh scallops will last one or two days.

Tilapia will last one or two days in the fridge after purchasing. An important note to remember on the day of cooking, though, is that tilapia does not do well at temperatures higher than 40 F — in other words, when it's out of the fridge. Keep the fish refrigerated until you're ready to use, and discard it if it's been at room temperature for longer than two hours.

Unless you're really certain about the origins of your tilapia, this might be a fish better bought frozen. The vast majority of tilapia is not only farm-raised, but imported from China. Sometimes, fish on the supermarket shelves is presented as fresh, but it's actually been flash-frozen by the fishers while at sea (which is great) and then thawed at the store (which is not so great). Look for a label that reads "previously frozen" before you buy fish that looks fresh. If you're unsure, ask your fishmonger.

For store-bought fresh trout, it's best to still follow the 1-2 day rule. In fact, steelhead trout is remarkably similar to salmon, so cook trout the day you buy it, ideally. If, however, you've gone out to some lake or river and hooked some trout on your lure, you get a slightly longer grace period, at least if you've cared for your catch properly. For best results, fish should be cleaned and gutted before storing, kept on crushed ice, and consumed within three to five days.

Cleaning and gutting fish is an important step to maintain freshness, especially in warm weather. You want to remove the gills and internal organs right away, wrap the fish in plastic wrap, and surround the whole thing with crushed ice. Your trout needs to be kept as cold as possible. If you're not eating your catch the same day, then check on the fish in the fridge often enough to make sure it's still good. Even with the longer fridge life afforded you by catching your own dinner, seafood is always going to run the risk of spoiling faster than other meats.

When you're working with a mild white fish like cod, things like texture and freshness become all the more important. With that in mind, how you store your filets matters almost as much as how long you store them. At all times, cod needs to be kept at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or lower, and must be cooked within two or three days of purchasing. If the fish has been previously frozen and then thawed, do not refreeze it.

Being a firm white fish with a thick, meaty texture, cod is a little like chicken — delicious when roasted and perfect for frying. Since cod's flavor is milder, the fish really relies on other aspects of the plate to taste great. You're likely breading and frying this fish, or otherwise covering it in seasonings and sauces. As with all seafood, it's tastiest the day you purchase it, but fortunately, if you're going to fry or pour some buttery or tomato-based sauce all over the cooked fish, maybe you don't have to be quite so rigid about cooking on the same day as purchasing.

Christmas has good PR, but crab season is the actual most wonderful time of the year. Boiled with corn and potatoes, steamed with Old Bay, or in cake form — crab is always a treat. If you're cooking at home, these crustaceans have an extra cushion compared to their finned neighbors. Fresh, uncooked crab can stay in the fridge for 2-4 days. Go ahead and do your shopping the day before the party — and yes, you're going to want to have a party if you've got crabs. 

You should always consider where you live in proximity to the seafood you are buying and cooking, and crab is a great illustration of why. Blue crabs live and are harvested primarily from the coastal Atlantic waters around the United States and the Gulf of Mexico, while King crabs come all the way from the northern parts of Alaska and the Bering Sea. If the crab you want comes from nearby, buy it fresh, and cook it within four days.

If these delectable mollusks are alive when you buy them and then stored properly once you get home, they will last for about two days. If they're in a vacuum-sealed bag, though, they can last for up to 10 days. That's great! Just remember, it's important to store mussels correctly. Fresh mussels should be kept in a bowl or some sort of container without a seal. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or paper towel, and drain any excess water that builds up in the bottom of the bowl daily. All mussels, whether fresh or vacuum-sealed, should be kept cold until ready to cook. When you're ready to prepare them, don't forget the sniff test: Mussels should always smell like the ocean when they're uncooked. If not, your mollusks are bad.

If you buy loose mussels, remember to clean and scrub the shells. Then, remove the "beard" — that is, the little threads that the creatures use to hold on to surfaces. The beard is inedible. If you don't feel like doing that part of the work, buying packaged mussels that have already been cleaned is always a good option. 

Live clams and oysters will keep in your fridge for 5-10 days. These little guys want to be kept cold, but under no circumstances should they be frozen. Your refrigerator is your best bet. If you have places to be, you can toss oysters or clams in a cooler, but just make sure their shells don't come into direct contact with ice. Remember, these aren't freshwater creatures. They can and should be rinsed with cold water right before eating, but they should absolutely not be hanging around in fresh water. 

Even though clams and oysters will last for several days, there's no reason to wait. Oysters are one of the most luxurious foods the ocean has to offer, so why delay? Cut up some fresh limes and break out the good horseradish. Oyster and clam night is a special occasion that doesn't need to be put off.