Objective Large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) is an important marine economic fish, and the market prospect of grilled large yellow croaker fillets is well, but quality problems are prone to occur during storage. The purpose of this study is to explore the quality variation of grilled large yellow croaker fillets under different temperature conditions and different storage periods.

Methods Grilled fish fillets were made from fresh large yellow croaker, refrigerated at 4 °C and frozen at −18 °C, respectively, and then, the texture, color, total viable count (TVC), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance (TBARS) value, total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N) value, moisture distribution, flavor and fatty acids were regularly measured.

Results The results showed that with the extension of storage time, all quality indices changed significantly. The hardness and shear force of fish fillets decreased by refrigeration and freezing, and the hardness decreased to 89.53 g after 42 days of refrigeration, which was 65.42% lower than that of the control group. The L* value decreased to 62.82 after 42 days of refrigeration, and the b* value reached 12.19 after 180 days of frozen storage, which was 2.41 times higher than that of the control group, The total number of colonies showed an upward trend, exceeding the national standard 5 lg(CFU/g) after 42 days of refrigeration, and reaching 1.52 lg(CFU/g) after 180 days of frozen storage. The TBARS value and TVB-N value of grilled large yellow croaker fillets were 0.76 mg/100 g and 30.67 mg/100 g, respectively, when refrigerated at 4 °C for 42 days, exceeding the limit standard (30 mg/100 g), When frozen until 180 days, the TVB-N value was 28 mg/100 g, which was lower than the limit standard, and the degree of lipid oxidation increased significantly. The water distribution changed, and the proportion of free water decreased. Electronic nose analysis showed that the response value of flavor substances such as nitrogen oxides and sulfides was significantly increased, and the content of fatty acids in fish meat decreased significantly after 180 days of frozen storage.

Conclusion In summary, frozen storage had a better inhibition effect on the quality deterioration of grilled large yellow croaker fillets than refrigeration, but long-term storage would also reduce the quality of fish fillets. This study provides theoretical support for optimizing the processing and storage technology of grilled large yellow croaker fillets, and is of great significance for the development of large yellow croaker processing industry.