Cooking Cisco

[icerman]

Anyone willing to share their "not so secret anymore" recipe for battering/cooking Cisco? I have never tried eating these fish and would like some recommendations. Do you gut them? skin them or de-scale them? eat them whole? are they worth eating or mainly for bait? how do you cook them, fried, baked, etc.
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[TubeDude]

[cool][#0000ff]Most folks have their own favorite "exotic" recipe. If you wanna keep it simple, this is it.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Scale the fish whole (easier) then remove the head and guts. Rinse off the blood and slime. While still damp, roll them in a shallow bowl full of seasoned flour (salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic powder) or your favorite fry coating (Panko, etc.). Fry in your favorite oil.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]If you use butter, add olive oil or another oil to raise the smoke point.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Peanut oil can cook at the highest temperature and is best for deep frying.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]You can pan fry in a skillet with only a small amount of oil, turning when browned on each side.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Deep frying until almost crispy is best. You can enjoy the fins and skin as well as the sweet white meat.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The bony structure of cisco is similar to trout. Peel the cooked flesh off each side of the skeleton and pick out the tiny flesh bones that sometimes remain.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Ciscos are small. too small to fillet and they shrink up to almost nothing if you smoke them. However, if you can or pickle them, the bones are neutralized. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]With a limit of 30, a limit feeds only a few people. They are best eaten fresh, rather than out of the freezer. Any that go into the freezer should be considered bait. These are best frozen whole, vacuum sealed. Freeze only one or two per package.[/#0000ff]
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