01-27-2004, 03:12 AM
How-to Clean a Fish
Now that you have caught your fish, you have to clean it. There are several ways to do it. Always wash the fish first with cold running tap water. Avoid using the lake or river water if possible. Also, try to clean the fish as soon as possible after removing it from the water. The first and easiest way to clean a fish is to lay the fish on its side and using a sharp knife, cut from the gills through the backbone. Then when you snap and pull on the head, the entrails will just follow. Then cut along the belly of the fish from the gills to the vent. Inside the fish, scrape along the backbone to remove the blood vein. Then rinse the fish thoroughly with cold water. If you wish, you can just cook the fish with the skin on it until the skin begins to peel away from the flesh. Easily remove the skin and the dorsal fin will follow. The second way to clean a fish begins by rinsing the fish using cold tap water and then descaling it. Not all fish need to be descaled. To determine if your fish needs to be descaled, lay the fish flat and with the dull edge of a knife, at almost a 90 degree angle to the fish, use short strokes moving from the tail to the head. If the scales are large and flat, then they should be removed. Keep removing them until the fish is smooth. Repeat on other the side. Note that if you are planning on skinning the fish before cooking, then this is not necessary.Next, with a sharp knife, cut from the gills along the belly to the vent ( the small anal opening near the tail) Open up the fish and remove all of the entrails with your fingers. Then scrape along the backbone, using your thumbnail or spoon, to remove the blood vein. Wash the fish thoroughly again using cold tap water. If you are planning on cooking the fish whole, it's a good idea to remove the dorsal fin (top fin) next. just cut along both sides and pull using a pair of pliers. Rinse the fish one last time.
For your safety, always use care when using sharp knives. Also, when storing fish in a cooler on ice, be sure that the fish is not allowed to sit in the melted ice water. Allow the water to drain away from the fish, and keep the fish with its cavity facing down so that melted ice won't pool inside the fish. Never store the fish for prolonged periods of time
How-to Skin a Fish
You can either skin a fish before or after cooking, depending on the desired cooking style. It's a little easier to skin after cooking, but that often strips off much of the charred flavor that a grill provides.To skin a cooked fish fillet, simply grab the skin at the tail end with tongs whlie the fish is still very hot, and pull. The skin, if the fish is fully-cooked, will almost slide off the fillet.In order to skin a fish before cooking, first bone, and fillet the fish. Then place the fillet on a cutting board with the skin side facing down. If the fish is slippery, you can sprinkle a little coarse salt on you fingers and the working surface. Using a very sharp knife, not serrated, cut through the fillet at the tail end all the way down to the skin. Do not cut all the way through the skin. Now the knife should be rotated so that the blade is laying almost flat against the cutting board with the sharp edge facing toward the head of the fish. Now, gently use a back-and-forth sawing motion to slide the knife between the skin and the fillet. Cut all the way from the tail to the head, keeping the skin pulled tightly and the sharp edge of the knife angled slightly downward, away from the fillet. This way, you are sure to only cut the skin and not the fillet.
How-to Bone a Fish
Deboning a fish can be done either before or after cooking. It is usually a lot easier to bone a cooked fish but it's not as pleasnat as eating a fillet that has been deboned before cooking.In order to debone a fish, first clean and rinse the fish thoroughly. That is, the fish needs to be gutted and rinsed in cold running tap water. Then place the fish on its side on a clean cutting surface. Using a sharp knife, cut straight down into the fish, just behind the gills until the blade touches the backbone. Then rotate the knife so that the blade is laying flat against the backbone, parallel to the cutting surface. The sharp edge should be toward the tail. Using a gentle back-and-forth sawing motion, cut along the backbone all the way down the fish to the tail, under the fillet. Repeat the same for the other side after turning the fish over. Now the backbone has been removed and the ribs and pin bones need to be removed next. Just cut the rib cage bones away from the fillet by slicing between them and the meat of the fillet. Remove the tiny pin bones by pulling them out with a pair of needle-nose pliers or tweezers. If they are not visible, feel for the tips of the bones with your fingers.
Always be sure to use care when dealing with sharp knives. Dull knives should not be used, as the blade will have a tendancy to tear the fillet and not cleanly slice through it. Using a serrated or electric knife on fish will also shread the meat
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Now that you have caught your fish, you have to clean it. There are several ways to do it. Always wash the fish first with cold running tap water. Avoid using the lake or river water if possible. Also, try to clean the fish as soon as possible after removing it from the water. The first and easiest way to clean a fish is to lay the fish on its side and using a sharp knife, cut from the gills through the backbone. Then when you snap and pull on the head, the entrails will just follow. Then cut along the belly of the fish from the gills to the vent. Inside the fish, scrape along the backbone to remove the blood vein. Then rinse the fish thoroughly with cold water. If you wish, you can just cook the fish with the skin on it until the skin begins to peel away from the flesh. Easily remove the skin and the dorsal fin will follow. The second way to clean a fish begins by rinsing the fish using cold tap water and then descaling it. Not all fish need to be descaled. To determine if your fish needs to be descaled, lay the fish flat and with the dull edge of a knife, at almost a 90 degree angle to the fish, use short strokes moving from the tail to the head. If the scales are large and flat, then they should be removed. Keep removing them until the fish is smooth. Repeat on other the side. Note that if you are planning on skinning the fish before cooking, then this is not necessary.Next, with a sharp knife, cut from the gills along the belly to the vent ( the small anal opening near the tail) Open up the fish and remove all of the entrails with your fingers. Then scrape along the backbone, using your thumbnail or spoon, to remove the blood vein. Wash the fish thoroughly again using cold tap water. If you are planning on cooking the fish whole, it's a good idea to remove the dorsal fin (top fin) next. just cut along both sides and pull using a pair of pliers. Rinse the fish one last time.
For your safety, always use care when using sharp knives. Also, when storing fish in a cooler on ice, be sure that the fish is not allowed to sit in the melted ice water. Allow the water to drain away from the fish, and keep the fish with its cavity facing down so that melted ice won't pool inside the fish. Never store the fish for prolonged periods of time
How-to Skin a Fish
You can either skin a fish before or after cooking, depending on the desired cooking style. It's a little easier to skin after cooking, but that often strips off much of the charred flavor that a grill provides.To skin a cooked fish fillet, simply grab the skin at the tail end with tongs whlie the fish is still very hot, and pull. The skin, if the fish is fully-cooked, will almost slide off the fillet.In order to skin a fish before cooking, first bone, and fillet the fish. Then place the fillet on a cutting board with the skin side facing down. If the fish is slippery, you can sprinkle a little coarse salt on you fingers and the working surface. Using a very sharp knife, not serrated, cut through the fillet at the tail end all the way down to the skin. Do not cut all the way through the skin. Now the knife should be rotated so that the blade is laying almost flat against the cutting board with the sharp edge facing toward the head of the fish. Now, gently use a back-and-forth sawing motion to slide the knife between the skin and the fillet. Cut all the way from the tail to the head, keeping the skin pulled tightly and the sharp edge of the knife angled slightly downward, away from the fillet. This way, you are sure to only cut the skin and not the fillet.
How-to Bone a Fish
Deboning a fish can be done either before or after cooking. It is usually a lot easier to bone a cooked fish but it's not as pleasnat as eating a fillet that has been deboned before cooking.In order to debone a fish, first clean and rinse the fish thoroughly. That is, the fish needs to be gutted and rinsed in cold running tap water. Then place the fish on its side on a clean cutting surface. Using a sharp knife, cut straight down into the fish, just behind the gills until the blade touches the backbone. Then rotate the knife so that the blade is laying flat against the backbone, parallel to the cutting surface. The sharp edge should be toward the tail. Using a gentle back-and-forth sawing motion, cut along the backbone all the way down the fish to the tail, under the fillet. Repeat the same for the other side after turning the fish over. Now the backbone has been removed and the ribs and pin bones need to be removed next. Just cut the rib cage bones away from the fillet by slicing between them and the meat of the fillet. Remove the tiny pin bones by pulling them out with a pair of needle-nose pliers or tweezers. If they are not visible, feel for the tips of the bones with your fingers.
Always be sure to use care when dealing with sharp knives. Dull knives should not be used, as the blade will have a tendancy to tear the fillet and not cleanly slice through it. Using a serrated or electric knife on fish will also shread the meat
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