You've played, now you must pay. Before you enjoy the sublime taste of fresh-caught
fish, you have to clean and prepare it. It's an easy process, and a necessary one.
Steps:
1.Wash the fish using fresh tap water. Avoid cleaning fish with lake or stream water, as it can
sometimes contain contaminants.
2.Remove scales by scraping the fish with a fish scaler or the dull edge of a knife. Use short
strokes from tail to head. If you plan to skin the fish before cooking, this step is not necessary. (A)
3.Make a cut from the gills to the vent. (B)
4.Remove the entrails with your fingers. Check the cavity carefully to make sure everything's been
removed. (C)
5.Rinse the cavity well.
6.If cooking the fish whole, remove the dorsal fin by cutting along each side of it and carefully
pulling the fin out with pliers.
7.Wash the fish inside and out with cold, fresh water. Store the fish covered with clean ice that can
drain from the container as it melts.
Tips:
It's best to clean fish as soon as possible after they come out of the water.
When storing cleaned fish on ice, don't allow melted water to touch the fish. Drain or discard the
excess water as the ice melts.
Store the fish with the cavity facing down, so that water doesn't pool in the cavity.
Don't trim the fins before removing them, because bones at the base of the fins could be left inside
the fish.
Blood Vein-On trout and some other fish, at the backbone there is a red line of blood. Cut along
the blood vein, scrape the blood out and rinse it off with water. Eating fish that hasn't been cleaned
properly can make you sick.
Cleaning a trout-Cut from the anus up to the throat, then take some salt and put it on your hands
to help keep hold of the fish. Hold the trout and snap the head back toward the backbone, pull the
head away and the skin should follow.
A. B.
C.
How to Skin Fish
Steps:
1.Skin a raw fillet by placing it on a cutting board with the skin against the board.
2.Feel for any remaining bones and cut them away or pull them out with tweezers or needle-nose
pliers; this is easiest while the skin's still attached.
3.If desired, use a little coarse salt on your fingers or a paper towel to get a better grip.
4.Starting at the bottom by the tail, cut through fillet to skin, and turn the knife so the blade is flat.
The knife should now be between the skin and the flesh. (A)
5.Angle the knife very slightly down so the edge points toward the skin. This will ensure that you cut
only the skin away and little flesh. (B)
6.Hold skin tightly and carefully slide the knife all the way down the fillet, using a gentle
back-and-forth sawing motion. This should cut all of the flesh from the skin. (C)
7.Skin a cooked fillet by grabbing the skin at the tail end with tongs as soon as the fish is done; the
skin of most fish will easily peel away once cooked.
Tips:
Make sure to choose a knife with a long, flexible, sharp blade - the sharper the better.
If you're planning to remove the skin after you cook the fillet, it's still a good idea to scale the fish
when it's raw. Scales will fall off during cooking and can find their way into your finished dish.
A. B.
C.
How to Bone a Fish
Steps:
1.Place the cleaned and dressed fish on cutting surface.
2.Hold the fish by the head and slice into the fish behind the gill until you feel the knife touch
backbone.
3.Turn the knife so it's flat against the backbone, touching the ribs. The edge should face the tail.
4.Cut along the backbone through the fish from head to tail, under the fillet.
5.Turn fish over and repeat. At this point two sets of bones will remain in the fillet.
6.Cut away the rib cage bones, which will be visible, by sliding the edge of the knife between the rib
bones and the meat of the fillet.
7.Pull out the smaller set of bones, called pin bones, that run through the center of the fillet.
8.Use your finger to feel for the pin bone tips sticking out of the fillet. Use tweezers or needle-nose
pliers to grab the tips and pull them out.
Tips:
The sharper the knife, the better. Fish flesh is usually very delicate, especially trout and smaller
fish, and requires a very sharp knife to cut cleanly. Serrated knives are not recommended. They
will make a mess.
Fish should be cleaned and dressed before deboning, that is, they should be gutted and rinsed in
clean water.
Flat fish, such as halibut, sole and flounder, have the same sets of bones, but they're aligned
differently. You can fillet them and leave the bones behind completely. Fillet flatfish by making a cut
down the backbone (feel for it with your fingers first). On either side of the backbone, cut down until
you feel the ribs, then slice under the fillet along the ribs until you reach the edge of the fish and
the fillets are removed in two pieces per side.
Copyright© 2006 BobberStop.com
fish, you have to clean and prepare it. It's an easy process, and a necessary one.
Steps:
1.Wash the fish using fresh tap water. Avoid cleaning fish with lake or stream water, as it can
sometimes contain contaminants.
2.Remove scales by scraping the fish with a fish scaler or the dull edge of a knife. Use short
strokes from tail to head. If you plan to skin the fish before cooking, this step is not necessary. (A)
3.Make a cut from the gills to the vent. (B)
4.Remove the entrails with your fingers. Check the cavity carefully to make sure everything's been
removed. (C)
5.Rinse the cavity well.
6.If cooking the fish whole, remove the dorsal fin by cutting along each side of it and carefully
pulling the fin out with pliers.
7.Wash the fish inside and out with cold, fresh water. Store the fish covered with clean ice that can
drain from the container as it melts.
Tips:
It's best to clean fish as soon as possible after they come out of the water.
When storing cleaned fish on ice, don't allow melted water to touch the fish. Drain or discard the
excess water as the ice melts.
Store the fish with the cavity facing down, so that water doesn't pool in the cavity.
Don't trim the fins before removing them, because bones at the base of the fins could be left inside
the fish.
Blood Vein-On trout and some other fish, at the backbone there is a red line of blood. Cut along
the blood vein, scrape the blood out and rinse it off with water. Eating fish that hasn't been cleaned
properly can make you sick.
Cleaning a trout-Cut from the anus up to the throat, then take some salt and put it on your hands
to help keep hold of the fish. Hold the trout and snap the head back toward the backbone, pull the
head away and the skin should follow.
A. B.
C.
How to Skin Fish
Steps:
1.Skin a raw fillet by placing it on a cutting board with the skin against the board.
2.Feel for any remaining bones and cut them away or pull them out with tweezers or needle-nose
pliers; this is easiest while the skin's still attached.
3.If desired, use a little coarse salt on your fingers or a paper towel to get a better grip.
4.Starting at the bottom by the tail, cut through fillet to skin, and turn the knife so the blade is flat.
The knife should now be between the skin and the flesh. (A)
5.Angle the knife very slightly down so the edge points toward the skin. This will ensure that you cut
only the skin away and little flesh. (B)
6.Hold skin tightly and carefully slide the knife all the way down the fillet, using a gentle
back-and-forth sawing motion. This should cut all of the flesh from the skin. (C)
7.Skin a cooked fillet by grabbing the skin at the tail end with tongs as soon as the fish is done; the
skin of most fish will easily peel away once cooked.
Tips:
Make sure to choose a knife with a long, flexible, sharp blade - the sharper the better.
If you're planning to remove the skin after you cook the fillet, it's still a good idea to scale the fish
when it's raw. Scales will fall off during cooking and can find their way into your finished dish.
A. B.
C.
How to Bone a Fish
Steps:
1.Place the cleaned and dressed fish on cutting surface.
2.Hold the fish by the head and slice into the fish behind the gill until you feel the knife touch
backbone.
3.Turn the knife so it's flat against the backbone, touching the ribs. The edge should face the tail.
4.Cut along the backbone through the fish from head to tail, under the fillet.
5.Turn fish over and repeat. At this point two sets of bones will remain in the fillet.
6.Cut away the rib cage bones, which will be visible, by sliding the edge of the knife between the rib
bones and the meat of the fillet.
7.Pull out the smaller set of bones, called pin bones, that run through the center of the fillet.
8.Use your finger to feel for the pin bone tips sticking out of the fillet. Use tweezers or needle-nose
pliers to grab the tips and pull them out.
Tips:
The sharper the knife, the better. Fish flesh is usually very delicate, especially trout and smaller
fish, and requires a very sharp knife to cut cleanly. Serrated knives are not recommended. They
will make a mess.
Fish should be cleaned and dressed before deboning, that is, they should be gutted and rinsed in
clean water.
Flat fish, such as halibut, sole and flounder, have the same sets of bones, but they're aligned
differently. You can fillet them and leave the bones behind completely. Fillet flatfish by making a cut
down the backbone (feel for it with your fingers first). On either side of the backbone, cut down until
you feel the ribs, then slice under the fillet along the ribs until you reach the edge of the fish and
the fillets are removed in two pieces per side.
Copyright© 2006 BobberStop.com
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| How To Clean and Fillet Fish |
| "There are two types of fisherman - those who fish for sport and those who fish for fish." Author Unknown |
