Title: Preparing Fresh Fish for Cooking
Author: Larry Honz
Article: Fish is one of the most wholesome foods that
man can eat. In fact,
people have been eating fish throughout human history. These days, many cooks
yearn to add fish to their repertoire, but the whole process of cleaning and
filleting fresh fish is a little scary to them. The process of cleaning and
filleting fresh fish is relatively simple once the steps are understood. To
begin, you must clean your fresh fish properly in order to maintain it's quality
during the remaining steps of processing. First, use a knife or fish scaling
tool to remove all of the scales. Removing the scales early on is a key to
easy fish cleaning. Next, remove the fish head by cutting just behind the first
set of fins. Now, insert your sharp knife into the area where you just removed
the head and make a slit in the belly of the fish. You will want to slit the
fish belly all the way down to the vent next to the tail. This should open
up the cavity of the fish and you can pull or cut away any viscera or organs
from inside the fish. The next step is to cut away any additional fins that
the fish may have. Do this by cutting into the fish in a circular motion around
the fins and remove them. Finally, rinse the fish body and cavity under cold,
running water. Now that the fish has been properly cleaned, you can move on
to filleting. Begin the fish filleting process by laying the fish on one side
and inserting your knife into the fish body almost to the backbone. Guide your
knife along the backbone, exposing the fillet as you cut. You will have to
lift and separate the flesh from the bone as you cut. Next, repeat this process
for the other side. Once you have created the two fish fillets, place them
skin side down and cut through the flesh next to the tail. Do not cut through
the skin next to the tail, as you will hold onto this skin as you separate
the skin from the flesh. Insert your fillet knife between the flesh and the
skin and use a back and forth motion to separate the two. Rinse the fillets
with cold water and be sure to dry them before storing or using. These simple
and easy steps are all that it takes to make the most out of fresh fish. With
these steps in mind you can prepare fresh fish for any meal.
About the author: Find great seafood recipes
and tips at Great Seafood Recipes Larry Honz is chief writer and creator at Recipe-Rack.com
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