Fish preparation

[seasponge]

I have been reading Josh Niland's (aka the Fish Butcher) book The Whole Fish. There is a fantastic segment in there about storing and prepping fish that you are going to eat.

I won't copy and past from his book, but basically his fundamental principals are: moisture is what causes bacteria and degradation so keep the fish dry at all times! I have followed his principals on whole fish that i have both caught and bought and the results are great. This is what i do, based on his book;

• Keep fresh killed fish in ice slurry using sea water until you get home
• Scale if preferred (if i'm going to keep and cook the fish whole, will scale, but if filleting, i will leave the scales on). Wipe fish clean with paper towel only - do not rinse!
• Clean out gut cavity. Wipe clean with paper towel only - do not rinse!
• Store fish in the fridge so that it is covered, but not in contact with anything! To do this i place it on a wire rack, on a tray, then place another wire rack over the top, then cover in glad wrap. This prevents the fish pooling in it's own moisture.

At no time, after the initial ice slurry, does the fish come in contact with water (fresh or sea). Doing this, the fish can be kept in the fridge for 5-7 days without starting to smell. The skin will have dried out from the fridge (hence the glad wrap), but the flesh has not degraded. 

The difference in freshness of the fish, and the ability to store for up to 5 days in the fridge is quite dramatic. I urge all fishos who are keen to look after their catch to seek out his book, and follow these principals. Now if i'm buying whole fish from the seafood shop, i'll ask them to give me the fish whole, uncleaned, guts and all, as they will normally scale and gut under running water.   

[Rebel]

Great report. Thank you.

[GoingFishing]

@kingie chaser

Warning ! Trigger alert 🤣

[kingie chaser]

5 hours ago, GoingFishing said:

@kingie chaser

Warning ! Trigger alert 🤣

Nah, I only bite once.

 

Besides I don't want to start sounding like a mad hatter like Pete Evans as well as a raving ranter like Gordon Ramsey 😁

Edited February 16, 2021 by kingie chaser

[masterfisho7]

Top report

[noelm]

One things certain, cooling your fish after capture is important, keeping them in sea water is not the way to do it, the ocean is well over 22 degrees in Sydney at the moment, add a couple of hours sun on your bucket/esky and your catch is now half cooked, no amount of fooling around with it is going to make it "fresh" again.

[zmk1962]

Top stuff @seasponge.... this is very much what I do. My idea's may well have come from reading the same literature.

I predominantly fish for food ... sport fishing only happens after we have our feed in the esky ... in that vein I have been advocating no fresh water contact with salt water fish for years. The taste and preservation qualities are just so much better.

I have posted about my set up several years ago. The ice actually sits under the container that holds the cold saltwater. 

Cheers Zoran 

[savit]

Good suggestions!  LOL I am struggling to do anything with with cling wrap - so I  just use sealable glass containers for fish and meats storage - they are cheap as chips and decent quality now at Kmart.