There is nothing better than coming home from a day of fishing and cooking your catch of the day. The taste is so much better and there’s a sense of satisfaction from knowing you were able to bring dinner from the water to the table.

Although this can be a great experience, you have to be cautious about how you proceed. Here a few tips to make sure your fish-cooking experience is as great as it should be:

- Once you’ve caught the fish, use your senses to distinguish the good from the bad. Look at the fish; does it look weird, is there anything visually wrong with it? (Ex: cloudy eyes, fin missing, wound, etc). Use your sense of smell too. Does the fish have a funny smell? Touch your fish, does it feel slimy? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, toss your fish right back into the water. If not, proceed!
- Keep a bucket or cooler of crushed ice in the boat with you. As soon as you’ve caught the fish, you want to make sure you cool it instantly and keep it that way until you’re ready to cook it. Don’t put too many fish in the same bucket, since this could cause the bucket to warm up and the fish will start to spoil. This is what could make your fish smelly or slimy.
- Once you get back to the chalet, the house, the campground or wherever you’d like to cook your fish, take out the necessary equipment. You’ll need a cutting board and a fillet knife. The right knife is particularly important, since the meat of the fish is very delicate and can easily tear apart.
- Start by de-scaling the fish by using the backside of your fillet knife.
- Remove all fins with a pair of sharp scissors
- Wash the fish thoroughly to make sure there are no scales left on it.
- Wash your board and your knives to avoid cross-contamination from whatever could have been on the scales of the fish.
- Next, time to fillet the fish. Take the skin off and fillet the fish starting by the spine. Gently follow the lines of the spine, making a small cut along the whole backside. Then, cut the flesh into portions and you’re all set to start cooking! Don’t forget the seasoning.
- If you’d like to cook a whole fish, just scale it, remove fins, chop off the head and cook it as is. Score it first (making cuts through the skin), roll the fish in a batter of flour with salt and pepper (my favourite is lemon pepper) and there you go! Once it’s cooked, just place on a platter, cut into portions and serve! There’s nothing wrong with eating the skin, this is where the good oils of the fish are.

If you aren’t too keen on the fishing part, you can always buy the fish in a market. Just use these same tips to choose the right fish, or go to a fish market you trust. And before you cook a whole fish, make sure you have the tools to do it properly.

Conclusion: grilled fish is amazing :)

Do any of you enjoy fishing? Any fish-y stories to tell? Let us know!

Happy fishing!

Warren

Keywords : catch of the day, fish, grilled fish, how to preserve fish, preparing fish

Comments ( 0 )

There are no comments for this posts at this time.

Post a comment