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Cleaning and Gutting a Fish

From the bank to the kitchen in ten minutes

Keep it cold from the start

Fish spoils faster than any other meat. Bacteria double every 20 minutes above 5 degrees C, and a fish left in a warm bucket for two hours is already going soft. Kill it at once, bleed it, and get it into a cool bag with ice or frozen bottles. Gut it within a few hours because the guts are where spoilage starts. Fresh fish has clear bulging eyes, bright red gills, firm flesh that springs back, and smells of the sea or clean river, not of fish. If the eyes are sunken and the gills brown, do not eat it. Cleaned fish keeps 2 days in a fridge at 0 to 4 degrees C, or 3 months frozen.

Scaling

Most fish need scaling before cooking whole; fillets that will be skinned do not. Work outdoors or inside a plastic bag, because scales fly everywhere. Hold the fish by the tail on a board and scrape from tail to head with the back of a knife or a scaler, using short firm strokes. Rinse and check the belly and behind the fins where scales hide. Some fish (mackerel, trout) have scales so small you can skip this. Mullet, sea bream and bass have big scales that must come off. Do it under a slow running tap to keep the mess down. Sharp fin spines are still dangerous at this stage, so grip carefully.

Gutting, step by step

Use a small sharp knife. Step 1: lay the fish on its side. Step 2: insert the knife tip in the vent (the small hole near the tail) and cut forward along the belly to the base of the gills, keeping the blade shallow so you do not pierce the gut. Step 3: open the belly and pull the guts out toward the head; they come away in one piece with a hook of your finger. Step 4: cut through the membrane along the backbone and scrape out the dark blood line with a spoon or thumbnail. Step 5: remove the gills by cutting where they join at top and bottom. Step 6: rinse the cavity in cold water and pat dry. A gutted, gilled fish is ready to cook whole.

Filleting a round fish

A thin flexible knife makes this easy. Cut behind the head and gill plate down to the backbone, angled slightly toward the head. Turn the blade flat and slide it along the backbone toward the tail, letting the rib bones guide it, lifting the fillet as you go. Flip the fish and repeat. Lay each fillet skin down, pull out the pin bones with tweezers (feel along the centre line), and, if you want skinless, hold the tail end of the skin and slide the knife along it at a low angle. Your first fillets will be messy and waste meat. By the tenth they will be clean. Keep the head and bones for stock.

Waste, hygiene and clean-up

Guts and heads attract rats, gulls and flies. Do not leave them on a bank or beach; bag them and bin them, or return them to deep water well away from where people swim if local rules allow. Wash the board, knife and your hands with hot soapy water; raw fish juices carry bacteria that cause food poisoning. Keep raw fish away from ready-to-eat food in the fridge. Cover any cuts on your hands with a waterproof plaster before handling fish, because fish spines and shellfish can cause nasty skin infections. If a cut from a fish becomes red and swollen, see a doctor.

Next lesson: Cook It Simply, Fish Responsibly →

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