How To Filet A Fish?

[Guest RedWiggler]

I dont eat much fish but was considering keeping a couple from the lake yesterday. My question is how do you filet & cook a Rainbow Trout? & is this a standard method for other types of fish in Alberta.....Trout, Pike, Walleye, White's etc?

 

RW.

[nickt]

I dont eat much fish but was considering keeping a couple from the lake yesterday. My question is how do you filet & cook a Rainbow Trout? & is this a standard method for other types of fish in Alberta.....Trout, Pike, Walleye, White's etc?

 

RW.

personally i do not fillet trout. they have such small bones you will be eating a ton of them or just wasting a lot of meat. i throw em on the bbq wrapped in tin foil with a bit of lemon juice squeezed all around and mybey a wedge or 2 in the stomach cavity. then cook til it flakes. then i like to open up the foil for a few minutes to cook it so it slightly crispens it up. just so i is not really soggy from all of the moisture. for other fish to fillet them i start by cutting just behind the gill from top to bottom and thn continue to slice along the bakbone until i hit the depth of the rib cage. do that for the length of the fish and then as you pull up on the meat you simply just scrape your knife along the ribcage until you can take that side of meat off. repeat for the other side. then to scale them you put it on a board scales down and hold on to the tail area. put your blade at a 45 and just simply cut the scales off in one big slice by working the knife back and forth.

[fishfreak]

I only eat 1 non-brook trout a year, but when I do, I go all out. If you're camping, just cut off the head, take out the guts, add lemon, seasoning salt, butter, onion, and garlic on the inside, and then the same thing on the outside. Wrap it in foil and throw on some coals or the bbq. Filleting is not necessary. Also works great on trout you can buy from Safeway. This is similar to what Kfisher was describing:

 

 

If you're gonna have some brookies, you can do this:

 

[Guest RedWiggler]

So with the Brookies you just lop off the head pull out the guts and straight into the frying pan, no tin foil or anything? Well guys this really makes me want to go out and get a couple for the frying pan. Thanks folks, much appreciated.

 

RW.

[Guest RedWiggler]

I only eat 1 non-brook trout a year, but when I do, I go all out. If you're camping, just cut off the head, take out the guts, add lemon, seasoning salt, butter, onion, and garlic on the inside, and then the same thing on the outside. Wrap it in foil and throw on some coals or the bbq. Filleting is not necessary. Also works great on trout you can buy from Safeway. This is similar to what Kfisher was describing:

 

 

If you're gonna have some brookies, you can do this:

 

 

 

Are Brookies the best eating? I have never ate one. Is this why you only eat one non-Brook a year?

[126barnes]

You guys need salt pork to make those muds taste right.

[fishfreak]

I'm mainly a catch and release guy, like most on this board. When I'm in the middle of the bush camping and fishing, and it's a stream that has a decent population of fish, I won't feel as bad keeping one. However, I won't do that very often as I like my rivers to have lots of fish in them.

 

As for the brookies, that pic was taken at Elbow Lake, where the lake is overpopulated with little guys. I don't feel bad about catching my limit in a place like that, as I know it's more than a self-sustaining population. I'm thinking if there were less fish in that lake, the fish would get bigger than 9 inches. I don't know if they're the best eating, but they are quite tasty.

[rusty]

Trout are pretty easy to do - if they're big enough to fillet, just come straight down behind the gill plate onto the spine and run your knife right down the spine, staying as close to the backbone as you can but being careful not to cut through it. Take out the ribcage, pull the pinbones with a pair of needlenose and you're done. I usually cook them whole as these folks are saying though - the backbone gives you great flavor. I love them stuffed with rosemary, a little onion, some fennel, and a few lemon slices.

 

The other fish are done pretty much the same, except that for whites and perch or other small fish you can cut the pinbones out in a little strip. The skin comes off fairly easily and a fork can help you keep it pinned down while you cut.

 

Pike, however, are a different animal. They have a full set of y-bones that make the filleting a lot more difficult until you the hang of it. Just search for pike filleting on youtube - you might have to watch a few times but should be able to do it. Once you get the hang of filleting pike, it becomes some of the best table fare you can imagine. I cut them into nuggets, bread them lightly, deep fry them, and serve them with plum sauce. They are unbelievable.

 

Fishfreak - MSR stoves rule.

[dryfly]

Here's how to do pike more or less boneless.

[Tako]

[Guest RedWiggler]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

[Brownstone]

Are Brookies the best eating? I have never ate one. Is this why you only eat one non-Brook a year?

 

Brookies are indeed the best tasting trout of course enviromental factors play a huge role in taste of any fish .. IMO .. you'll want a big fish to do a good job with filleting and not waste a bunch .. doesn't really matter how you cook it, the key to good tasting trout is not to overcook it and this is a problem for alot of people when they first start to cook trout, as soon as the meat will seperate from the bone, its done. couple minutes a side in a hot frying pan will do the trick for trout up to 12" anything bigger I'd consider baking in the oven or wrapped in foil on the bbq or campfire like fishfreak or kfisher described. don't be afraid to try different methods .. and like barnes said, a little bit 'o salt pork ... mmMMMMMMMMMMmm .. - oh yeah - dammit now I got to go get me some trout for supper ..

[yodatrout]

The best way to filet a trout is with your creditcard...