How to Gut and Clean Fish

A lot of people like to fish, but there are those who do not like the unpleasant task of gutting and cleaning the fish. This article will tell you how to gut and clean your fish and prepare it for the oven or pan. There are actually several different ways to gut and clean a fish.

Cleaning a Fish

When you are ready to gut and clean a fish, first make sure you have a garbage bag handy to dump all the entrails in that you will be removing. Then you will want to put on a pair of latex gloves. You want to start by cleaning the fish in cold water. Never clean the fish using the river water. You should also clean the fish at least one hour after catching the fish.

Gutting a Fish

To gut the fish, you hen take the fish and lay it on its side, using a very sharp knife. Start at the gills up through the backbone. Afterwords just twist the head a little and pull it out, the entrails should come out along with it. Next you can move on to the belly of the fish from the gills to the vent. If you don’t want to remove the skin, then you can put it in the oven. Just pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees and cook for about 30 min. Or until the skin begins to peel away. After about thirty minutes you should be able to remove the skin and the fin.

Descaling a Fish

Another way to clean a fish is by descaling it. Of course not all fish need to be descaled. In order to figure out if your fish does, lay the fish flat on its side and using short strokes, move the knife from the tail to the head. If you notice that the scales are large and flat then they will need to be removed prior to cooking. Your next step would be to cut from the gills along the belly to the vent. Open up the fish and remove all the entrails with your fingers. Scrape the backbone using a fork to remove the blood vein. Then you can thoroughly wash the fish in cold water. After that you can begin cooking your fish.

The Clean Up

This part is very important so that you and your family do not get sick. Start by throwing away any left over pieces of fish. Then spray the counter with disinfectant and wipe clean. You will also want to make sure that you wash all of your knives, and utensils in hot water, so that all germs are killed. For additional information on how to clean various types of fish, you can visit www.cleanafish.com. There you can get in depth information on how to get any fish clean and bone free.