Conundrum

[pimplepounder]

I agree with you Wakina.. Hey, if someone wants to charge $10.00/per fish and people will pay it that is fine but I will not. I have an MBA and I know how business works. I just sort of like to clean my own fish and can likely keep up with most at the cleaning table cheeks and all. I like your idea of cuting them out prior, but I.have watched cleaners do their deal and its not.the same as when I do it with stripping and trimming the brown.

[wakina]

I agree with you Wakina.. Hey, if someone wants to charge $10.00/per fish and people will pay it that is fine but I will not. I have an MBA and I know how business works. I just sort of like to clean my own fish and can likely keep up with most at the cleaning table cheeks and all. I like your idea of cuting them out prior, but I.have watched cleaners do their deal and its not.the same as when I do it with stripping and trimming the brown.

Agreed! But. We are talking about butchering only at the cleaners and of course that does not include zippering and trimming the brown or removing those nasty little bones along the zipper line. Butchering (cleaning) is the hard part and it does get the fish down to a much more manageable size that can be iced down and prevent spoilage for those who have traveled to the area to enjoy the great fishing opportunities Lake Erie offers. It also gives them the legal paper work that is needed to prove when the fish were caught and cleaned so they can take home several days catch without fear of being ticketed for over bagging. Even so I would not recommend zippering those fillets until I got home just to be safe.

[pimplepounder]

From what I have seen they put them in a dumpster and they are picked up daily or every other day with the cheeks still on the carcass. That is not to say that they don't save some of them but allot of those who clean fish for a living don't like to eat fish! I can understand that part of it as most cleaning facilities have an smell that does not induce ones appetite for the source of that smell. I save them for me, my wife does not like them only because they have a different texture than the fillets. I cannot tell you why as she only uses that as the reason she does not like them, so I go with the old saying Happy Wife Happy Life an I do not push the subject!

That's pretty funny but likley true. If you have to smell fish guts all day you probably do not want fish for dinner. lol
I am with you on the cheeks I like them the best they are firmer and have a different texture, plus they taste great. I would almost trade fillets for cheeks.. Yes Happy wife Happy life.

[Hoytman86]

I would be happy to trade fillets for cheeks. I have tried cooking all types of fish a hundred different ways and still can't get it down. Instant gag the second I taste that fishy taste. I can eat the cheeks though and they are delicious. The only time I've ever actually enjoyed eating fish, it was mahi mahi that we caught two hours before we grilled it.

[Capt Juls]

I would be happy to trade fillets for cheeks. I have tried cooking all types of fish a hundred different ways and still can't get it down. Instant gag the second I taste that fishy taste. I can eat the cheeks though and they are delicious. The only time I've ever actually enjoyed eating fish, it was mahi mahi that we caught two hours before we grilled it.

You're not getting them clean enough before you cook them then. If you remove all that brownish red stuff that is on the fillet...between the meat and skin... (ALL of it)... and, remove the blood line...you will not get a fishy taste at all...zero...zip...nada. I promise. That's where that icky taste comes from. Just take the extra time it takes to clean them properly. You won't gag anymore and you'll enjoy the meal.

[Hoytman86]

You're not getting them clean enough before you cook them then. If you remove all that brownish red stuff that is on the fillet...between the meat and skin... (ALL of it)... and, remove the blood line...you will not get a fishy taste at all...zero...zip...nada. I promise. That's where that icky taste comes from. Just take the extra time it takes to clean them properly. You won't gag anymore and you'll enjoy the meal.

Still won't work. I'd bleed them for 15 minutes when we got back to the sick (boat had a livewell and they were still alive), cut them, zipper them, remove any dark meat and have nothing but a bleach white fillet left. Grilling them, baking them, bragging and frying/deep frying them, fishy taste is still there. Even a hint of it and I'm done. I've been able to take a bite or two when it's still streaming right off the grill, but as soon as it cools down that taste comes back. It's not a big deal though, my wife, dad and kids all love it grilled, so I just throw a burger, deer burger or a couple of brats with sauerkraut on the grill and we all eat well. My mother doesn't like fish either, so we usually have to make something else anyways.

[Capt Juls]

Still won't work. I'd bleed them for 15 minutes when we got back to the sick (boat had a livewell and they were still alive), cut them, zipper them, remove any dark meat and have nothing but a bleach white fillet left. Grilling them, baking them, bragging and frying/deep frying them, fishy taste is still there. Even a hint of it and I'm done. I've been able to take a bite or two when it's still streaming right off the grill, but as soon as it cools down that taste comes back. It's not a big deal though, my wife, dad and kids all love it grilled, so I just throw a burger, deer burger or a couple of brats with sauerkraut on the grill and we all eat well. My mother doesn't like fish either, so we usually have to make something else anyways.

Oh my.... how unfortunate for you.

[half pole]

Try soaking fish fillets in milk. Some people swear by it couple hours before frying. Say it takes all fish flavor away