You've had the Fishing Therapy: Now it's time for supper!

Congratulations! You may have caught a fish or two, and now you wonder what to do.

These instructions apply to smaller sized species such as perch, whiting or flathead.

Important: On the day, if you intend to eat your fish fresh (fresh is best), transport/temporarily store your fish in ice or the coolest part of the refridgerator, keeping it as cold as possible until needed. The recommended temperature is below 0 degrees C for longer storage.

The icky bit (for the squeamish) is cleaning the fish.

1. Wash the fish using safe water (tap or bottled if camping). Holding the tail of the fish, scrape the scales off with a fish scaler or the back of a knife working in strokes from the tail towards the head.
2. You can leave the skin on as it helps hold the flesh together and helps retain moisture whilst cooking (It doesn’t taste too bad if crisped when cooking, your preference of course).
3. Make an incision along the gut of the fish using a sharp knife from the gills to just before the tail. Be careful not to cut too deep and into the intestines. Use your fingers or a spoon to remove all the entrails. Make sure everything inside the fish is removed and then rinse out the cavity thoroughly with clean water.
4. Remove the fins, cut with a knife and use pliers to pull off (don’t spike your fingers). You may also remove the head if preferred by cutting behind the gills.However, this isn’t necessary if you want to fillet the fish or cook the fish whole.
5. Filleting can be done by cutting along the back (spine) of the fish and keeping the blade close to and parallel with the ribs. You will get better at this with practise. Some people prefer to cook the fish whole and fork off the cooked flesh from the bone whilst eating it.
6. Wash and pat dry the fillets or whole fish inside & out with paper towels.

Simple but Fail-Safe Recipe for Cooking either the whole fish or fish fillets

Your recipe depends upon what you like and what cooking equip/ingredients you have on hand.

This method works best on the BBQ or stove using a frypan.

1. If you are using fillets, dust with mix of flour, salt, pepper or chilli.
2. Best flavour is achieved using a fry pan & butter (not oil or margarine) fry on medium heat for about 6-8 minutes until lightly browned & fish is flaky. Remove fish & keep warm.
3. In the same pan, add more butter (about 25g/1oz) and heat until bubbling, add a couple tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (or other preferred herbs) and juice of half a lemon - whisk these quickly together over the heat. Then pour this sauce over fish.You can add some ground garlic or more pepper to the butter sauce if you like.
4. You can do the same with a whole fish by stuffing some lemon slices butter & parsley into the cavity, dust outside with flour (as above) but you may have to cook about 8 minutes either side (depends on weight of fish)
5. Cooking times can vary depending on thickness of fish -Test flesh with fork to see if it flakes easily - then it’s cooked!

Serve with your favourite sides such as bread, chips and salad.  Enjoy, relax and then you're ready for some more action!

 

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