Small tip for cleaning fish

[twogunkid]

The weather has things all messed up so I'm just getting over my boredom by starting this thread. I used to dislike cleaning a mess of fish. Not just the act of cleaning them but the smell left on your hands afterwards. So now I used those yellow household cleaning gloves from the supermarket. Cost only about 3-4 dollars for a pair of two. Great tool!!! I also scale my fish with the garden hose and hose sprayer. It not only gets the scales off in a jiffy, it also removes a lot of the slime and keeps my cleaning board clear of scales. I remove all the scales before filleting 'cause the scales make my knife dull quickkly, and i like to keep the skin on (flavor saver). After filleting, I leave the rib portion in to further enhance the flavor and slow me down a bit when eating 'em. Crappie are real delicate fish, so I will take the garden hose and rinse the entrails off very gently. It is now ready for the frying pan. Keep ice on 'em while filleting all them fish so they dont spoil in the warm weather. AND BAG ONLY ENOUGH FOR ONE MEAL AT A TIME. I hate to see good fish thawed and refrozen!!! You can always thaw out two or three bags at a time if needed.....So...try the gloves (if you aren't already using them) and keep that fish cold ..any helpful hints you may have please share with us..

remember: take a kid fishing, one day he may take you!!

[crappster]

I'll second two guns on the scaling with the water hose. I tried that yesterday for the very first time, and wow! It knocks them off in a heartbeat. Very effective. I usually filet my crappie and take the skin off, but this will be great for the summer when I have close to a hundred bream to clean. Great tips twogun...thanks!

[pricebw]

Ok, I gotta ask, how do you scale them with the water hose?

Thanks,

Bradley

[Ralph Cordell]

Great tip. I've never tried it. Wonder if an air hose would do the same? I've got air pumped out to the carport - could probably gut em and scale em all at the same time. Oconee is finally picking up - got a 2+ lber yesterday that will be going to the taxidermist rather than the skillet.

-ralph

[Ralph Cordell]

Great tip. I've never tried it. Wonder if an air hose would do the same? I've got air pumped out to the carport - could probably gut em and scale em all at the same time. Oconee is finally picking up - got a 2+ lber yesterday that will be going to the taxidermist rather than the skillet.

-ralph

[ak-moose]

tighten down your waterhose noozel to a small stream with the pressure turned up high....blast against the scales....working from gill covers to tail...it well get most of them off 1st pass....scale as needed after that....(be carefull when smilling...scales stick to teeth )

[GeoW]

Man, I wish I had your water pressure. Guess I could procure a pressure washer :p
GeoW

[twogunkid]

It does not require that much pressure..You could use your thumb to exert enough pressure, but you would tire quickly. Just hold the fish n your hand and skeet the water against the grain of the scales...They just blow off!!..but as AK-Moose said, dont smile, 'cause the scales are hard to come off your teeth.LOL...But really guys, this is the fastest way to scale a mess. Works great for bluegill also!!

[tlbmech]

Another quick tip: If you hate the fish smell on your hands after cleaning a mess, try rubbing your hands on a stainless steel sink under running water the reaction with the stainless steel will remove the smell from your hands quickly. This also works after handling garlic and onions........In most kitchen supply stores they also sell stainless steel blocks (shaped like a bar of soap) for this same purpose.

[lnlsacres]

Another quick tip: If you hate the fish smell on your hands after cleaning a mess, try rubbing your hands on a stainless steel sink under running water the reaction with the stainless steel will remove the smell from your hands quickly. This also works after handling garlic and onions........In most kitchen supply stores they also sell stainless steel blocks (shaped like a bar of soap) for this same purpose.

That sounds cool. I've found that my moms homemade soap works great too.
http://www.mitchellcreations.com/Soap/work_soap.htm