Thread: Whole or Filet?

I like them filleted so I don't have to pick through the bones but my dad and my brother-in-law likes them whole. I let my fillets soak for at least two hours in milk to get rid of the strong gamey taste before I deep fry them (usually with french fries). I use store bought "fish meal mix" that is really ready made corn meal, flour, and seasonings on the fillets before frying. This link explains it better than I can even though I do mine a little different.

Main site link:
http://www.jimporter.org/

Direct link:
http://www.jimporter.org/recipes/

"Strong Gamey Taste"....In CRAPPIE??? What kind of Crappie are you eating there DixieAngler...

eating them "whole" means I can taste the "nutty sweet" flavor of the skin, which is really better done when the fish are fresh. They seem to lose some of that, when frozen whole. Fillets usually take on the "taste" of whatever they are "covered" in.
Crappie, and freshwater fish in general, don't need to be cooked very long to be "done". The longer they're cooked, the more chance they will be greasy (from the coating) and/or the meat will be dry and tough.
I generally fry "my" fish in a iron skillet. I coat them with plain yellow corn meal, Southern Star Fish Fry Seasoning, or a combination of the two.
I fillet the majority of the fish I catch and keep ... mostly because it's faster and easier than scaling/gutting, but also due to the fact that I provide other members of my family with fish. They like fillets ... no bones, no carcass, no fuss.
I have tried a suggestion from some members, to "coat" the fish with whatever covering I plan to use (meal, seasoning mix, etc) before freezing ... to delay or even stop the freezer burn. It works rather well. And it keeps me from having to use up a lot of freezer space, with containers of fish/water.

As for "wasting" a lot of meat by filleting ... I don't think so, at least not a noticable amount per fish ... provided, of course, that the filleting proceedure is done correctly. And filleting is simply doing with a fillet knife, what you do with your fork ... removing the bones. And, even when frying/eating them whole ... there's usually still "some" meat left, that's thrown out with the carcass (bones/fins). So ... I feel that proper filleting technique vs "whole", as far as total eatable meat availability is concerned, is pretty much a tie ... if not a non-issue.

All of this is, of course, is just MHO .... cp

sac-a-lait,

Well, when you throw in some bream fillets meaning the Speck and bream fillets get mixed together as is usually the case around here, that strong fishy taste is there in the fillets if I don't milk soak them a while.

i like to filet mine.i do like the little extra flavor from the skin,but i'm gettin' too old and lazy to gut/scale and make a mess to clean up:rolleyes:
with the electric knife i get a quick clean filet with no mess,with little effort.after filting,i just slice out the ribcage with my regular raplala,and voila!!!nice tastey sweet meat in about a half a minute per fish
add a little of my homemade seasoned breading,toss in the iron skillet full of butter flavor crisco,and "heaven,i'm in heaven"

I like filets with Andys fish breading fried. Best breading around here.

Originally Posted by sac-a-lait

"Strong Gamey Taste"....In CRAPPIE??? What kind of Crappie are you eating there DixieAngler...

Same here ? Is he really catch'n crappie or is it poor water quality ? There is'nt a finer fish here than Crappie fillets.:D I'll take my fresh crappie fillets rinsed well and forget anything to hide the taste.:rolleyes: Cook my plain and simple , corn mealed and deep fried !

Nimrod,

See above post. It ain't the Speck fillets, its the bream fillets that get mixed in with them.