Thread: Scaling & gutting vs Filleting

I agree with everyones opinion, I'll eat crappie anyway you fix it and not complain ever. Oh,...........can I get you a Bud?

Fillet every dang fish, period. I've been told I'm a fast fish cleaner, trying to scale/gut... ugh! No way. I do like me a bluegill meal from whole fish some times, but most of the time I even fillet them little turds... that's my favorite meat, bluegill fillets. Teeny tiny finger sized morsels of ummm uummm goood.

I only keep enough for a meal when I'm out fishing. I always scale and filet all fish unless they have really tough and thick skin...then i'll skin them.

I prefer to fillet my fish just cause it is faster. Plus my wife would quit eating fish if she ever found a bone in my fillets.

I can't tell the difference and prefer fillets, but my wife prefers with the bones. I am going to try gutting and filleting, but leaving some meat on the bone. I hate frying thick fish whole, so I also want to try filleting just one side. More work, but I want to keep the boss happy so she doesn't figure out how much cheaper it is to buy fish from the market. Lol

it really depends on the size for me, if I get some nice crappie then I'm going to fillet them, if I get a few dinks 8-10 inches or so, I'm going to just scale and gut them and throw them on the grill or in the oven in some foil with some onion and lemon slices in each with a little bit of butter...mmmm

IMO the taste is like night and day. The "crispies" from the tail and edges of the fins...the extra fried up batter on all the edges...man! It's so much better on the bone to me. Now, that being said...I fillet 99% of all the fish we eat simply because it's much less trouble. Ocassionally I'll keep a half dozen 9" fish to clean and eat off the bone but it's much easier to catch a hand full of 12" fish, fillet 'em, and cook for my family. Well, that's my 2 cents worth.:rolleyes:

Welcome to the boards from GEORGIA.

I fillet most of mine.But love to eat them any way i can including in a red gravy..........I frequent a couple fish camps where its frowned on big time to filet a white perch,,,,so when in rome with some of the local ol timers ,I scrape and fry..........I find them heavenly eating any way i can eat them