fish related questions

[d k]

Hmmm, not sure if this goes in Fishing or in Food/Nutrition/etc.!

Anyway, when I caught and cooked a few trout last week in the Sierra, I noticed a couple of things. The first was that they seemed far more slippery than I remembered trout EVER being, so much so that I had a lot of trouble dispatching them – even after repeated bonking of their heads against granite. It was difficult to get a good grip and thus a direct hit onto their heads. This may have been partly a function of their relative smallness, but they didn't seem substantially smaller than the ones I caught years ago (probably 10+ years). Any suggestions? I really felt very bad for the fish, not being able to quickly put it out of its misery.

The second thing was that they really curled up in the pan when I fried them, making it difficult to cook them evenly since they weren't laying flat in the pan. Is there a way to cut them to eliminate the curl, was the pan too hot, was it too soon after their demise, or what? Again, I don't remember this problem from years ago. Maybe I'm just getting senile…

[David Thomas]

Dispatching: Kosher meat is bled out (using a sharp knife). Salmon meat quality (we catch 35 sockeye each year) and storage life is much better if you bleed the fish. Break gills on one or both sides and let it pump blood out as it expires. It works okay out of the water, even better if they are in the water, "breathing" longer. I don't know if it hurts them more or less than repeatedly bonking them on the head, but the quality of fillet is better.

Curling in the pan: I suspect you've got the heat too high. Crispy from hot oil is a nice taste, but I never have a fish curl while being poached. Saute wild onions or fern fiddleheads and then add a splash of water or white wine to deglaze and cool the pan. Add fish, cover with foil, and let it poach. Such a pan is also much easier to clean.

But different species of salmonids curl more or less. Sockeyes not so much. Pinks quite a bit. Not sure why there is a difference.

[Stephen Barber]

I'm with David on bleeding – I gave up bonking fish on the head a long time ago. I usually just stick a sharp knife into the throat area, wiggle it back and forth, and the fish is dead and not wiggling in moments.

About curling: Yeah, your pan/oil.grease was probably too hot. Also really fresh fish (moments out of the water) trend to curl more than fish that were caught a day or longer before. Turn the heat down, and you should be fine. Or stick the fish in the fridge (unlikely on a BP trip) overnight and they'll be fine.

[d k]

It was probably both: the pan was pretty hot, and the fish was cooked about 15 minutes after catching, the soonest I've ever done. Unfortunately, with the winter we had there was no snow anywhere near where we camped this year, so no keeping the fish for extended periods.

I'll try the knife method in the future, thanks.

[Stephen Barber]

When my kids were little, we lived in northern Canada, in the NWT (much like where David lives, but without salmon or grizzlies!). One "spring" we heard that the ice had broken up and the grayling were running in a stream near us, so we packed up the kids and their fishing gear, and headed out. They all got to catch some nice grayling, and I'd brought along a pan, bacon and onions. Fried the bacon for the grease, sauteed some onions, and fried up some grayling fillets, which curled like anything!

To this day, my daughter remembers that day, and still judges how fresh fish is by how much it curls in the pan!

BTW, should you ever stick some fish in a snow bank to keep chilled, remember to put a stick or something sticking out of the snowbank so you can find the fish again! Lost a darn nice pink-fleshed rainbow once by forgetting to do that! "Oh, I'll remember right where it is!" Nope!

[Justin Baker]

Yes, fish are slippery. After landing one on shore I usually hold it down with my foot (holding it by hand is too slippery) and cut it's head off on the ground. Quick, easy, and the least cruel. If you try and stab it's head/brain/spine it's reflexes can cause it to flop around while trying to gut the fish. With the head off, it usually doesn't move at all.

[David Thomas]

Like Stephen says, fish which were "were caught a day or longer before" don't curl so much. Come to think of it, I've noticed that, too. Right from beach, is when they curl the most. That could be as basic as rigor mortis has not set in yet. I notice that progress in fish much as it does in humans (I've never done an autopsy, but my wife has) and other critters.

Brainstorming here, but maybe skewer them on a tent peg or twig to hold them straight prior to tossing them in the pan?

[Pete Staehling]

I notice the same thing with really fresh fish. On my recent Sierra trip the fish were sometimes not even minutes, but seconds between killing and hitting the pan and the curling was pretty extreme. Anyone know how long you have to wait for the curling to be more manageable?

[David Thomas]

Salmon start to stiffen up in the fist hour after being dead. If it was bent in the cooler for 2-3 hours before I fillet it, I have to press down noticeably hard to flatten it from a curve to being flat prior to filleting.

[USA Duane Hall]

I've tried a few things. Waiting an hour after cleaning/killing. Cutting into the spine about every couple inches. No success. I've ruined a few shirts by cleaning them right off my makeshift stringer, the fish squirming a little. Frying pan not that hot. Just my observations.
Duane

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