Tips for Handling Your Fresh Fish in Preparation for Cooking

Handle your fresh caught fish with care to preserve its delicate flavor. The same handling is important if it's a freshwater or a saltwater fish. The tips I'm going to show you will ensure your newly caught fish will become a sumptuous meal.

First lets look at the moment you land your fish. If you avoid allowing your catch to flop on any hard surface you will prevent bruising. By rinsing your fish with a hose or even bucket rinsing your fish as soon as you remove it from its natural habitat you can remove much of the slime and bacteria that cause spoilage. I wouldn't recommend using water that is in close proximity of marinas, municipal or industrial discharges. It is wise to use only potable water for this.

After you have rinsed your fish its important to chill it as soon as possible to prevent deterioration. Put your fish on ice, or chill the fish by whatever means you have, within the hour. If you plan ahead you should have no difficulty accomplishing this. Ice chest' are inexpensive and readily available. A rule of thumb is you want the fish covered in about 3" of ice. Try to use chlorinated water for the final rinsing of your catch just before cleaning.

As soon as possible you want to clean the fish. Gently remove the fish's scales being careful not to wound the flesh of the fish. The fish scales will have many types of bacteria on them. By removing the scales and washing the fish you avoid spreading any of these bacteria into the meat of your fish.

To gut the fish, cut the belly and remove all of the internal organs and discard them. Flush the open cavity with large amounts of fresh water ensuring that there is no blood or internals of the fish left on the fish or in the body cavity. Don't soak the cleaned fish for a long period of time in fresh water. Doing this could damage the meat texture and rune its flavor.