What is the easiest way to clean a fish. How to clean river fish from scales and mucus

The usual picture after cleaning the fish is scales all over the kitchen and a nervous hostess. Even worse, if she does not know how to approach the fish at all.

How to remove offal

- It is desirable to gut the fish and remove the scales from it at the same time (at least on the same day).
- You need a cutting board. To prevent the smell of fish from getting into it and to speed up the process of subsequent cleaning, a bag or newspaper is placed on the board.
- Holding the fish belly down, you need to make an incision on it from head to tail.
- Take out the contents with a spoon or knife.
- There is a dark film on the walls of the belly, which must be removed.
- Thoroughly wash the fish.

How to get rid of scales

- If the fish is slippery (after defrosting), it is necessary to rinse it. In addition, if you sprinkle your hands with salt, the fish will not slip out. You can hold it with a towel.
- You will need a large vessel (basin, bowl), in which the whole fish is placed. To ensure cleanliness in the kitchen, you can clean the fish in a bag of dense polyethylene under running water.
- We moisten the fish with dried scales with water, wait a few minutes and clean it.
- First of all, you need to cut off the sharp fins and head (if it is not in the recipe).
- The scales are removed using a special grater, knife, fork and even a teaspoon.
- You need to clean the scales from the tail to the head, that is, against its growth. With small sharp movements, we begin cleaning. First you need to clean the sides, and then the belly.
- After washing the fish, we get rid of adherent scales and evaluate the quality of work.

If the fish is supposed to be boiled or smoked, you can not clean the scales. This will keep more useful substances. In addition, you can buy already cleaned fish. I recommend trying it as well.

Cleaning by fish species

It must be borne in mind that the way how to quickly and correctly clean the fish depends on its characteristics. In particular, mackerel and flounder do not have scales. In burbot and catfish, it is very small, almost imperceptible. The strongest scales are in zander, crucian carp, carp and perch.

Perch

It is very difficult to clean the scales of a perch, so the scales are removed along with the skin.

Zander

The fin on the back of the walleye is very hard. We cut the fish under and above the fin, after which it can be removed.

Horse mackerel

Before cleaning, you need to dip in boiling water for thirty seconds, because the scales are very hard.

Catfish

After gutting, removing the head and fins, you need to divide the fish into fillets, from which to remove the skin.

Burbot, eel

An incision should be made around the head and the skin removed like a stocking. When eviscerated, the burbot liver is separated and cooked separately.

Tench

Tench scales are dense and small, covered with mucus, which makes cleaning very difficult. First you need to put the fish in boiling water, then in cold water. Now you can clean the mucus, scales and gut.

Hake

It is necessary to clean the small scales and remove the abdominal film. The skin of a large fish is rough, so remove it.

catfish

It is necessary to clear the mucus, gut and cut off the head with fins. If the fish is very large, you can cut it open before removing the skin.

Cod

The liver is eaten. There is an abdominal membrane that \needs to be removed.

Lamprey

This fish is not gutted. After cleaning from mucus, rub it with salt and rinse.

Flounder

Clean off the scales from the light side. At the tail, you need to cut the dark skin and remove it. It is advisable to first dip the flounder in boiling water.

Sole

Cut off the head from the back and remove the insides. Remove the skin like a stocking, making an incision at the tail.

Tricks to speed up cleaning

Method 1 how to quickly clean the fish: Dip the fish in boiling water for two to three minutes. After that, the scales are removed easily with your fingers under running water.

Method 2 how to quickly clean the fish: Boil gutted fish. After that, it is much easier to remove the scales and remove the bones.

Method 3 how to quickly clean the fish: Pre-soak in cool water with a little vinegar.

Many fish store vendors offer to scale fish for a small fee or as a bonus on purchases. Our hostesses like this method, because not many succeed in quickly and accurately processing a slippery fish that strives to escape from their hands. In addition, this is followed by another unpleasant process: to clean the surrounding space from scales: a table, a sink, clothes, children, etc.

The skill to rid the fish of its "shell" is also useful in cases where the husband will please you with a good catch. To quickly clean fifty carp or perch is, of course, not a feat, but there is something heroic in it. Special art in this matter was achieved by the cooks of kosher restaurants, because only fish with scales is considered “correct” in Judaism. Today, professionals are happy to share cooking secrets with the readers of our blog.

Cleaning fish: safety rules

Fish is an insidious creature, it can ruin your chic manicure and even injure you with a sharp fin. Therefore, you need to start working with it fully armed. For this we need:

• cutting board;
• fish scaler or knife;
• plastic bag or deep basin;
• culinary scissors.

Preparatory stage

Most importantly, don't forget to wear disposable gloves. Before any processing, the carcasses must be thoroughly rinsed with running water. Evisceration should be carried out simultaneously with cleaning, and it is better to precede it. After that, it will be much easier to clean the fish from scales.

Line a cutting board for gutting with clean paper or cling film. This will prevent it from being soaked with a fishy smell. Interestingly, real chefs always operate with various cutting boards for fish, meat, and vegetables.

First of all, we cut off the sharp fins with scissors so that the work is safe. If cooking fish soup is supposed, they, along with a gutted head, can be sent to a common cauldron for fat.

Make a deep incision along the entire abdomen, being careful not to puncture the gallbladder. Remove the insides, scrape off the black film inside the abdomen. If the bile still leaks out, quickly rinse this place with salted water so that the fish does not become bitter. Remove the eyes and gills from the head. Rinse the carcass thoroughly again under running water.

Required inventory

An ordinary kitchen knife, of course, will cope with the task of getting rid of fish carcasses from scales, but the progress of mankind has tried to alleviate the fate of modern chefs here too.

There are a great variety of fish scalers on the market: from banal plastic and metal scrapers to modernized electric options. The most convenient in operation is an economical option with a container for collecting scales. Such a device prevents the scales from flying around the apartment. As a rule, it is equipped with a sharp knife for ripping the abdomen.

Sometimes a board with a clamp for the tail is included. Armed with such cunning devices, even a child can easily clean the fish.

But if there are no special tools in your kitchen, a traditional knife will do. Some housewives prefer less dangerous kitchen utensils to a sharp object: a spoon, fork, etc.

How to gently clean fish from scales: an algorithm of actions

So, let's move on to the main stage. There are two simple ways to prevent unwanted scattering of scales:

1. Put the fish in a tight plastic bag and perform all actions under its protection. According to reviews on the forums, it must be said that such a “batch” cleansing requires a fair amount of manual dexterity and skill.
2. The second way is that the fish must be returned to its natural habitat, that is, completely immersed in water. To do this, you can use a deep basin or sink, after plugging the drain hole with a stopper.

The cleaning technique is the same in both methods. You need to firmly hold the fish by the tail with one hand so that the head is turned away from you. With the other hand, clean the carcass with sharp, quick movements in the direction opposite to the growth of the scales. Finally, rinse the cleaned carcass again.

Cleaning of small-scale rocks

A special word should be said about the purification of varieties such as pike perch, tench, perch, horse mackerel and the like. As you know, their scales fit especially tightly to the skin. To scrape them off, you need to make more effort and spend a lot of time.

The secret to quickly cleaning such fish is extremely simple. It must first be scalded with boiling water. After that, the scales will “stand on end”, and all that remains is to run your hand over them from tail to head. Cleanse the sides in this way first, and then the abdomen. The scales easily lag behind the skin, completely preserving its integrity. This is important, because when fried, the skin is incredibly tasty.

In conclusion, a few useful tips from professionals:

• It is easiest to clean freshly caught fish, so true fishermen prefer to do it immediately after the catch.
• Cleaning will be accelerated if you hold the fish for some time in cold water, acidified with vinegar.
• If there are no wounds on your hands, rub them with salt before cleaning the fish, then it will not slip out at the most inopportune moment.
• If you got a copy with dried scales, moisten it with water first.

We hope that now you will not be able to deny yourself the pleasure of eating healthy fish delicacies due to the unpleasant process of scraping scales. Passing by the fish row, feel free to choose your favorite specimens, despite the abundance of scaly coating.

This article is devoted to cleaning river fish (in general, the cleaning scheme is the same for all fish found in freshwater bodies of Russia). Having mastered the technique on carp, perch, pike, roach and bream, which is often found in central Russia, experience can be easily extended to both sea ​​fish(trout, salmon, dorado, sea bass) and options common in stores (carp, silver carp, grass carp). In general, it does not matter which fish to clean - the principle and sequence of actions will be the same.

1. For clarity, let's take the most common medium-sized crucian carp in reservoirs.

2. Cleaning live fish is not humane and not convenient, so the first thing to do is to kill it. To do this, either leave it in the air for a while until she falls asleep or hit her on the head, for example with a knife handle.

3. Next, you need to actually clean the scales. The scales begin to move away from the tail of the fish and end up towards the head. For this operation, a small knife is best suited, and its sharpness does not matter, even a blunt one is preferable, since it cannot be cut. But you should only think about a separate cleaning knife if you need to clean a lot of fish. First, one side of the fish is cleaned of scales, then the other. Also, do not forget about the abdomen - there is a particularly tough and durable scales that are the hardest to clean.

4. After removing the scales, the eyes can be removed from the fish, the key point is that it is not necessary to remove the eyes, they are edible and almost do not differ in taste from the rest of the fish, but there are people whom they embarrass on a plate, so they are removed. This is done with the sharp tip of a knife.

5. Now the most crucial moment (perhaps the only point if you make a mistake in which you can spoil it). The belly of the fish must be cut and this must be done so that the knife is parallel to the fish and in no case is directed with a sharp tip inward. So it is necessary to cut from the head to the ventral fins. This is where the gallbladder is located.

7. All intestines and swim bladder from the belly of the fish must be removed. If there is, you can leave caviar or milk separately, but this is for fish caught from late August to May.

8. When removing the intestines, you should be careful and in no case damage the gallbladder. If you pierce it and the bile spreads over the fish, then it is easier to throw it away than to continue cleaning and cooking - the taste will be bitter and nasty.

9. Nothing should remain in the belly of the fish after cleaning. If the fish had caviar or milk, they can be put back in the belly and cooked like that.

10. The last thing to do with the fish before transferring it to the kitchen for further cooking is to remove the gills. To do this, you need to cut the jumper from below with a knife between the head and the rest of the body of the fish.

11. The gills are quite simply removed, the main thing is to pick them up with a knife and just pull them out.

12. That's all, the fish (crucian carp) is cleaned. After cleaning and before cooking, it is advisable to rinse the fish in clean water. It took 7 minutes to clean this one, taking into account photography. If you are not distracted, then it takes 2-3 minutes for one medium-sized carp. More big fish it turns out to clean more slowly, since the scales are more removed and it is not convenient to hold.

How healthy fish is, and how tasty it can be cooked! But ... Probably, you can not find a woman who would not wrinkle her nose at the mere thought of these torments. Like, it needs to be cleaned, which means that the whole kitchen is again in scales, the hands are cut, scratched, and the smells will haunt for several days.

Want to make cooking a joy? Let's learn how to properly prepare this product. After all, fresh fish is not cut everywhere. And buying fillets is not always desirable - who knows how long the carcass had lain in the freezer before and how many times it had been thawed. So, I offer several options for cleaning fish.

What do you need to clean fish?

Fish cleaning tools

• sharp knife . If this is your first time doing this, do it with the dull side and or use a dull knife. After all, large scales can be removed even with a fork. If you have a scraper adapted for this purpose, or a grater, then in the case of small scales, this will be great.

TIP: Make your own grater. Previously, bottle caps helped out - nailed a few to the plank, and wield. Now you can take an empty tin can, cut its ends, and nail the bottom to the plank.

• Paper towel.
• Cutting board.
• Kitchen scissors.
• Water for rinsing hands.

Preparing fresh fish for cutting - step by step instructions with photos

The first thing to do is rinse the fish under the pressure of water. This is especially true for large specimens (like mine - weighing 2 kg).

After washing off the dirt from the carcass, removing the mucus with a napkin, look into the mouth of the fish bought at the market - is there any bait left in the form of corn or something else.

TIP: Cooking headless fish? Don't cut it off! Indeed, in the process of cleaning, you will have to hold on to it, otherwise the slippery carcass will strive to slip onto the floor.

And now - the main options and stages!

Option number 1

Step 1. Prepare carp carcass

And why clean the fish! What's question? Of course, in order to cook and comfortably eat a dish. But, by the way, sometimes the scales are not removed at all. After all, it can sometimes enhance the taste of the dish. It also retains nutrients. Did you guess? But I'm not just talking about the ear. After all, this is also done when cooking for a couple or when stewing. Dishes are flavorful and rich.

In this situation, cleaning is limited to gutting and straining the broth, if it is an ear.

TIP: The fish should only be fresh, but not defrosted!

Option 2

We put a clean carcass on a cutting board. So that you do not get injured even from a tiny fin, arm yourself with scissors. It is urgent to cut off everything that can cause injury. You can also do this with a knife, making cuts. But I love scissors - so the fish is whole.

Step 2. Cut off the fins

What scales do fish have? What size is it? If a small specimen is caught, take the carcass in your free hand, pry off the scales with a knife near the tail and, pressing the blade almost flat, start moving the knife towards the head. If the fish is large, like mine, keep it on a cutting board, grabbing it by the gills. Peel with a sharp movement, advancing with a knife or grater against the growth of the scales from the tail to the head. Carefully, because your left hand is very close!

Step 3. Remove the scales

By running your hand over the surface, did you make sure that not a single flake was left? It's time to start cutting the abdominal cavity. But before that, rinse the fish thoroughly so that the scales do not get inside from the board. The carcass lies on the board. With your free hand (you can wrap it with a paper towel or something else), we make an incision along the abdomen with a knife or scissors.

BTW: Do not press the knife too hard against the fish, otherwise its surface will be damaged or the abdominal cavity will open, which is undesirable.

Step 4. Making an incision

Choose whatever is inside. To do this, move your hand deep. Feeling that she rested against the walls, begin to slowly bring your fingers under the insides. Pick them up and take them away, slightly tearing them off, to the very head. Very carefully - there is a gallbladder. Don't forget to wash your belly well!

TIP: Violated the integrity of the gallbladder? Do not be discouraged, just urgently rub salt in the place where the bile touches the fish. You can cut it with a knife, but immediately and carefully, without damaging the integrity!

Step 5 Gut the Fish

Then it all depends on what you are cooking. That is, use it entirely or without a head and tail, say, you need a fillet or a carcass. In the second case, we place the fish on the board and, holding its head with the second hand, cut it off evenly and quickly.

ATTENTION: During a gentle cleansing of the insides, it is advisable to go deep under the head with the index finger - blood clots are always hidden there, which will spoil the taste of the dish. Especially if you want to make an ear from the trim! Rinse afterwards several times with water. Grab the fins on both sides with a knife - a good piece of meat will grab there.

Step 6. Cut off the head with a fin
Step 7. Cut off the tail

Do you want to cook soup, because the fish is large? Then cut off all the parts so that there is more meat in them (in the area of ​​\u200b\u200band the head, tail, and fins). Remember to remove the gills from the head and eyes. This is such a beautiful cut!

Step 8. Carcass without a head

Are you faced with the task of chopping steaks? If the fish are small, there will be no problems. But with a large one you will have to tinker, because the pieces should be beautiful and even. You can cut it with a sharp knife to the ridge, and then cut it with a cleaver.

Step 9. Steak

But do you need to separate the fillets? Which one - in pieces or the whole carcass to use? Let's start. The process is not easy, but real. With a sharp knife, draw a knife along the entire length of the ridge. Got to the bone? Now carefully guide the knife to the bottom, prying the meat. You will get two fillets. If you already have steaks, do the same, separating the meat at the ridge.

Step 10. Separate the fillet

Then do as the next scenario requires. That is, it will be either two fillets, or you will cut them into slices. The main thing is to get rid of all the bones, do not throw away a single fin and backbone! I want to brag - I got such a wonderful set for fish soup. Someday I'll post the recipe for the soup that came out of it!

Step 11. Fish soup set

Option number 3

Everything is easier here in terms of removing scales. By dipping the carcass for a few seconds in boiling water, you can easily get rid of it.

With a sharp knife, make two cuts across the head and closer to the tail. Open the belly and gut the carcass.

Cut the upper fin with two longitudinal cuts side by side, and pull the lower one out.

Remove the gills and eyes from the head. Cut steaks or fillets and cook!

Some useful tips on how to properly prepare fresh fish for cooking

• To avoid odors. Lubricate the board, knife and hands with lemon. Finally, wrap the board in plastic and immediately collect the scales and entrails in a bag.
• To keep the fish from slipping out. You can either rub your hands with salt, or wrap them in a towel or napkin.
• So that the scales do not scatter. Open the faucet and continue to clean the fish under running water. Wrap the carcass in polyethylene, collecting the insides and scales there. Or carry out the entire procedure in a deep bowl or bucket of water - so the scales will not be on the walls and floor
• If the scales are dry. Rinse the carcass again, or hold it for a while in ice water (but not warm!).
• If the scales are hard or tightly pressed against the skin. Rinse the carcass with boiling water.
• It is better to clean the fish immediately after purchase.
• After slightly acidifying the water with vinegar or lemon, hold the fish in it - it will become easier to clean!
• Don't forget to remove the pellicles inside - the brown ones can make it taste bitter.
• Take only sharp knives, but also put some brilliant green nearby - suddenly a cut!
• Put the fish in the refrigerator, wrapping it in a damp cloth or polyethylene - so it does not wind up.
• The bag with the intestines must be immediately tied up and taken out immediately.
• Cutting fish is best done on a special board.

And know that careless cleaning of fish will definitely affect the taste of the dish. That's why we're not lazy!

At home, so that the kitchen does not later resemble a house of scales? This will be discussed in this article. It turns out there are many ways. And even cleaning supplies.

Cleaning accessories

First of all, you will need at least a knife for cleaning fish. This is the most common option. There is a knife in every home, but all appliances suitable for cleaning should be comfortable, well-sharpened and small. Large scales are well removed with such a device.

In modern times, special devices are sold for cleaning fish. Outwardly and in their action, they resemble an ordinary grater. The devices have holes in which the scales fall during the friction of the fish. Such devices are well suited for removing small scales. Special boards with a clamp are also sold. As a result, it will no longer be necessary to hold the carcass by the tail.

How to quickly clean fish from scales? You can use a regular grater with several edges. It is convenient to use. Moreover, the scales are removed in several rows at the same time. And they do not scatter around, remaining inside the grater.

How to make a device for cleaning fish with your own hands?

You can make a device for cleaning fish yourself. This will require small nails, caps with corrugated edges from glass bottles. And a small board. Several covers are nailed to it with nails. Such a home-made device is suitable for cleaning fish with large scales. In field conditions, instead of such a device, you can use a tin can by making torn holes in the bottom.

Fish cleaning

How to quickly clean fish from scales? This process is divided into several stages:

The process of cleaning fish is simple. But there are some nuances and little tricks to make the process more enjoyable and faster:

Methods for cleaning river fish

How to clean from scales? You can take it off different ways. But the most difficult to clean are perches and ruffs. Therefore, initially all prickly fins are cut off from the carcasses. Then the fish is placed in cold water for a few minutes. With a fork or knife, several grooves are made against the scales.

Roach scales are weak, but it is difficult to clean, as it scatters a lot around the kitchen. Therefore, it is better to clean this fish right on the pond. At home, it is better to clean it directly under water. It will be enough to dial it into the pelvis. You can sprinkle the fish with salt and rub. Then rinse with water.

For cleaning fish that have hard scales, a four-sided grater is best suited. The carcass is cleaned, as usual, from tail to head, against scales. Pike. Perch and pike perch can be scalded with boiling water before cleaning. Then the scales come off easily. Removes under running water.

Some types of fish, such as perch, are salted in the evening for quick and easy removal of scales and left in a cool place until morning. Fish from the freezer does not need to be completely defrosted, an hour is enough. During this time, the scales will thaw and it will be easy to remove it.

Some types of fish may not be scaled at all. For example, goby or salmon. The carcasses are fried along with the scales, as it is soft and small. The line is washed in water for a long time before cleaning. If mucus remains on the fish, then the carcass is doused with boiling water. Then the line is washed again under running water. Or the easiest way. The tench is immersed in boiling water for one minute, and then the scales are removed from the carcass directly with the skin.

Big fish

Cleaning the fish from scales will be much easier if you insert a stick all the way into the mouth of the carcass. It is taken and covered with newspaper, which is folded several times. The fish is thoroughly washed. Cleaning begins, as usual, from the tail, but at a slight angle. The tail and dorsal fins are cut off. A small hole is made near the head and the belly is cut to the anus with the tip of a knife.

When gutting, the entire contents of the carcass are cleaned. A white film comes off, passing along the ridge. A red-brown film is peeling off the walls. The head is cut off. If it is left, then all the insides are removed from the gills, otherwise the fish will be bitter.

Catfish, burbot and eel are cleaned by removing the skin from the carcass along with the scales. To do this, an incision is made near the head, and the skin is pulled together in one motion.

Sea fish

Sea fish are often cleaned differently than river fish. For this, a sharply sharpened knife with a thin blade is prepared. The fish is laid out on a hard surface (for example, a cutting board). A small incision is made at the tail. The skin is gently lifted with the tip of a knife.

The result is a small pocket. With the tip of a knife, he begins to expand further, moving towards the head. The skin is removed from the fish along with the scales, cut from the inside with a sharp blade.

How is salted fish cleaned?

Salted fish is sold already peeled. It remains only to gut it. She gets out of the brine, the fins are cut off. And an incision is made along the back. The same goes for the head. The skin is carefully separated and removed towards the tail with a stocking. Then the abdomen is torn open, and the insides are cleaned out. If desired, only caviar and milk are left. The fish is cleaned of the inner black film and washed in cold water.

How is perch cleaned?

How to clean It is quite slippery, so gloves are put on before the procedure. In order not to cut themselves on sharp fins, they are cut off with scissors. To make the cleaning process faster, the fish is sent to the freezer for 20-30 minutes.

After that, the scales will not scatter much on the sides. And it only takes a few minutes to clean the fish. But if the perch is planned to be baked or fried, then carcasses cannot be put in the freezer. While cleaning the fish, the knife is directed from the belly to the back. The tail at this time is tightly pressed against the board.

Zander

How to clean zander fish? There are sharp protrusions on his body. They are removed before cleaning with scissors or a well-sharpened knife. The container is filled with water, in which the fish is completely immersed. If cleaning is carried out with a knife, then it is held at an obtuse angle to the scales.

How is pike cleaned?

How easy is it to scale a fish? For quick and high-quality cleaning of pike, you need to prepare a lot of space. The knife for cutting should be with a wide, well-sharpened blade. Before cleaning, the fins are cut off with kitchen scissors. Then the pike is laid to itself with its head and with one hand is taken by the tail.

The scales are pulled off at the tail, and the knife is drawn towards the head of the fish. If the blade moves with difficulty, then its frequency of reference increases. But at the same time, the areas of scraping of the scales are reduced. In order for the knife to collect the scales completely on itself, it leans at an angle of 100 degrees from the carcass.

carp

Carp is cleaned on a wide cutting board. large, so a special device for cleaning fish is not required . You can use just your hands or a regular knife. One hand grabs the tail. The scales are scraped off towards the head with thumbnails. When approaching the head, you can clean the fish with a knife. Also - on the abdomen and near the tail.

How is the fish cleaned so that the scales do not fly to the sides?

How to quickly clean the fish from scales so that it does not scatter around? It has a fine structure. And sometimes hundreds of scales are removed from the fish. You can put the fish in a plastic bag and clean it. Movements should be neat and not abrupt.

The fish is well cleaned with an ordinary teaspoon, on the one hand having a thinner edge. Since it is not sharp, they do not rip off, but pry off the scales. It separates from the carcass at a slower rate and therefore does not scatter.