Fish Processing and Recipes
Taking
Care of Your Catch
The first
step in preparing your catch is to keep it cold, either at water temperature
or below. If you are fishing with a guide and catch salmon or
halibut, the guide will place the fish in a fish well on the boat that
will keep the fish at water temperature until your trip is complete.
The second step in preparation is to fillet the fish with a suitably
sharp knife. Again, when fishing with a guide, he or she will
do this for you, usually placing the fish fillets into a plastic bag
for you to transport to the local fish processor. If you plan
to fillet your own fish, watch a few other people do it first, if possible.
There are various methods to fillet a fish and some will yield a little
more than others. When fishing with a guide on the river, it is
customary for the guide to keep any eggs that he might find in your
catch. The eggs are like gold to fishing guides as their livelihood
depends on having an adequate supply of bait.
When
fishing for halibut, one of the crew will usually fillet the fish for
you and it is customary to tip. However, they won't cut out the
halibut cheeks for you to take home unless you ask for them.
Now that you
have a plastic bag full of filleted fish, what do you do with it?
The third step in proper preparation is to have your fish cut into convenient
meal sized portions, vacume sealed and frozen for storage. We
recommend using the services of a fish
processor for best results. For a very reasonable fee, the
processor will properly package, freeze and box your fish for transportation
home. Fish processed and boxed by a professional will stay frozen
for up to 36 hours, more than enough time to survive a flight home when
you can place it into long term freezer storage. The fish
processor can provide the additional services of smoking your fish,
making lox, or even canning. Allow extra time for these services.
The third
step in proper preparation is to properly thaw frozen fish before cooking.
Thawing the vacume sealed fish is best done in the refrigerator overnight.
However, if you are in a rush, you can place the vacume sealed package
of fish into a sink of cold (not hot) water for about 1 hour to thaw.
After the fish has thawed, try one of the recipes below.
Recipes
for Cooking Salmon, Halibut and Clams
Readers are invited to share their favorite recipes by emailing them
to the webmaster for inclusion
on this page.
