Learned how much I don't know about fish

[Pink_Carnation]

We were able to get some free salmon but having never cleaned, filleted, or dealt with fish that wasn't from a store made it difficult to get it ready for the freezer.

The first thing that was a problem is how do you hold onto the slippery bugger? After that we learned that we need to know how to sharpen all our knives many of which are from my grandma. Is there a website that anyone has found particularly helpful in doing it right?

We mostly have salmon steaks because filleting was taking a lot longer to deal with each fish.

My last question is are there any good sites for making a smoker?

[rags57078]

do a google search you will find more info than you can read LOL
heres how you can smoke small amounts real easy

http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_co...istakes_082211

[rags57078]

http://www.northwestflyfisherman.com/salmon_fillet.htm

[kasilofhome]

Ok those cheap afro terf welcome mats are great to lay the salmon (fish) on to clean the fish. Rinse and toss in dishwasher. No sliding fish here.

[Yvonne's hubby]

Originally Posted by Pink_Carnation

My last question is are there any good sites for making a smoker?

Ummmmm... Out behind the barn is where lots of kids become smokers. Some have learned other things there too.

[YuccaFlatsRanch]

Easiest way to fillet a salmon.

Gut the fish first, but leave the head on. Lay the fish on its side with the tail facing you and the gut cavity to the left. Open the gut cavity and look to see where the rib bones are. They are obvious in the belly flaps of the salmon. Take a dinner fork and using the bottom tine run this tine up under about 3-4 rib bones right next to the backbone and slide the for down (or out) the length of the rib bones. Do this for all of the rib bones on each side of the belly. Now take your fillet knife and starting at the backbone inside the belly slice the meat off the backbone towards the top of the fish. Once the meat is free of the bones and you have cut through the skin as far as you can towards the tail lay your fillet knife flat against the spine and gently slice the meat free from the backbone (keeping a slight downward angle to the fillet knife. Stop before cutting the meat free from the fish. Now take and lay the fillet meat side up still attached to the fish. The fish now is held in place by the skin still attached by the tail. Take your fillet knife and lay it flat with the same very slight downward angle and slice the fish free from the skin. Now go back and repeat for the other side of the fish. Once you have done a couple it's so very easy. The secret to getting the best salmon meat (that's the belly meat) is to use the fork to free the rib bones. This works with almost every kind of fish except flounder and Halibut. it's amazing how much fish you can get off of a fish carcass by using the fork method. Works great on trout too.

[Pearl B]

My last question is are there any good sites for making a smoker?

Alton Brown smoker:
Flower pot smoker
http://www.naffziger.net/blog/2008/0...er-pot-smoker/
http://blueridgesmoke.com/?p=3

[Pink_Carnation]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I really like the flowerpot smoker idea.

Now I just need to figure out how to keep the knives sharp and what might be a good one to have. We ended up freezing 5 of the fish just cleaned and the head and tail removed because we were getting so tired of cutting them.

[beaglebiz]

you can also pressure can the salmon. we do this every fall

[Pouncer]

I've been known to hang onto the tail with a clean kitchen towel. It helps, or you can wear a clean pair of cloth gloves too. Gloves with the pebbly rubber palms are great for this.

We filet starting by making a cut just behind the gills, straight down to the spine. Make an initial cut along the spine lengthwise, a couple inches long. Turn knife so it's parallel to the ribs, and begin working it back and forth to release the meat.

Some people find this easier with the uncut side upwards so you can use the knife down and away from you. This way, your free hand would hold the remains up and away from the blade.

I am sure there are many videos online about how to do this, but it's a lot of work if you have a pile of fish to do.

Here is how my hub does it, for processing into jars:

The fish is gutted and rinsed with cold running water. If very slimy, use a brand new green flat scubby to remove the slime under running water. (This helps a lot!) Don't scrub the scales too hard or you will loosen them! He then lays the whole fish out and cuts into jar length pieces-right through the spine....think of these as really long steaks. The head and tail get tossed. So then you have three or four chunks, U shaped. Holding the back cupped in one hand, the knife is inserted along the spine all the way to the end. Wiggling back and forth, you pull the knife up the ribs and out. Repeat on the other side. When you are done, you will have a jar length long piece of spine with ribs attached to toss out. The more practise you have at it, the less meat gets left on the bones too.

We don't find skin objectionable, since it tend to get very soft when cooked. Skinning a lot of salmon is a pain.....we process dozens every year, so I feel your pain!

[snowshoehair]

It's nice to have a few whole salmon in the freezer to roast up when you have company. So easy!

[big rockpile]

Originally Posted by Yvonne's hubby

Ummmmm... Out behind the barn is where lots of kids become smokers. Some have learned other things there too.

Yea beware of Mulberry Trees in the dark

big rockpile

[salmonslayer]

Originally Posted by Pouncer

I've been known to hang onto the tail with a clean kitchen towel. It helps, or you can wear a clean pair of cloth gloves too. Gloves with the pebbly rubber palms are great for this.

We filet starting by making a cut just behind the gills, straight down to the spine. Make an initial cut along the spine lengthwise, a couple inches long. Turn knife so it's parallel to the ribs, and begin working it back and forth to release the meat.

Some people find this easier with the uncut side upwards so you can use the knife down and away from you. This way, your free hand would hold the remains up and away from the blade.

I am sure there are many videos online about how to do this, but it's a lot of work if you have a pile of fish to do.

Here is how my hub does it, for processing into jars:

The fish is gutted and rinsed with cold running water. If very slimy, use a brand new green flat scubby to remove the slime under running water. (This helps a lot!) Don't scrub the scales too hard or you will loosen them! He then lays the whole fish out and cuts into jar length pieces-right through the spine....think of these as really long steaks. The head and tail get tossed. So then you have three or four chunks, U shaped. Holding the back cupped in one hand, the knife is inserted along the spine all the way to the end. Wiggling back and forth, you pull the knife up the ribs and out. Repeat on the other side. When you are done, you will have a jar length long piece of spine with ribs attached to toss out. The more practise you have at it, the less meat gets left on the bones too.

We don't find skin objectionable, since it tend to get very soft when cooked. Skinning a lot of salmon is a pain.....we process dozens every year, so I feel your pain!

Good advice except the whole tossing the head, tails and bones part. Roasted fins and tail are good eatin and the heads (with eyeballs) makes a great soup. The bones, head (if you dont want soup) and tails should be cooked into a fish stock that can then be frozen. If you get any roe, salmon caviar is pretty tasty.

[GrannysChickies]

Google fileting salmon, that is how I learned in Alaska and you have gotten excellent advice here, just sometimes easier to see pictures, and if you take the time, even though frustrated, pick all those pin bones now ( I used needle-nosed plier and when you get the angle right, plunk, plunk, plunk quickly), when thawing and wanting to cook, I despise doing those bones. I took our spare parts and cooked down then picked nasty parts (to me) and froze in portions for the dogs.

[KIT.S]

Don't feed raw salmon to dogs. Some will die from it, and you can't tell which it will be until it's too late. Pressure cooked is OK - the bones get soft and are a good source of calcium.
I fillet fish on a wooden cutting board and stab the tail at the base of the meat with a knife into the cutting board. Holds everything in place very well. I've canned literally thousands of salmon. You don't need to fillet them to can - just cut into jar-lengths, curl the bellies into the cavity and stuff the whole piece into the jar. You can slip the skin off and the bones out if you want to when you open the jar. Much faster and calcium is good for you! Makes great sandwiches, salmon croquets, souffle.
Kit

[Pink_Carnation]

Maybe I should try canning some if we end up getting anymore.