IceShanty.com's Ice Fishing Community
Ice Fishing Tips -Check your local regulations! => Perch => Topic started by: backwater on Jan 24, 2003, 12:45 PM
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I'm mostly a trout man - don't know how to fillet or skin perch without mangling them. I'm looking for some guidance here - details on any easy way to get the meat off these tasty critters without destroying them- besides having somebody else do it. ;D
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Use a very sharp knife. Fillet like any other fish. The skin comes off real easy...start at the tail end of the fillet (skin side down) and make a short cut between the meat and skin. Grab the short flap of skin and hold on while you slide the knife away from you towards the head end of the fillet.
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It's not hard at all. One thing that I have found that helps a hole lot is instead of using a Fillet knife use one of the small razor knives that they sell in hardware stores. They are the perfect size, cheap, VERY sharp, and they adjust to different blade lengths. I use them exclusively.
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use an electric knife then cut out ribcage by hand once you try it this way you wont go back bassman ::) ::) ::)
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Use an electric knife, when you get it it's too sharp use it awhile and get the hang of it and don't get discouraged, the only way to go.
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I heard there is a decent video available entitled "No Bones About It" which illustrates how to clean perch, lake trout, walleye, pike, etc.. I think it's about $15.
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Electric knife-the only way. make sure you ride the backbone and not cut thru it [you then got troubles],also make sure the perch are not too frozen or else you`ll soon burn out your electric knife. You can also cut out the ribcage with the electric knife.
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Use an electric knife to fillet them, and a small hand fillet knife to cut the ribs out.
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I got to agree with seaweed and frozen-fingers thats the fastest easiest way I know off. I just bought me a rapala electric knife mans its sweet nice and light to also has aits own cutting board on the underside of the case. I also got another cutting board with the hinge to hold the fish on that helps since my fingers lock up after fileting so many perch it works good.
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PERCHCRAZY IS "RIGHT" I ALSO JUST BOUGHT THE RAPALA KNIKE, WHAT A SWEET DEAL. ELECTRIC KNIKE WILL TRAVEL !!!
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have to try the electric. been doing it the old fashioned way by hand. thanks for the info.
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What happened to scale them, gut them and cut the head off. Soak in salt water and fry in a pan. The skin gives more flavor, but some people don't like bones.
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Anyone ever try skinning them, very easy.
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i've always skined my perch and yes it is very easy.
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i take an electric filet knife, cut down to the backbone just behind the gillplate and the fin. then i turnit and go all the way down the back bone to the tail. flip over the meat and cut off the skin away from the meat. takea knife and cut out the ribcage and do the other side the same way. your done. easy. fast. fairly clean.
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Well i catch alot of perch and i don;t have the time to Fillet them as most do. Ok i do im just lazy. Anyhow what i do is cut off the head staright down to thwre the first fins are then pull and some of the guts come out also i then cut the belly rip the rest of the guts out , then i cut the tail part off. Then i take my knife on slide it under the skin at the top part of the perch nearest one side of the top fin and slide it along and thru till it comes out by where i cut the tail. FLip it some now its side down and psuh the knife so thers no skin just the meat spereated from the skin but the skins still attacked to the otherside and top of the fish. I do the same to the other side. Then i pull the skin from the tail end toward the front end and all the skin and the top fins come off in one piece leaving me with a nice chunck of fish. Noted that it still has its backbones and ribs but when i cook em either in the pan or Microwave the Meat pulls right off and away from the bones leaving me with Lots of meat and NO Fish is wasted. ALso with this way one fish will take me about 30-50 secs FRom start to finish. Anyone else do it this way??????
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Yes, when I'm fishing in deeper water and some little ones get inflated or have trouble geting down the hole I save them because I don't figure they'll survive, and clean them that way. They're small enough to cook evenly and real tasty. I just think of tiger prawns with bones!
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I'm with you guys with an elec.Knife
Use it for everything accept bullheads.
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WEll i never said my way was great i said im LAZY lol and i ustilize more of the fish my way then i would with a fillet no matter how good i get at filleting. Hats off to you REAL men who can fillet to the cows come home. By that time GErms asleep
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i am the only expt my cuzin that can clean fish use a sharp fleaxable knife an angel a lil down to take off skin it is simple. i am 15 and learned it in 1 week trip to the up.
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Um ya thanks kid Spend a lil more time Learning english and less time skinning fish next time you post a reply!
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Um ya thanks kid Spend a lil more time Learning english and less time skinning fish next time you post a reply!
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Germ what are you doing to these perch . :-\
Sounds like some kind of mutilation thats messy to me . LOL
I just fillet mine like others here have said but with a sharp rapala filleting knife since I dont have an electric one . I cut around the rib cage rather than through it . But both get the same result I believe . Then when I have both fillets I remove the skin using a fork to hold the fish with . Very little waste when done right .
Your ripping and tearing with guts flying around sounds like a divorce to me Germ . LOL
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Na really its not messy at all. I waste no Perch meat what so ever. I spend like 1/5th the time i would then if i fillet them. WHen your cleaning 50 perch that is a heck of alot of filleting time. As it is 50 takes me over a hr to do. SO time to me is the important factor. My wife hardly eats fish so the way i clean them is great for me. Pan cook it and the meat comes right off when you pull it. How mcuh more easy do ya want it?
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I use a heavier, sharp knife and a real stable wood cutting board to start. Holding the perch by the gills (head to the left) I cut down and to the spine at a 45 degree angle. Once at the spine, I fillet to the end of the tail, without removing the fillet yet, flip it over to the right and then continue skinning the fish with the knife. The completed fillet is then "scored" around the ribs and a 100% boneless and skinless fillet is left. Repeat on the other side. It takes me no more than 45 seconds to do the entire fish.
Filleting is real the only way to go.
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thats what i use to. :'(
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Let the Crows and Gulls do the Yellows for you. ;D ;D ;D
White Perch have enough meat to make it worth your while.
Crappies I love, but you do need a lot. The smaller the are the less they are worth.
Slit the back, run the knife down the ribs, cut the side free, flip, get the knife between the skin and flesh, cut the tastey treat free. I know it's harder than it sound, but its not that bad. Practice, practice practice. Your knife makes all the difference, spend the money and take care of it. I have also tried gutting the fish, removing the head, and freezing whole. When I was ready I thawed the mess in warm water. This seems to loosen things up and make filleting easier.
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I usually just gut it and fill the inside with garlic and butter and put it in tin foil and throw it on the grill its awesome
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me i just fillet them like any other fish its easy :P
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Always ice your fish down, especially in the summer, a cooler with a bag of ice is all you need. Let them set and firm up. Always scale the perch, too much meat is wasted skinning. Scalers can be found on the "net" and also from some good stores. After scaling, cut the heads off, then make a pass with your sharp filet knife along the back deep enough to touch the rib bones, When you reach the vent,a**hole, plunge the knifepoint through and follow through along the spine to the tail. Pull hard on the flesh above the ribs and follow along the ribs till they are separated. Turn the fish over and do the same on the other side. You will now have a "pair of pants, on small perch cook them as is, on big perch, cut it in half and you will two fillets. Freeze them up in self sealing bags wuth a lot of water to prevent freezer burn. To serve them, roll the fillets in flour, dip them in a bowl of stirred up eggs, dip them in some plain bread crumbs, put them in a frying pan of "hot" canola oil and you'll have the finest meal of your life.
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Always when handling fish, use soft gloves to protect yourself from cuts from your knife, spines and gillplates.
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Always scale the perch, too much meat is wasted skinning.
To each his own, but if I waste any meat, it is in the filleting, not the skinning...in that case, the only difference between skinning and scaling would be personal preference, possibly time, and possibly mess (I tend to have enough scales flying around without scaling in the first place.
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There's no reason anyone should lose meat while taking the skin of if you are using the right type of knife. It needs to be flexible enough that you can get all the meat without the blade piercing the skin.
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I'm with pikeguy...when I fillet mine all that's left is the head, fins and a little meat the thickness of posterboard running down its back which contains the backbone and bones underneath the dorsal fins...none of which you can eat.
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Same here... use a nice sharp fillet knife and you're good to go.
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:unsure: :woot:finally! 30 seconds and a good sharp knife! ;D
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Only slackers fail to scale their perch. What is it with you guys, you spend a couple hours driving to go fishing, all day fishing and then rush to clean your fish. Is it you are squeamish about handling fish properly? An extra 15 minutes to scale your fish won't matter. Or are you a bunch of "wuusses" who don't have your mother around to clean up after you?
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jimski2, everyone in here has their own way to clean and eat fish. my dad, when i was younger, never skinned his fish and we ate more then our share of scales. i said as soon as i can clean my own fish, im never gonna eat scales again , so i skin all my fish. its all a personal preferance so i guess in speaking for many in here by saying TAKE A CHILL PILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!