Author Topic: Best way to clean a whitefish (Read 29026 times)

Fishfood · « **on:** February 06, 2015, 04:07:53 pm »

This is what i do i find a little faster taking off the mud line.

First of all you need to catch a whitefish. Then this is a personal preference. I put my fingers in its Gills and pull them out. I bleed out most of my whitties.

Then cover up the crime scene with snow when you leave.

Fillet the fish both sides.

Cut out the middle and fins.

Remove the skin .

Find the y bone bone and cut it out.

A second pic i only take the bones .

Cut the tail section off you will now have 3 pieces.

Now start cutting the mud out.

Cat off any back mussels.

Cut the 2 remaining long pieces into 2 or 3. Today i cut them in half as i have a dinner with 6 and we all want nice pieces fish.

So thats 10 nice chunks of whitefish from this one.

Rinse off the fish and you are done .

In a bag waiting for dinner Tonight.

Hope this will help some clean this wonderful fish.

Tight lines.

LakeSimcoe MessageBoard

tonyb · « **Reply #1 on:** February 06, 2015, 05:14:31 pm »

Great sequence! thanks for posting that I am sure many people will benefit if they are fortunate to capture one of Simcoe's Finned Unicorns

TundraRoy · « **Reply #2 on:** February 06, 2015, 05:31:29 pm »

Great post Fishfood. Pretty much the identical way I do mine.
I've done a test regarding bleeding the fish. A few years back I caught two whitefish. I bled one and not the other. Once home and had the fish cleaned, it looked like two different species of fish. Side by side one filet was clear and white while the other was pinkish. The biggest thing I noticed was the much stronger flavor in the not bled fish.
I'm now a firm believer in bleeding them.

canliq · « **Reply #3 on:** February 06, 2015, 05:54:08 pm »

So when you bleeding out the fish must better tasty then keep the fish frozen natural ?

nocod · « **Reply #4 on:** February 06, 2015, 08:26:00 pm »

well done

CastawayFishing · « **Reply #5 on:** February 06, 2015, 08:55:05 pm »

Thanks for sharing Fishfood. Your hut looks like a scene out of Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Must be some job covering up that crime scene : )

Sol

simcoe_psyco · « **Reply #6 on:** February 06, 2015, 09:42:16 pm »

I was taught to always brine the fillets in saltwater for a few minutes to pull the blood out when the water goes pink rinse in cold water and they are done but now Im thinking if I bleed them first I can skip the brine soak.Thanks for the idea

john_willy · « **Reply #7 on:** February 06, 2015, 10:01:07 pm »

Nice job Fishfood - definitely going to be bleedin em from now on and removing the mud as you call it..... hope to see you out at JP.....

Sportsman · « **Reply #8 on:** February 06, 2015, 10:08:45 pm »

Lots of work for a good job done

Sportsman · « **Reply #9 on:** February 06, 2015, 10:12:08 pm »

well done

joeybacala · « **Reply #10 on:** February 07, 2015, 09:52:13 am »

Great tip. Will try.

Mike D · « **Reply #11 on:** February 07, 2015, 12:27:12 pm »

Thank you for posting. It would have been very helpfull last week end when I made a mess of mine.lol

bowfin1 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 08, 2015, 06:35:39 am »

i think whitefish are my most hated fish to filet

John Whyte · « **Reply #13 on:** February 08, 2015, 08:34:30 am »

Great tip Tim and also I learned maple syrup is on sale for $1.99 LOL

tdarius · « **Reply #14 on:** February 08, 2015, 09:52:39 am »

More great tips on this message board,good job cleaning the whitey.Thanks for the tips!

Wormdunker · « **Reply #15 on:** February 08, 2015, 03:43:39 pm »

Great tip on bleeding them. They definitely have a different taste. We bleed our walleye by cutting the gills then drag them in the water on a stringer for 10 minutes or so while we continue trolling. End result the fillets are as white as paper.

rickybobby · « **Reply #16 on:** February 08, 2015, 04:15:55 pm »

Great idea on the gill removal...tried it on the last whitefish I caught and it definitely makes a difference, thanks!

Fish-awn · « **Reply #17 on:** February 08, 2015, 04:34:39 pm »

Nice job. I agree with bleeding the fish, makes the meat much better. The key to filleting any fish is always use a razor sharp knife, especially whitefish as the scales are very course. I had one for dinner lastnight and it was delicious

slushbed · « **Reply #18 on:** February 08, 2015, 04:45:06 pm »

Great info. I bled out my fish this time and it really does make a difference. My wife used the whitefish to make a great potato, leek, fish soup. Super tasty.

BB · « **Reply #19 on:** February 08, 2015, 04:51:07 pm »

Nice cleaning.

I find when the temps are like -10-15 the fish will freeze fast enough to allow not to bleed the fish. When they wont freeze fast,bleeding is best.

Nice job again FF

Fishfood · « **Reply #20 on:** March 12, 2015, 05:56:49 pm »

Bump.

MuskieBait · « **Reply #21 on:** March 17, 2015, 08:15:23 pm »

Quote from: BB on February 08, 2015, 04:51:07 pm

Nice cleaning.

I find when the temps are like -10-15 the fish will freeze fast enough to allow not to bleed the fish. When they wont freeze fast,bleeding is best.

Nice job again FF

If the weather is too cold, simply cut the gill, put the fish on a stringer and put the fish down the hole. You won't have to worry about the fish freezing before it completely bleeds out.