How To Clean Zander From Scales And Cut It Correctly + Photos And Videos

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

How to clean and butcher zander at home

Fish is a unique product used to prepare dishes from different cuisines of the world. Among the representatives of the aquatic environment, the owner of healthy meat with a delicate taste - pike perch - was deservedly noted. Dishes made from it can become a highlight of any table and pleasantly surprise family members and guests. You can clean and cut a carcass in different ways.

Features and value of pike perch

Delicious and healthy fish

The pike perch is a predatory freshwater representative of the perch family with an elongated sharp head and two dorsal fins with spiny processes on an elongated body. The fish has sharp, canine-like teeth on the jaws.

Pike perch is appreciated for its white, tender and not bony meat. Fish is a source of vitamins and microelements, an easily digestible protein. Pike perch meat contains a unique chemical composition that normalizes blood sugar levels, improves the condition of the mucous membranes and skin, and also prevents endocrine disorders, contributes to the prevention and treatment of nervous and cardiovascular diseases. Pike perch meat is a dietary product, useful for people who are obese, sick or have had a disease.

In cooking, pike perch has found wide application for the preparation of various dishes.

The process of cleaning pike perch for those who have no experience and skill in this matter can be a difficult test. To clean the pike perch, you can use a knife, special scrapers available on the market, a vegetable peeler with a longitudinal blade, or your own device using glass bottle caps, or an old kitchen grater.

DIY

How to clean this fish

Before starting the process of cleaning the pike perch, using culinary scissors remove the prickly fins in order to avoid injury to the hands. If there are no scissors, use a sharp knife - in this case, remove the upper fins with a slight grip of the meat.

Pike perch can be cleaned on a cutting board, however, small scales will fly apart during cleaning, additional cleaning of the room will be required. To avoid this, we recommend cleaning the fish in a container with water - this can be a dishwasher or a bowl or basin of a suitable size. You can clean the pike perch by placing it in a tight bag, inside which the scales will remain.

1. We clean the fish with short movements against the growth of the scales, slightly diagonally from the tail towards the head. The scales of the pike perch are hard, tightly fitting to the skin, to facilitate the process of its removal, carry out before starting the procedure along the entire carcass obliquely from the tail to the head with a fork or a non-sharp knife.

   

   Removing scales

2. We wash the fish.

The cleaning process can be greatly accelerated by using one of the following methods:

• rub the fish with salt - the scaly cover will be freed from mucus, the carcass will not slip in your hands;
• the fish can be doused with boiling water or dipped in boiling water, holding by the tail - the scales will become softer and easy to clean. It is important not to overexpose the fish in boiling water, it will be possible to remove the scales at the same time as the skin.

How to gut a carcass

1. Put the cleaned and washed fish on a cutting board or take it belly up in your hand. To avoid a persistent fishy smell, brush your hands and board with lemon juice.

2. We make a longitudinal cut from the tail to the head, opening the belly of the fish.

   

   We open the belly

3. We carefully remove the insides without damaging the gallbladder - if its contents get on the meat, it will taste bitter. If the bladder ruptures, sprinkle the bile site with salt and scrape with a knife. If desired, separate the milk or caviar, as well as the fat enveloping the insides for further cooking.

   

   Gutting

4. We remove the black strip running along the center of the ridge inside the carcass, otherwise the meat will taste bitter.

5. We wash the fish thoroughly.

   

   Gutted and washed carcass

How to cut into pieces or fillets at home

As a reminder, the fins are removed before cleaning.

• If we cook whole pike perch, use a knife to remove gills. Otherwise, we cut off the head.
• Cut off the tail.

• If necessary, cut the carcass into portions.

  

  The carcass is cut into portions

Video: cleaning zander

Many people prefer filleting the fish - a faster way of cutting that does not require cleaning the scales.

Preparing fresh fish fillets

1. We make an incision along the head.

   

   We cut the head

2. We insert the knife into the incision and with short movements separate the pulp, sliding along the bone.

   

   Separating the pulp

3. Cut off the rib bones.

   

   Cutting the rib bones

4. Separate the fillet from the skin.

   

   Separating the fillet from the skin

5. We repeat the procedure on the other side.

The backbone remaining after cutting can be used to prepare fish soup or fish broth.

Video: filleting pike perch

Cleaning and cutting frozen carcasses

Some people prefer butchering frozen pike perch, a process similar to slicing frozen snapper.

• We hold the fish under the belly, make longitudinal cuts from head to tail on both sides of the ridge.

  

  Making incisions along the ridge

• We remove the upper fins.

  

  Removing the upper fins

• We insert our fingers into the cuts between the skin and the meat and separate it, the skin of the pike perch is dense and easily separated.

  

  Separating the skin

• From the side of the ridge, we do not completely cut the head.

  

  We cut the head

• We pull the head down and remove the insides with it.

  

  Removing the insides

• We wash the carcass and, if necessary, cut into portions.

Video: cleaning frozen pike perch

A common pike perch dish is stuffed fish. For this dish, the skin must be removed with a "stocking", while maintaining its integrity.

How to properly prepare for stuffing

1. Cut off the fins with kitchen scissors.
2. We clean the carcass from the scales.
3. From the side of the belly, we do not completely cut the head, while cutting the spinal bone.

4. Gently separate the skin from the meat with your fingers, remove it towards the tail.

   

   We remove the skin with a "stocking"

5. Cut off the tail from the carcass, thereby leaving it with the skin while maintaining the integrity of the skin.

   

   Cut off the tail

We recommend cleaning the fish with work gloves in order to avoid injury to your hands.

Using the above tips and acquiring skills in cleaning and cutting pike perch, you can quickly cope with this procedure without spending much effort. Let dishes from this tasty and healthy fish become a frequent guest on your table.