Black rockfish and maybe other whole fish?

P
pinstriper
So, we're getting awful tired of fighting all the bones in small fish. Trout, rockfish, panfish, etc.

But on the other hand, these small fish are really difficult to filet, and even when you get it right, there's not a lot of meat. So it is too easy to just say "filet them and make fish tacos". Easier said than done, and who the hell catches and keeps the 15 fish necessary to make a meal ?

So we're looking for recipes/instructions on cooking these fish whole.

Our standard is the fried whole fish they server at Taqueria La Fuente in downtown tigard, which they serve a whole snapper-type fish. Seems to be fried or deep fried, or maybe oiled and broiled. And even, if you ignore the fish, this is a REALLY GOOD place for authentic Mexican food, made from scratch and not like the cookie-cutter food service recipe joints all over the place. So go there. Mrs. P pretty much hates Mexican food because it's all that institutional crap. She loves this place.

Anyway, looking for an effective way to enjoy these smaller fish without wasting a lot of meat and going through a lot of ICK-I-HAVE-A-MOUTHFULL-OF-BONES-AND-I'M-CHOKING !!!

Thanks in advance !
 
rogerdodger
rogerdodger
black rockfish are super easy, this video shows it well, once you cut along the top just slowly trim from top to bottom following to bones so that you get all the meat possible. super easy. same basic fillet process works on freshwater Bass and Yellow Perch and lots more fish...make sure your knife is sharp and keep the carcass for crab bait.

https://youtu.be/6kCs4qSDBBU

as for trout, I always cook them whole, then you grab the backbone at the tail (leatherman works great, no burned fingers), lift it up slightly and use a fork to fillet OFF the bottom side of the fish (pre-cutting the skin down the back on larger trout helps), moving slowly forward so that every single bone stays on the tail that you are holding, flip it over and repeat.

I even use this to get bone free smoked trout fillets- brine and start smoking whole, pull them out after about 2 hours, fillet OFF the sides as described above, back in the smoker after a shake of cajun seasoning, then baste with sweet thai chili sauce later so they don't dry out too much on the surface...cheers, roger
 
G
Gulfstream
For blacks,scale and cut the head off{or not}.3-4 slanted slits on each side[30 degrees or so] about half way through .Rub with olive oil and season with what ever you like. I use garlic powder and black pepper.Grill over direct heat until the skin is crispy and fish is cooked,around 5 minutes each side TURN ONLY ONCE! Squeeze a little lemon juice and using your fork pull the meat off from top to bottom.Once one side is done,grab the backbone starting from the tail end, and pull up and towards the front of the fish. Really tasty! Enjoy:)
 
P
pinstriper
rogerdodger said:
black rockfish are super easy, this video shows it well, once you cut along the top just slowly trim from top to bottom following to bones so that you get all the meat possible. super easy. same basic fillet process works on freshwater Bass and Yellow Perch and lots more fish...make sure your knife is sharp and keep the carcass for crab bait.

https://youtu.be/6kCs4qSDBBU

as for trout, I always cook them whole, then you grab the backbone at the tail (leatherman works great, no burned fingers), lift it up slightly and use a fork to fillet OFF the bottom side of the fish (pre-cutting the skin down the back on larger trout helps), moving slowly forward so that every single bone stays on the tail that you are holding, flip it over and repeat.

I even use this to get bone free smoked trout fillets- brine and start smoking whole, pull them out after about 2 hours, fillet OFF the sides as described above, back in the smoker after a shake of cajun seasoning, then baste with sweet thai chili sauce later so they don't dry out too much on the surface...cheers, roger

Thanks Roger, I'll watch that a bunch of times. We've been cooking the trout whole and pulling the skeleton out, and still finding bones left behind (with no obvious gaps in the pulled skeleton, so...doing something wrong).
 
P
pinstriper
Gulfstream said:
For blacks,scale and cut the head off{or not}.3-4 slanted slits on each side[30 degrees or so] about half way through .Rub with olive oil and season with what ever you like. I use garlic powder and black pepper.Grill over direct heat until the skin is crispy and fish is cooked,around 5 minutes each side TURN ONLY ONCE! Squeeze a little lemon juice and using your fork pull the meat off from top to bottom.Once one side is done,grab the backbone starting from the tail end, and pull up and towards the front of the fish. Really tasty! Enjoy:)

This is right along the lines of what I was looking for.

Also, I've been experimenting with the simple substitution of lime for lemon and cayenne for black pepper in many fish instances. Really changes things up.
 
B
billfisher
I use Tony Chachere's cagun seasoning on most all of my fish. There will always be pin bones to deal with unless you take the time to cut or pull them out. It show him cutting them out in Rogers video.
 
rogerdodger
rogerdodger
pinstriper said:
Thanks Roger, I'll watch that a bunch of times. We've been cooking the trout whole and pulling the skeleton out, and still finding bones left behind (with no obvious gaps in the pulled skeleton, so...doing something wrong).

if you pull the backbone upwards slowly while holding the fillet down it is common for all the pin and rib bones to stay attached...you should have almost zero bone trout...
 
B
billfisher
billfisher said:
I use Tony Chachere's cagun seasoning on most all of my fish. There will always be pin bones to deal with unless you take the time to cut or pull them out. It show him cutting them out in Rogers video.

OH, I also add about 1/2 teaspoon of bacon grease to my olive oil. (big reward)
 
rogerdodger
rogerdodger
billfisher said:
I use Tony Chachere's cagun seasoning on most all of my fish. There will always be pin bones to deal with unless you take the time to cut or pull them out. It show him cutting them out in Rogers video.

at Safeway we get a brand called "Organics" Cajun Seasoning, it has some natural smoke flavor and that makes it our favorite...also seems like it is always on "buy 2 get one free" at our Safeway...
 
B
billfisher
rogerdodger said:
if you pull the backbone upwards slowly while holding the fillet down it is common for all the pin and rib bones to stay attached...you should have almost zero bone trout...

I've always pulled the bones from the neck. Looks like I better try from the tail. Thanks!
 
rogerdodger
rogerdodger
billfisher said:
I've always pulled the bones from the neck. Looks like I better try from the tail. Thanks!

for trout-steelhead-salmon, always go from the tail forward when separating the sides from bones...
 
D
DrTheopolis
pinstriper said:
Taqueria La Fuente in downtown tigard,


I have no good advice as to your original question. But on a barely related sidenote -- For some reason (I'm going with "random chance"), Tigard is flush with great Mexican food. While it doesn't look like much, check out Taco Del Sol down the street (99W and Park St). And I've seen them serve whole fish like you describe. Good stuff, and cheap to boot.
 
M
MikePierce170
pinstriper said:
So, we're getting awful tired of fighting all the bones in small fish. Trout, rockfish, panfish, etc.

But on the other hand, these small fish are really difficult to filet, and even when you get it right, there's not a lot of meat. So it is too easy to just say "filet them and make fish tacos". Easier said than done, and who the hell catches and keeps the 15 fish necessary to make a meal ?

Catch bigger fish. :D
 
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