Pan-fried rainbows - to scale or not to scale?

[Thuggin4Life]

BFishin likes the cheaks. I tryed them. Pretty tasty and moist.

 

[nwkiller]

sorry bout the hijack by the way

sorry bout the hijack by the way

oh ya the cheeks are so good....they are small depending on the fish but delicious!

 

[ZeeBorn]

Gag! I can't handle the taste or the fishy smell of the skin. The first time I had skinless trout, it did not stink in the pan cooking, and did not have that fishy taste...it was the most glorious day of my fish eating career, and I haven't looked back since.

I think that fishy smell is more a mater of the fish not being as fresh as it could be. I have only ever noticed that fishy smell on fish that is a couple days old.

i love to eat the skins, mostley on salmon though....but the best part of the trout is its cheaks.....just peel back the gill plate and find it...mmmmmmmm:dance:

Yes! Another cheek lover! Definitely one of my favorite parts too. Sometimes when I'm fleeting salmon or steelhead, I'll just cut out the cheek and eat it raw... mmm SASHIMI! The hearts are good too, they are kind of like lamb.
-Nate

 

[bassman503]

That's why it's called fish. It has a fishy smell to it, which is bomb.

 

[Griz]

Cheeks

Cheeks

Halibut cheeks are the best !

 

[TTFishon]

With me it depends on my mood. I always scale them just in case. Sometimes it gross's me out and sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes I eat the fins too.

 

[nwkiller]

Halibut cheeks are the best !

ive never haad a halibut cheek that sounds good!

 

[Throbbit _Shane]

So I guess I'm the odd man out because I leave the head and skin on, don't scale and I eat the skin! To prepare my trout I will take a sharp knife and make slices 90 degrees to the length of the fish and about 1/4" deep (more or less depending on the size of the fish). I do these slices about every 1/8-1/4" from gills to tail and on both sides. Then I will sprinkle on lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and any other spices depending on how fancy I want to get. I also make sure that all of this is getting into every slice that I made. I heat up a pan with olive oil (2-5 table spoons depending on pan and fish size) and when the oil is good and hot in goes the fish. One of the keys to this is to only flip one time! This will take some practice to be able to tell when its time to flip but I'm sure you all have experience in the matter.
So, as the fish cooks the skin will become crispy and very tasty thanks to the slits. When it's done remove the fish from the pan but keep the heat on. Pour some lemon juice into the pan about the same amount as the oil. Stir this around scraping the pan as you go. The acid in the juice will dissolve the stuff that has stuck to the pan. When that has boiled down some you will then have a delicious glaze to drizzle over the fish. Pour yourself a glass of a good wheat beer and enjoy! If you do this, the skin will be one of your favorite parts!
I also do this with salmon and steelhead fillets but in that case I do scale them.
Cheers!
Nate

Thanks for the recipe good sir! i made it tonight but i subsituted olive oil for bacon grease

so good ill have it for lunch tomorrow

 

[lilsalmon]

Now I am hungry...going to have to BBQ up that steelhead in my freezer....

 

[ZeeBorn]

Thanks for the recipe good sir! i made it tonight but i subsituted olive oil for bacon grease

so good ill have it for lunch tomorrow

Glad to help! I'll have to try bacon grease next time. Did it impart a noticeable bacony flavor?