How to quickly remove scales from sea bass

Publication in the group: Fish and seafood dishes

River and sea bass are considered very healthy fish because they contain a large amount of nutrients in the form of magnesium, calcium, potassium, iodine and phosphorus. Therefore, it is considered a very valuable food product. Below you can find various ways to clean fish.

Safety precautions

Eating perch has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin and mucous membranes. Fish has a positive effect on the digestive and nervous system. Due to the fact that phosphoric acid is present in meat, it normalizes all chemical reactions that occur in the cells of the body. An inexperienced housewife can cause serious injury to herself while cleaning a perch.

To prevent this, you need to do the following:

For cleaning, use only well-sharpened tools;
Read also: How to quickly and easily peel garlic from scales and husks at home: methods, life hacks, tricks, videos. How to quickly peel a lot of garlic, garlic in a jar, young garlic in 10 seconds?
rip open the abdominal area as carefully as possible;
Before processing, immediately remove fins and spines from the fish;
clean the fish not by weight, but only on a flat and hard surface of a stable table;
scrape off the scales with a special device designed for this purpose, but in no case with a knife (such a device can be purchased at almost any hardware store; it is made in the form of a long metal stick with a serrated loop at the end).

If a finger is injured while cleaning fish, the wound should be immediately treated with any available remedy of your choice: brilliant green or hydrogen peroxide. Then it must be covered with a band-aid and put on a finger guard, since if an infection occurs, the causative agent of a dangerous disease - salmonellosis - can multiply.

Jet of water

During cleaning, housewives say that the main problem is that the scales fly in all directions. To avoid this, fill a container with water, immerse the perch in it, and then you won’t have to worry about the problem of scales flying around the room.

The scales are not able to somehow overcome the resistance of water and fly out of the container.

The main disadvantage of this method is that housewives often cut themselves with a knife in this case. That is why it is worth preparing for the cleaning process in advance by purchasing special rubber gloves at the store. It is better to choose one with a ribbed inner surface. Then the perch will not slip out and your hands will definitely be safe.

Another equally popular option, which men often resort to when they appear in the kitchen, is to place the fish carcass in an ordinary plastic bag and clean it without removing it from it. The convenience of the method lies in the fact that the unnecessary husk remains in the bag. All that's left to do is throw it away. The kitchen will definitely remain clean.

Fresh fish

To clean freshly caught river perch, follow these steps:

The fish must be cleaned of slippery deposits under cold running water, after protecting your hands with work gloves.
Then you will need to take the carcass by the head and tail, pulling until it crunches.

How to clean fresh sea bass is simple.
Then use kitchen scissors to remove all fins and tail.
The head must be removed below the pectoral fins.
Using a brush, knife or grater, you need to clean the carcass from the tail to the head, and then from the abdominal area to the back.
At this stage, it is necessary to rip open the abdomen, starting from the anus. Next, you need to remove the giblets, and then rinse the semi-finished product again under running water.

Frozen fish

You can clean a huge amount of fish easily and quickly if you first freeze it. The good thing about frozen sea bass is that it stays in a solid state all the time. This makes the cleaning process much easier.

Step-by-step description of how to clean a frozen fish carcass:

Initially, you need to remove the top and bottom.
Afterwards, you need to cut off the tail and completely peel off the skin.
Then you should cut off the head and free the carcass from the entrails.

River perch soup - step-by-step video recipe

There are many options for preparing rich fish soup. Those who like to try fish soup are happy to stuff it or add all sorts of things to the dish: millet, rice, potatoes, and so on.

And now they have already received the stew.

And real fish soup is cooked over a fire in a pot or bucket, without unnecessary additives. Only onions and carrots. And they are traditionally cooked in three batches (later I’ll tell you the recipe for triple fish soup).

At the end, someone adds a glass of vodka and a charred apple tree branch. And I like it - the simpler it is, the tastier and more natural it is.

And they don’t “burp” real fish soup with spoons, but drink it!

By the way, this video also shows how to clean a perch with a car wash - funny. But it's simple and fast. True, the whole yard is most likely covered in scales.

To have a crispy skin

Many people like the crispy skin in fried fish, but when preparing the fish there is a risk of damage to the skin. To prevent this and speed up the process of cleaning the perch, you should pour boiling water over the fish.

You can do this at home by following these steps:

The carcass should be placed in the sink, rinsed with clean running water, washed from the inside, and then doused with boiling water.
Then, using scissors, you need to remove the fins so that they do not create problems when removing the scales.
After treatment with boiling water, the scales will come off much easier.
When the fish is cleaned, it must be gutted, washed again, and then used for its intended purpose.

How to quickly remove scales from a perch with salt: description, photo

Didn't have time to clean your freshly caught perch and bought them at the store? Then, before cleaning the scales, go through the preparatory stage.

Rinse the carcasses, do not cut off the fins.
Place the fish on a tray sprinkled with salt. Roll it with salt on all sides. Salt should be coarse, rock salt.
Leave the perch like this overnight.
In the morning, rinse the carcasses; the scales on them should soften and slightly move away from the skin. The procedure for preparing carcasses and removing scales should become easier.

Salt softens the perch's scales and makes them easier to peel.

In 1 minute

This method allows you to remove scales in the shortest possible time, but this is based on removing the skin from a fish carcass. For many lovers of this type of fish, the skin is one of the most desirable parts, so this method is not suitable for everyone.

You can fillet fish in just 1 minute by following these steps:

An incision needs to be made on the back of the fin on both sides.
Then it needs to be removed, and the remaining hole must be used for fingers to access under the skin.
When you have succeeded in doing this, you need to remove the skin from both sides, and after it you will need to make an incision in the ridge near the head of the perch. This is necessary so that the fish's head is cut off, but not completely.
At this stage, you will need to insert your finger into the belly and separate the fillet from the giblets and the head.
As a result, you will be left with a carcass ready for cooking, from which only the tail part will need to be removed.

Skinning

The scales should be removed if necessary to use during the preparation of fish fillet. For frying, perch is used together with the skin. Thanks to it, the juice is preserved, and the perch turns out much tastier. Most dishes acquire an aromatic taste with the skin. If you remove the skin and fry the perch in a frying pan without it, it will turn out too dry. Not all gourmets like this.

To remove the skin, you only need to perform three steps.

Make a cut right at the spine of the perch's head.
Get rid of the fin by cutting it from the bottom, top, and then pulling it out.
Lightly pick up the skin and pull. She will definitely take off her head.

After perch, it is advisable to rinse thoroughly with water. And the offal is always removed along with the skin and head.

Using boiling water

You can clean sea bass using very hot boiling water.

To do this, you will need to prepare a kettle with hot water, a knife and scissors:

All fins should be cut off with scissors and gills with a knife.
The prepared fish must be placed in the sink and doused with hot water on one side.
Then the carcass should be turned over and watered again.
Finally, you need to remove the scales, which will very easily come off the fish.

Drum machine

The devices are mainly used in production for cleaning large volumes of fish. The operating principle of the device is based on the impact of a sharp abrasive surface on the inside of the scales. The perches are placed in a drum and filled with water. During operation, the drum rotates at a certain speed, the carcasses rub against the rough surface and the scales come off. In this way, you can clean approximately 200 kg of fish in just one hour.

Using scissors

Cleaning fish with scissors is considered the simplest option, which requires a minimal set of tools.

Step-by-step description of how to clean perch with scissors:

Using scissors, cut off the fins from the tail. You need to use a knife to remove the head.
The blades of the scissors must be installed at an angle of 30° on the surface of the carcass. Then, using sharp movements, it is necessary to separate the scales from the body of the perch.
Movements should be directed from the bottom of the carcass to the top fin. Movements should be diagonal.

If you fix the tail part, the scales will not fly apart much.

Scissors

Special scissors made for cutting fish do an excellent job. They easily cut off fins and tail parts and are suitable for cutting bones. Of course, they cannot complete the entire cleaning process, since scissors are not convenient to use at all stages. However, such a device will greatly simplify the procedure and prevent the owner from getting hurt.

With a knife-scraper

You can clean sea bass using a special knife or scraper designed for processing fish.

To do this, follow these steps:

The prepared carcass needs to be fixed on a cutting board.
Using a scraper, you should process one side of the fish, grabbing the scales against its growth.
Next, you need to turn the fish over, cleaning the other side.
At the end, the perch needs to be rinsed under running water.

How else can you clean perch?

You can put the knife and fork aside and arm yourself with a special device for cleaning perch.
By the way, you can do it yourself. And the efficiency will be much higher than from conventional cutlery. In order to make a miracle tool, you only need an ordinary kitchen grater. Take a round wooden stick with a diameter of at least 3 centimeters. Then cut out the most prickly and small side of the grater, and then, using previously prepared nails, nail the grater overlapping to the stick. How to quickly clean a perch?

This device can be used to clean fish of any size, and not just perch. However, according to experienced fishermen, you don’t have to pretend to be a handyman and clean the perch with a simple vegetable grater. Another version of a special grater can be made from beer caps from glass bottles. They need to be screwed to a board or wooden paddle. All. The perch cleaning tool is ready. The sharp teeth of the cork can cope with fish scales.

Grater

If there is no scraper designed for cleaning scales, it is permissible to use a regular metal grater. To do this, you need to walk against the growth of the scales.

If you experience discomfort during the cleaning process, you can build a simple device. To do this, you will need to fix part of the fine grater cloth to the wooden handle.

Using sushi chopsticks

You can clean sea bass using sushi chopsticks. This device makes it possible to remove the entrails from the fish without cutting the abdominal cavity.

Step-by-step description of how to clean a fish carcass:

Initially, you will need to remove scales from the surface of the fish using any convenient method.
Then the fish needs to open the mouth cavity slightly by inserting a stick from one edge so that it passes under the gills and penetrates the abdominal cavity.
The remaining stick should be inserted in a similar way, but from the other end.
Afterwards, you need to hold the 2 sticks very tightly with your hand, twisting them around their axis. This is required so that the offal can wrap around the device.
Finally, the sticks along with the insides must be removed through the oral cavity. Then the fish must be rinsed under running water.

Removing scales along with skin

For inexperienced people, the fish cleaning methods described in the following paragraphs can take much more time than regular cleaning:

1st option

2nd method

1. You need to make an incision along the ridge of the fish, and then cut off the first half of the carcass.
2. Similar actions will need to be done with the second part of the fish.

3. When cutting off the rib bones with a knife, you must hold the carcass with your finger in the tail part, separating the skin from the meat.

4. This method requires experience and dexterity, as well as the ability to handle a knife, otherwise you may injure yourself. The result is a clean, boneless fish fillet.

1. Before skinning the fish, you will need to remove the head and tail, as well as the fins.
2. Next, you need to make a small incision along the fin, and subject the surface of the fish to short-term thermal effects, for example, scalding with boiling water.

3. The key is to force the skin to peel away from the meat. At the end, you can carefully remove it with your hands.

Cutting

Cutting fish depends on the purpose and its size. If the fish carcass will be cooked whole, then it is enough to get rid of the head, gills and tail.

If it is quite large in size, and you do not plan to cook it entirely, then it is better to cut it into pieces.

The fillet meat is cut as follows:

We make longitudinal deep cuts along the head on both sides.
Insert the knife into the resulting cut towards the tail.
We move the knife from the head to the caudal fin in such a way as to separate the meat from the bones.
Carefully remove the rib bones from the pulp so as not to damage the fillet.
And only at the end we cut off the skin.

Now you know how to easily clean perch at home. Our simple tips will make the cleaning process faster and save you time, and cleaned meat will still be the main decoration on your table. Happy cooking and delicious dishes!

Fish loves where it is deeper, and man loves where the fish are... Who would refuse aromatic fish soup or fried fish! It’s a rare case when something tasty is also healthy. One type of edible fish is river or sea bass. River fish, as a rule, ends up in a cauldron with fish soup, but its sea counterpart is more often fried in a frying pan. But before you eat the fish, you need to cook it. Let's figure out how to properly and, most importantly, quickly clean and cut up perch.

Working with small fish

Removing scales from small fish is a very time-consuming and extremely tedious task.

To speed up and simplify the process, it is recommended to use the following points:

First you will need to remove the fins.
Then the head should be removed and the abdominal area should be carefully ripped open so that the intestines and stomach remain intact.
Afterwards the insides need to be removed. Next, using a sharp blade, you need to pry the skin in the area of the cut of the head and, with a gentle movement, pull it all the way to the tail along with the scales.
Similar actions must be performed on the second side.

Recommendations and tips

Recommendations and tips that may be useful when cleaning perch:

In the process of removing scales from a sea fish, you initially need to put on protective gloves on your hands, and then remove the fins, tail and head. This is required because these parts of the carcass contain toxic glands that can negatively affect the condition of the hands when cut. Afterwards, the carcass can continue to be processed in a convenient way.
Before sending the semi-finished product to the freezer, you will need to separate the tail part with fins and head from the fish carcass.
Housewives and fishermen often use special attachments on grinders or drills to clean fish. Despite this, this method does not meet safety requirements, because if it is not followed, you can damage the product or cause injury to yourself.
Frozen fish is fairly easy to descale as it separates from the carcass more quickly. The inside of the fish must not be frozen.
The product can be treated with regular table salt. To do this, the carcass is thoroughly washed and left in a vessel with salt for approximately 6 hours. This time will be quite enough for the scales to peel off on their own. When using this method, you should not remove the tail, head and fins.
Perches that are not too large for preparing fish soup or soup do not need to be skinned; it will be enough to remove the scales and cut off the fins. If there is no desire to process the product, it is enough to place the carcass in a piece of gauze, wrap it and prepare the broth in this way. When the broth is ready, the fish can be removed from the pan along with the gauze section and scales.
You can clean perch with caps from beer and soda bottles, pre-attached to a spoon or board. This device can be made independently at home. It can be used when there are no other ways to remove scales, for example, while being outdoors.
To preserve cleaned and gutted fish for several days, it is recommended to place it in an airtight container, which must be placed in the refrigerator compartment. Under such conditions, the carcass will not dry out and will be stored for up to 4 days.
To maximize the effect of cleaning, it is recommended to cool the perch slightly before the procedure, and then place it in boiling water. When using this method, you should be especially careful as immersing frozen perch in hot water can cause very hot splashes that can burn.

To clean river and sea bass from scales and entrails, you can use any tools you have in the house. For these purposes, not only a knife is suitable, but also a grater, a scraper, a special cutting board and scissors. When working with fish, it is imperative to protect your hands with gloves.