Gutting Fish Question

[Willy]

Whenever we get to the big city, a trip to the huge Asian market is in order--both for inexpensive, "exotic" products and also for inexpensive, fresh fish and cheap stock makings (including chicken feet--the best thing ever for chicken stock). One thing puzzles me, though. I have always been under the impression that fish should be gutted as soon after catching as possible, yet many of the fish in this market are not gutted until the time of sale (it's a real treat watching a true expert gut and descale a fish in virtually no time). Given that Asian cultures are generally very picky about fresh seafood, what is the deal with guts-in fish? Is my "clean'em quickly" thought just a myth?

[customtrim]

They freze them on ice on the boat immediately

[HorseDoctor]

Correct! In regards to maintaining quality and fresh flavor in seafood, rapid cooling (+/- bleeding) is far more important than eviseration.

[customtrim]

Even salmon that is called fresh is froZen flown over seas cut up and flown back

[Huskee]

At fish camp we gut 'em when we get back to camp, even if it's half to 2/3 of the day later. No rush. We keep 'em in cool water in the livewell is all.

[Barry Friesen]

I hope you mean you keep them alive in a livewell until you get back to camp.
I do the same, bleed them when I pull up to the ramp and by the time I get to the campsite 5-10 minutes later they are dead and bled! Makes for a very clean filleting table wonderful meat.

[Huskee]

Barry Friesen most times yes. Sometimes they belly up.

[FireMan]

How do you gut a minnow Huskee?

[Frozen Smoke]

When salmon fishing we cut the gills out on the boat to bleed them out then get them on ice. We may not clean them for 12 or more hours after catching them.

[smokenoob]

definitely want to bleed em'!

[Jerod Broussard]

From a food safety perspective the evisceration process of fish is similar to really just the processing of the meat products of mammals, chickens and ratites.

The USDA FSIS was going to have a Consumer Safety Inspector present at all times at the plants that process catfish. They soon realized that you don't really have all the sanitary dress issues and what not that you have when processing chickens, pigs, cows, etc....

Therefore they could put those inspectors to cover multiple plants on a patrol assignment, just like the meat processing plants that don't process any live animals.

[Pirate Scott]

Oh, you are supposed to gut them?

[FireMan]

It’s a matter of taste.

[EdF]

As in "good taste is timeless"!

[Greasy]

I just filet them and leave the guts in whatever is left for the garbage.

[Dale Case]

We never gut em. Brine em for about 24 hours, then filet em out and leave the guts in em.

[Troutman]

King?

[Dale Case]

Yes. Here it's called Ono. Its same fish as what they also call Wahoo on mainland.

[Pirate Scott]

Wahoo is Delicious Fresh!

[Troutman]

I never gut or bleed out fish. Been catchin' fish of all kind for over 4 decades. Just keep 'em either live as you can or put 'em on ice and keep them as cold as you can.

Now let me add to that I do gut them and freeze them as soon as I get them back home. Just sayin' until then.

[Steve R.]

Same here. Except for the "over 4 decades" part.

[FireMan]

Won’ Fish stink after 4 decades?

[Troutman]

No by then it's petrified, like me !!!