Cleaning Fish

This post displays the method of how I was taught to clean fish. This particular fish is red snapper but the same method applies to most types of fish. In addition, the place I bought these from already gutted and scaled the fish for me, making the process a lot more easier. This post presents the steps as if the fish you have has only been gutted. 

Start by placing fish in a clean sink. Fill the sink with water until the fish is fully submerged under water. It is so much easier scaling the fish under water. It easily rinses the scales off as you scale the fish and it keeps scales from flying over the place. Using a small knife, scale or "scratch" the fish in the opposite way the scales lay. Be sure to scale the entire fish, especially around the head. Although the fish I bought was already scaled, they left some behind in certain areas so I had to go back and remove them.

After removing the scales, rinse off the fish thoroughly and set it on a cutting board for the next steps. You will also need good kitchen shears. For some strange reason, I misplaced my kitchen shears in my son's bedroom. Can't find them to save my life. So I'm using basic office scissors...

Across the fish's back is their spiny dorsal fin. Remove this by cutting straight across as close to the surface as possible. Just be careful because they are pointy and sharp.

Next is to remove it's tail fin by also cutting straight across. Sometimes I leave the tail on so this step is pretty much optional. 

The bottom half of the fish also has several sets of fins that need to be removed as well. They are indicated in the pictures below by the red arrows. 

Snip all those fins off. Don't forget to do both sides. 

When looking to purchase fresh fish, one thing to keep in mind is their eyes. Once the eyeballs look cloudy, they're not as fresh. So look for clear/translucent eyeballs when picking fish. When preparing fish, you also want to remove the outer layer of their eyeballs. I'm going to assume it's the cornea but I don't know fish anatomy. However, we are performing eye surgery. This fish looks scared out of it's mind with its eyeball hanging between the blades of the scissors...  Some people love fish eyeballs, like my mother. She sucks on them like gobstoppers. Totally weird but to each their own. 

Don't forget to clean out the inside of the fish. Use a knife to scrape out any remaining "gunk".

Next, there is an area under the fish's jaw that also needs to be removed. Indicated by the red arrow below, place your knife underneath the flap and just pull it out. 

It's also important to remove the fish's genital area. The butcher also took care of that for us but for demonstration purposes, I indicated the area by the red arrow below. Use a knife to cut out a small section from that area. 

Now that we've removed everything off the fish that's supposed to be removed, you know have the option of leaving the fish whole or cutting it in half. 

We're almost done but now it's time to wash the fish with several limes and a generous amount of salt. Depending on the amount of fish you're preparing, about 2 limes per fish should be sufficient. Slice the limes in half. With a generous amount of salt sprinkled on the surface of the fish, use the lime to squeeze its juices and scrub the fish gently. The salt helps to act as an exfoliator and the lime juice helps rid of that fishy odor. 

Add a splash of vinegar and let the fish sit in the juices for just a few minutes. 

Thoroughly rinse off each piece of fish, inside and out, with cool running water. The fish is now ready to be marinated or prepared according your desired recipe. 

Did you find this post helpful? How do you clean your fish?
​Let me know and comment below!