filleting whitefish question

[skykomish sunrise]

i am getting good at doing up the whites with no bones, but the next thing is the dark meat on the skin side of the fillet. what can i do about this, it is very strong and distasteful. do most people just cut this away or is there some way of toning down the taste?

[Piker]

a long time ago I sold some whitefish to Billingsgate from Calgary and they told me to bleed the fish by cutting its throat if its in the winter. It was spring netting time and they said to pack the fish upside down in crates or whatever so the blood line under their spine would stay intact and not spread to the meat. As I never witnessed the final cleaning I dont know what it was like. Maybe worth a try.

[Kodiak]

I know what you're talking about SKY, I've never noticed a taste from it. I've found the fat (white color) has more "flavoring properties" then the other stuff you speak of.

Season, roll in flour, fry till crisp and golden brown, no problemo..........

Just get all the fat off the back and belly.

Kod.

[SNAPFisher]

I took a course from Continuing Education from an instructor named Barry Lupa. He was the captain of the CDN ice fishing team back then...might still be.

Anyways, he taught us that the middle portion of this is what he calls the "mud line". If you cut down the middle along this line about 2 millimeters wide on either side and about 2 millimeters deep at a "V" angle, that section should pull out all along the fillet. If you want to remove the remaining discolored part you can but the "mud line" should have the majority of the bad flavor. To remove the rest just scrape it or use a really good fillet knife to just skim it off.

I do this to all fish especially whites and pike. Seems to make a real difference. He also claimed that the "mud line" contained some of the toxins that build up in fish so you are also doing yourself more than a flavor fix.

Cheers!

[Buckwheat]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

He also claimed that the "mud line" contained some of the toxins that build up in fish so you are also doing yourself more than a flavor fix.

Cheers!

Makes sense. Thanks for the tip

[uicehole]

From what (little) I can recall from school, there are two types of muscle in fish. The ordinary (white) muscle is used for quick bursts and tire quickly. The dark (red) muscle is designed for extended actvity. Hence, you'll find a greater concentration of white muscle in trout and whereas the opposite is true in tuna or mackerel. The dark muscle also tend so be more fatty. We can see the layer of dark muscle just under the skin in trout, whitefish, pike, etc. Of course I could be completely wrong as I did party way too much going through school.

Fatty tissue tend to spoil or end up funny/fishy/muddy tasting first and that's accelerated by improper cooling, not cleaning the fish quickly or well, not bleeding the fish or muddy warm water.

So the way to avoid this taste would be to clean and cool your catch quickly, eating your catch within a few days, don't keep fish from a warm lake in the summer and if you suspect the fish will be a little off-taste, discard the dark meat and belly. I don't tend to keep alot of fish in the summer but when I do I often discard the belly strip of my fillets. I don't worry about the dark strip.

And as Snap says removing the "mud line" will save you from ingesting some of the toxin. Heavy metals, murcury, pesticides, furans and dioxins have an affinity to fat and will accumulate along the belly, liver and other fatty tissues.

One final way to tone down the taste - ginger, although some people may find the taste more repulsive than the actual fishy taste.

[skykomish sunrise]

i like the advice re the mud line. makes good sence and hope to be able to try it next weekend.
thanks

[Drano]

If I ever catch a whitefish I will definitley try this...