How to clean and butcher trout without fuss. How to clean trout from scales? Do trout get scaled?

How to clean trout depends on what you plan to do with it next. If you plan to bake whole trout or cook steaks from it, then it is enough to clean it from scales and entrails. If you are going to make, for example, sushi, then the trout must also be cleaned of skin and bones.

So, let's look at how to properly clean a trout in stages in order to get a clean fillet without bones and skin. Considering the method of preparing the carcass, select certain stages of cleaning the trout.

First, rinse the fish in cold running water. If the fish is slippery, then sprinkle it with a little salt so that it does not slip out of your hands when cleaning.

We clean trout from scales

Peeling the scales from the fish is only worth it if you plan to cook the fish in the skin. If you will remove the skin from the trout, then you do not need to remove the scales. It will be removed later along with the skin.

Cooking fish without removing the scales from it is not worth it, since the scales contain chitin, which is a strong allergen. Especially do not neglect cleaning fish from scales if pregnant women, children or people prone to allergies will eat dishes from it.

Note that it is easier to clean the scales from fresh fish than from thawed ones. Therefore, cleaning the scales is worth it as soon as you brought it home.

So that the scales do not scatter all over the kitchen, the fish should be cleaned by immersing it completely in cool water, and without removing it from the water. You may have to change the water during cleaning, but it's better than washing the kitchen afterwards.

To clean the scales, it is best to use a short serrated knife. Scales can be cleaned both in growth and against growth.

After cleaning the scales, the fish must be washed in running water.

gutting the fish

In order to clean the fish from the insides, make an incision from the anus to the pectoral fins. For convenience, you can use scissors instead of a knife. If you are lucky and there is caviar in the fish, we recommend that you read about.

After the entrails have been removed, make incisions on the side of the gill plates and under the jaw with a sharp knife so that the gill plates can be slightly opened and removed. Those. do not cut off the head completely, but only make an incision from below. Then remove all fins and clean the inside of the carcass from all films and blood. Try to get rid of the blood carefully, as its presence in the dish can make it taste bitter.

Remove the skin from the fish and remove the bones

If the fish is small, then you can remove the skin from it according to the stocking principle. Take the fish with one hand by the body, with the other by the head, and pull the head back to break the backbone. Then remove the skin with a stocking. Wash the fish in cool running water and remove any remaining skin.

If the fish is large (more than 200 grams), then first we separate the head and tail. Then we cut the fish along the ridge to the tail. Thus, we got two halves of the fish, each of which must be put with the skin on a cutting board and, slightly lifting, cut off the skin. Then cut off the ridge and remove all the bones with your hands or tweezers.

That's all! We received a completely clean trout fillet without bones and skin.

If you will freeze fish, then before sending it to the freezer, wipe the fish dry.

Trout is a member of the salmon family. This is a tasty, healthy and nutritious fish, it is classified as a delicacy. It has useful elements and is easily absorbed in the body. The meat is very fatty, soft and tender. Many dishes are prepared from it, it is baked, smoked, fried and boiled. Knowing how to cut a trout, while observing all the nuances, you can easily cope with this process.

Cleaning, gutting and cutting trout

Fish live in salt and fresh water. Very sensitive to environmental pollution. It can weigh up to 20 kg, but the average size is up to 1 kg, and the length is in the range of 25–35 cm. In a marine inhabitant, the color of the meat is richer than in a river one.

Beneficial features

Trout contains vitamins, macro- and microelements, organic acids, minerals. The calorie content of the product is 97 kilocalories per 100 g. It belongs to dietary dishes.

Useful substances of fish normalize cholesterol, fight Alzheimer's disease, cleanse blood vessels, positively affect the brain and glucose uptake, and also speed up metabolism. Beneficial for depression and anxiety, improve overall well-being in oncology, osteoporosis and diabetes.

Pregnant and lactating women should avoid eating fish as it may contain mercury. This substance is harmless to adults, but it can harm the fetus. In chronic diseases of the liver, gastrointestinal tract and ulcers, do not use.

How to clean from scales

The trout is covered with mucus, so it must be washed before being butchered. And in order for the fish not to slip out of your hands, you need to rub it with coarse salt. . To clean and cut the product, you will need the following tools:

Many fishermen gut the trout first. This is done with a knife, cutting the belly from the anus to the head. Then the insides are taken out, the films are removed. Spoon clean out the blood. The gills are taken out, as they contain harmful substances. If the head is not needed, then it can be cut off and thrown away. When caviar is found, it is salted. The lateral fins are cut off, and the dorsal fins are completely cut out.

Some housewives are wondering Do I need to clean trout from scales. It is necessary to do this. A serrated knife or a dish grater will do. It is worth cleaning off the scales very carefully so as not to damage the skin, from the tail to the head. Can be cleaned in water or in a bag. So the scales will not scatter throughout the room. On the belly, the skin is lighter, so it is important not to miss the scales. Their presence can be checked with a finger. If the scales come across in the finished dish, this is very unpleasant, which is why you need to clean it off. After that, wash the fish and start cooking.

There is a Chinese evisceration method. This method is rather unusual, but effective. At the fin across the belly, an incision is made with a knife or scissors. Insert Chinese sticks into the open mouth of the fish. To do this, one stick is advanced inward so that it passes over the gills, which are pressed, and the stick is threaded into the gill opening. Then advance to the incision on the belly. With the second stick, the same procedures are done, only on the other side. The ends on the head side are clamped and scrolled like a corkscrew a couple of times. Then the entrails with gills are carefully pulled out. The fish is washed with water and cooked.

How to remove a fillet

The skin is first removed from the trout, then the bones are removed. Remove the skin from the head like a stocking. An incision is made on the back, the meat is separated from the ridge, helping with a knife. You will get two halves, one of them will be with the spine. With her, the procedure should be repeated

If the fish is large, then removing the skin with a stocking will not work. The meat must be separated from the bones. When two halves with skin are obtained, the fillet is placed with the skin down and carefully separated from the skin with a knife, holding the place at the tail.

Frozen trout are skinned before defrosting. This is much easier to do: pour boiling water over the fish, pick up the edge of the skin with pliers, pull and remove with a stocking. Then defrost and carve as usual

Fish storage

After cutting the trout, the fillet can be cooked immediately or stored until a certain point. For proper storage, the following rules must be observed:

Having figured out how to properly butcher a trout, this activity will no longer be a burden. It won't take long. And ready-made fish dishes will delight households with their taste and aroma.

Attention, only TODAY!

Pre-cooking most types of fish is a nightmare for professional and amateur cooks, but there are exceptions to the rule. For example, if you know how to clean trout and follow the nuances of the process, the procedure will take no more than 5-10 minutes. At the same time, the kitchen will not get very dirty, and the specific smell of the product will not stand in the air. There are two types of approaches to the preliminary preparation of the component. The first is used if you plan to bake the whole carcass, the second will allow you to get a beautiful and whole fillet, which is required to implement many recipes.

Cooking a whole trout for baking

Trout are covered with thin and soft scales that fall off at the slightest application of force. The fish has another plus - its fins are not equipped with sharp hard spikes, like other individuals, which allows you not to waste time removing or cutting them. When the product is prepared for baking in its entirety, it is enough to do the following:

• First, rinse the carcass under cool running water. If the trout is very slimy and difficult to hold in your hands, rub the product with salt. Contrary to popular belief, even rinsing a component multiple times won't do a better job.
• The process of removing scales is best done right in the sink, after covering it with polyethylene or cling film. Despite the fact that trout scales are very thin and small, they can scatter around the kitchen. It is not easy to detect them later, which often leads to the appearance of a persistent unpleasant odor in the room. By the way, the scales of trout are so small that it is not even necessary to cover the drain with a film, the discarded debris will not clog it.

• For cleaning trout, it is best to use a small and not very sharp knife. They should work not only against the growth of scales, but also along it. In the process of removing the surface protective layer, the color of the fish will begin to change and become lighter. We pay special attention to the area of ​​​​the abdomen - the skin on it is light, and the scales can be overlooked. And their crunch on the teeth will spoil the pleasant impression of the dish.
• Before you clean the trout from the insides, you need to run your fingers over the entire surface of the fish, moving from tail to head. This will ensure that the component is clean. Now we make an incision from the anal fin to the gills and remove all the insides. We wash the found caviar and salt it, everything else can be thrown away.
• We do not cut off the head, it is enough to remove the gills, which noticeably spoil the taste of the final dish. In addition, this organ filters water, absorbing all harmful components.

Now it remains only to thoroughly rinse the product and you can prepare it for heat treatment. Some housewives do not remove the scales before baking, believing that this will give the meat extra juiciness. The approach has the right to exist, but only if the dish is not consumed by children, pregnant women and allergy sufferers.

How to properly fillet trout?

In this case, you need to do everything that was listed above and add a few more points to the process. It is worth considering that trying to get a fillet from a small fish is an almost useless exercise. Despite the fact that the skin is removed from such individuals very simply, like a stocking, there will be little meat on the bones.

It is better to choose larger and thicker specimens, with which you can carry out the following manipulations:

• The pre-washed, cleaned and gutted carcass must be cut. To do this, first cut off the head of the fish, then make an incision along the back, moving along the spinal line. We also cut off the tail and divide the product into two halves, on one of them there will be a ridge with bones.
• Now you need to carefully remove these bones from the pulp and detach the spine. It doesn't have to be thrown away. Even if you act very carefully, quite a lot of meat will remain on the bone frame, so the element is often used to prepare fish soup. For the same purpose, fins are cut off (or separated by hand) and deposited.

• The last and most difficult step is the separation of the fillet from the skin. If it can be easily pulled off young meat, then this technique may not work with older fish. If all else fails, we take a long knife with a thin and narrow blade, put the fish fillet on the board. Starting to move from the tail, cut the fillet, press the knife blade as close to the skin as possible and carefully move towards the head. If the knife cuts through the skin - it's okay, the process can be resumed. It is much worse not to create the necessary pressure and leave too much pulp on the skin. By the way, the skin with pieces of pulp can again be used when boiling the broth.

Treated in this way, trout needs a minimum duration of temperature exposure. By the way, it doesn’t even have to be put into action right away; blanks can be frozen in a quick way without the use of water and used as needed. Only it is better to defrost such a semi-finished product in the refrigerator, and not at room temperature and not in water.

The rows of white, pink and red trout meat on the fish stalls are mesmerizing. This amazing fish is loved by both culinary masters and housewives. It has a delicate taste and is suitable for any dishes. It is fried, steamed, baked and cooked in soups. An important advantage of trout is that it is easy to clean and cut at home.

Trout value

Trout includes three genera of salmon fish - Pacific, Atlantic, char of the subfamily Salmonidae. Many species are migratory: they spawn in fresh water and then go to the sea, where they change color and gain weight, but return to their native places to spawn. The color of a trout depends on the habitat, the transparency and composition of the water, the season, weight, and weather conditions. There are fish of olive shades, green, golden, with different saturation of colors and dark spots on the body and fins. Rainbow trout, which has become famous all over the world, has a bright stripe along the sides. The weight and size of the fish depends on the habitat:

• river usually reaches 1–3 kg and has a length of up to 50 cm;
• brook can grow up to 1 m and weighs about 17 kg;
• the length of marine trout species ranges between 70–100 cm, some individuals are able to reach 8–12 kg, but this is very rare.

Trout is a commercial fish, it is bred in factories and farms using all modern methods. Thanks to this, we see fish of the most diverse colors on the shelves of supermarkets - all shades of the gradient from milky white to deep red. It has a delicate taste and aroma due to the intermuscular layer of fat. Trout meat is an important component of a healthy and dietary diet:

• its energy value is 109 kcal;
• regular eating contributes to longevity and rejuvenates the body, since fish contains omega-3 polyunsaturated acids (the human body cannot produce them on its own, but needs these elements constantly);
• fish is rich in vitamins A, C, D, E, contains trace elements that are incredibly beneficial for the cardiovascular system and the brain.

Depending on the habitat of the fish, its color and color of the meat changes.

The content of vitamins in 100 g of trout - table

The content of minerals in 100 g of trout - table

We clean fresh trout at home

For cleaning you will need:

• salt;
• rubber gloves;
• cutting scissors;
• sharp knife with a short handle;
• scaler;
• fishing knife.

Although it is quite difficult to cut yourself on the fins and scales of a trout, it is better to work with gloves so as not to get your hands dirty. The fish should be washed 1-2 times under a stream of cool water to get rid of the mucus covering the carcass. Then let the trout dry for 1-2 minutes: this is enough so that the overdried scales do not scatter in all directions.

To prevent the trout from slipping out of your hands during cleaning, sprinkle it with salt.

How to clean trout with a short-handled knife

How to remove scales with a fish scaler

1. We put the washed and dried fish on the board or in the sink.

   Dried and washed trout is cleaned in the sink or on a cutting board.

2. We take a fish in one hand, a fish scaler in the other.

   It is convenient to remove trout scales with a fish scaler

3. We clean the scales with a fish scaler in the direction from the tail to the head.

   Scales are cleaned with a fish scaler, leading the tool against the growth of plates

Cleaning the scales with a fishing knife

1. Put fresh fish on a cutting board or in the sink.
2. We hold it with one hand, in the other we take a fishing knife, the upper part of the blade of which has notches.
3. Picking up the scales, we clean them with a knife, moving from the tail to the head.

When cleaning trout, you can replace the fish scaler with a fork or a tablespoon. It cleans the plates well and a four-sided kitchen grater. Small scales are perfectly removed with sand or coarse salt: it is enough to rub the fish well with them.

Gut the trout and remove the skin

1. Cut off the fins and tail. But this condition is optional: many cooks leave the fins on purpose as a decoration. With them, baked trout looks amazing.
2. Cut the abdomen along the carcass with cutting scissors.

   An incision is made along the belly of the fish with carving scissors.

3. We take out the insides and throw them away. Put milk or caviar aside.

   Caviar is removed from opened fish and set aside for cooking.

4. We cut off the head of the trout at an angle, but do not cut the skin on the back.

   Trout head cut off at an angle

5. We throw our head back and pull it to the tail along with the skin, which will be removed entirely.

   We take the head of the fish back and remove the whole skin

Unusual Chinese way of gutting fish

In a distant eastern country, every inhabitant knows how to cut fish. The method is quite exotic for us, but effective.

1. Across the abdomen at the fin we make an incision with scissors or a sharp knife.
2. We take Chinese sticks and insert them into the open mouth of the trout as follows: move it inward so that the stick passes over the gills, press them and then pass the stick into the gill opening. We advance the stick deep into the fish to the incision on the abdomen.
3. With the second stick we do the same actions, but on the other hand.
4. We clamp the ends from the side of the head.
5. We scroll such a kind of corkscrew several times.
6. Gently draw out the insides and gills.
7. Rinse several times with water to remove blood clots.
8. The fish is completely whole and ready to cook.

How to gut a trout with Chinese chopsticks - video

We cut the whole carcass into fillets

1. Put the fish on a cutting board.
2. Along the back we make an incision from head to tail.

   To obtain a trout fillet along the back, make an incision with a sharp knife

3. We pry the meat at the base of the head with a knife.
4. Holding the tool at an angle of approximately 30 °, smoothly cut the fillet in the direction from head to tail.

   With a knife, cut the meat along with the skin from the ridge

5. Lay half of the carcass skin on the board.
6. We remove the bones by cutting them with a sharp knife in the direction away from us.

   The cut trout fillet is salted and the fish is cooked according to the recipe

How to cut and fillet trout - video

Cut fillet for sushi and snacks

To prepare these dishes, you will need pieces of trout. The process of cutting the fish into fillets and skinning it is described above, but you do not need to salt it before cutting it into pieces, as the fillet will give juice and become slippery.

Cutting a whole trout for fish soup and steaks

Fried or baked steaks and trout fish soup will appeal to even those who do not really like fish dishes. And all thanks to the delicate taste and proper cutting.

1. Cut out the gills. They serve as a kind of filters and collect a large amount of dirt and toxins.
2. At a right angle, cut off the head along with the fins with a sharp knife. The length of the knife should ideally be slightly longer than the width of the fish.
3. First, we cut the head: along the small remnant of the ridge, we cut the head 5-6 cm in length, open it with our fingers and make another cut from the nose to the ridge from the inside.
4. We lay out the trout carcass on the board and cut off pieces 2 fingers wide or 3–4 cm wide at a right angle.
5. We do not clean the skin.

How to cut trout, salmon or salmon into steaks and fish soup - video

Features of the process for frozen fish

1. Butchering frozen fish is much more convenient than freshly caught fish. Therefore, cutting should be started as soon as the product was brought from the store or from the market. It is easier to remove the skin from the carcass and when cleaning the scales, bound by ice crystals, do not scatter throughout the kitchen.
2. To make it easier to clean fresh fish brought from fishing, put the trout in the freezer for 30-50 minutes. Trout meat will not have time to freeze to the bone, but it will become less loose.
3. Like fresh, frozen trout, rub with salt so that the fish does not slip out of your hand.
4. If the trout is frozen in the freezer (when stored in a store or at home), let it thaw in cold water for half an hour. Remember that fish and meat are not thawed in boiling water and hot water.
5. We clean and cut the frozen trout using any of the methods described above.

The described tips will save time when cleaning and cutting trout, as well as improve the quality of dishes. After all, the appearance of a neatly cut fillet or steaks plays an important role when serving. It is safe to say that the appetite will be played out both from the breathtaking smells and from the beautiful design.

Trout is a fish from the salmon family, which has a pleasant taste and contains a large amount of substances useful for the human body. To save them, you need to know how to clean and properly butcher this representative of the aquatic fauna.

Useful properties of trout

Before cutting the trout and preparing it for further cooking, it is necessary to study all the useful properties of this fish. Thanks to them, you can get rid of various diseases and prevent their recurrence. Trout contains a large amount of useful substances (retinol, thiamine, riboflavin, cyanocobalamin, pyridoxine, ascorbic and folic acids), which have a beneficial effect on various body systems.

Useful properties of fish:

• cleanses blood vessels;
• fights Alzheimer's disease;
• has a positive effect on the functioning of the brain;
• accelerates the process of glucose uptake;
• normalizes metabolism;
• lowers cholesterol levels;
• relieves depression and anxiety;
• has a positive effect on the central nervous system.
• reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease;
• reduces the risk of developing diabetes.

How to clean fish from scales?

To clean the trout from scales, you need to perform several preparatory steps. They will help to simplify the work and complete it in the shortest possible period of time.

Cleaning fish from scales is carried out using the following items:

• a special knife for fish (with notches) or a metal brush for washing dishes;
• cutting board;
• paper towels;
• rubber gloves.

In most cases, housewives do all the dirty work with gloves on. This helps to protect the skin of the hands from the negative effects of various factors.

Procedure:

1. Wash the fish thoroughly with cold water. They do this in order to get rid of the mucus that is covered with trout.
2. After that, take paper towels and use them to get rid of the remaining moisture.
3. Sprinkle the fish on all sides with salt. This little trick will help keep the trout from slipping out of your hands.
4. To clean off the scales with a sharp knife or a metal brush, they start from the tail, gradually moving towards the head. This work must be done as carefully as possible, since the slightest mistake can damage the delicate skin of an aquatic inhabitant.
5. Then the trout is turned upside down and the same steps are repeated as for the side parts of the carcass.
6. At the very end, the fish is washed with water and the presence of missing scales is checked with fingers.

Trout cutting process

Cutting fish for salting, frying or making soup should also be carried out according to generally accepted rules. Otherwise, you can spoil the appearance of the trout or worsen its taste.

Fillet cutting for salting and frying

To cut a trout for salting or frying, it is necessary to get a fillet from a carcass. To do this, you need to know how to separate the spine and all other bones, as well as take into account the important nuances of the process. Doing all this is not so easy, so it's better to practice on cheaper fish.

Work is performed as follows:

1. The first step is to gut the trout. To do this, make a longitudinal incision on the abdomen and carefully remove all the insides.
2. The carcass is placed on a cutting board with its back up.
3. Using a special knife, an incision is made from the base of the head to the tail.
4. Then a transverse incision is made, trying to get as close as possible to the ridge of the fish.
5. After that, turn the carcass over and perform similar actions.
6. Rib bones are cut from 2 large fillet pieces.
7. At the next stage of work, the dorsal and ventral fins are removed.
8. With the help of tweezers, all small bones are taken out.
9. At the very end, the fish is placed on a cutting board and the skin is separated. Do this with a thin and sharp knife.

Process of separating caviar

Sometimes you can find caviar inside a purchased or caught trout. To turn it into a delicacy for sandwiches, you need to follow a few simple steps. Among them should be:

1. Pour water into a deep container, the temperature of which is about + 70 ° C.
2. Add 2 tsp to the liquid. salt.
3. Caviar is placed in the resulting solution.
4. Then they take a fork and begin to carefully knead the contents of the bowl. As a result of these actions, the part of the film that holds the eggs together will break and it will be easy to remove.
5. After that, change the fork to the whisk and continue all the same steps.
6. The separated eggs will settle at the bottom of the salt water.
7. The liquid is filtered through a fine sieve or colander.
8. The remaining caviar is transferred to a glass jar and stored in the refrigerator.

The second way to separate the caviar from the film is even simpler than the first. To carry it out, you will need to use an ordinary grater, which any housewife can find.

The correct sequence of actions:

1. They take a bag of caviar and rub it on the largest grater. In this case, it is forbidden to apply force, as this may damage the valuable product.
2. Most of the film will remain on the grater, and the separated eggs will fall into the substituted container.
3. They are washed several times with warm water.
4. After that, an expensive delicacy is transferred to a jar and put in the refrigerator.

Cutting whole fish for fish soup and steaks

Ukha is considered one of the most popular fish dishes. For its preparation, not sirloin pieces are used, but the backbone, head and tail. Thanks to them, a good fat and a pleasant fishy aroma are obtained. Before cooking the ear, it is necessary to properly butcher the trout. They do it like this:

1. The pre-washed carcass is cleaned of scales.
2. After that, the insides are removed and the gills are cut out.
3. Then cut off the head and tail, which are immediately placed in a pan.
4. The fins and the ridge, separated from the fillet, are also placed there.

All other parts of the carcass are added to the dish at the request of the cook.

From trout, you can cook not only fish soup, but also steaks. They can be baked in the oven, fried in a pan or grilled. Fragrant spices and proper cutting of trout will help to achieve good taste.

Sequence of operations:

1. The trout, washed from mucus, is placed on a cutting board.
2. With the help of a special knife, the head and tail are cut off.
3. The rest of the carcass is cut into slices at least 2.5 cm wide. At the same time, it is better to leave the bones, as they will not only retain the shape of the steak, but also make it tastier.

How to clean frozen fish?

Frozen fish is much easier to work with than fresh fish. Because of this, many housewives prefer to put freshly bought trout in the freezer and start cleaning it only after a few hours.

The process of preparing frozen fish:

1. The trout is taken out of the freezer and placed in a large container filled with cold water. It is important to remember that it is not recommended to defrost fish or meat in warm or hot water.
2. After about 15 minutes, the cleaning of the carcass begins. In order for it not to slip on the cutting board, it is rubbed with coarse salt.
3. At the initial stage, the scales are removed. Due to the fact that it is bound by ice crystals, the work is carried out as simply as possible.
4. After that, the trout is cut in one of the ways (depending on the dish that will be prepared from the fish).

Fish storage

In order to avoid daily cleaning, gutting and cutting of trout, it is necessary to immediately process all purchased or caught fish. Unused pieces can be frozen and refrigerated for several days. So that during this time the trout does not deteriorate, you must adhere to the following rules:

1. You can quickly cool the cleaned and gutted fish with crushed ice. However, for long-term storage, it is better to place the carcasses in the freezer.
2. You can increase the shelf life of trout with vegetable oil. They should rub the carcass and put it in the cold. Before cooking, it will be necessary to wash off the protective layer from the surface of the product.
3. If a yellowish coating appears on the fish, then this indicates the beginning of the process of decay. Microorganism-damaged meat should be cut off and disposed of, and the rest should be consumed within 24 hours.
4. Dry the trout with paper towels before putting it in the freezer. This will remove excess moisture, which will shorten the shelf life of the product.
5. It is not recommended to store carcasses or fillet pieces in an open form. It is best to wrap them in parchment paper, which will protect the fish from moisture and retain all the substances that are beneficial to the human body.
6. Before long-term storage (more than a week) in the freezer, it is necessary to treat the fish with saline. Prepare it from 1 liter of water and 3 tbsp. l. salt. Thanks to this, it will be possible to slow down the process of reproduction of harmful microorganisms that can lead to rotting fish.
7. It is important to store trout away from milk, sausages and any smoked meats. Otherwise, the shelf life of the fish will be reduced several times.

Trout is one of the healthiest and most delicious fish. To enjoy it and preserve the maximum amount of vitamins, you must be able to clean and butcher the carcass. With the exact execution of all actions, even a novice hostess will be able to do this work.