15. Clean 'em and Cook 'em

Next to catching them, the nicest thing about fish is eating them.

First, though, you have to clean them and cook them. And that takes know-how. Clean them wrong or clean them too late and not even the cat will eat them. Cook them wrong and you'll wish you'd thrown Mr. Fin back for someone else to catch. You'll become a member of that oddball angling fra­ternity whose motto is "Catch 'em, yes; eat 'em, no!"

Well, before you join that fraternity, just remember that you wouldn't grind up a prime steak for hamburgers. Then it'll be easier for this chapter to show you how to make a fish taste just as good as that prime steak.

The place to start making your fish taste good is right down at the beach the moment you catch it. That's the time to start cleaning your fish, unless you keep him alive and frisky until you're ready to clean him.

That means you can't toss him up on the sand or on deck to let him die and be dried up by the sun. If you're fishing the surf, pin him through both lips with your stringer, secure the other end of the stringer to something that won't wash away with the tide and put the fish back in the water. Don't lace a stringer through his mouth and gills because that will keep his mouth open and if a fish swallows water he will drown.

If you're fishing from a boat or a pier add enough line to your stringer so the fish can dangle deep in the water, deeper than the sun's rays penetrate.

There are two reasons for killing and cleaning a fish im­mediately, if you can't keep him alive until you're ready to go home. The first is because his flesh will deteriorate more quickly if the organs remain in his body; the other is that the blood will drain out naturally and a bled fish is a better-tasting fish.

So clobber a fish with a club and then cut his head off, slicing down behind the gills. Then cut his belly open by starting back at the anus and slicing forward. Gut him and remove his kidney—you'll find it alongside his spine—with your fingernail. It's best if you don't wash him until you're ready to cook him; a more thorough cleaning can wait until you get home or back to camp.

Figure 24

Wrap the cleaned fish in some seaweed if there is any handy and put him in a burlap bag. Douse the gunny sack with water every once in awhile or bury it in wet sand—first making sure you're above the tide line so it won't be washed away.

Scaling, skinning, finning, filleting or steaking are pan-preparation chores that you also save for home or camp. That calls for two more pieces of gear to add to your tackle—a fish sealer and a good filleting knife. The blade has to be thin, narrow, flexible and razor sharp. Don't get a stainless steel blade, because stainless won't hold an edge. Best way to buy a good fillet knife and know it's good is to ask your butcher to buy it for you.

Every tackle shop has sealers; a twenty-five cent one is good enough or, for that matter, you can even use the side of a spoon. Remove the scales from a fish by working the sealer from tail to head. Hold the fish steady while scaling by pin­ning his tail to a board with an icepick and hang onto the handle. Then the fish won't slip and the scaling will go that much faster.

You'll need the fillet knife's sharp point to fin the fish. Grip the fish firmly in one hand and slash all the way from head to tail on both sides of the dorsal fin. Then press the dorsal firmly between your thumb and the side of the knife and pull. Out will come the works. Repeat the operation on the fish's bottom side.

Figure 25

Whether or not to skin a fish is pretty much a matter of taste. If you like a more gamey flavor, leave the skin on; if you like your fish delicately done, take the skin off. Here's how to do it after the fish is finned.     

Use your knife to peel enough of the skin away from the flesh to provide you with a firm grip, and then pull steadily from head to tail. If the flesh should start clinging to the skin, use your knife again and work gently past the trouble spot. Pull with pliers if the fish is big and tough.

Figure 26

Filleting is the most complicated part of dressing a fish for cooking, but the little bit of skill it requires is more than made up for by the work it eliminates. For you don't have to clean a fish if you're going to fillet it.

Just lay the fish on its side on a cleaning board, slice gently through the flesh until the knife blade touches but does not penetrate the spine. Turn the blade flat against the spine and work it the length of the fish to separate the meat from the bone.

With one side filleted, flop the fish over and fillet the other. Discard the waste and the job is done. No fuss, no mess.

Fine chefs start behind the gills and slice down to the tail because this kind of cut makes it easier for them to fillet a fish without including the less-tasty belly meat. (Fig. 25). Those who have to answer to the cash register start behind the tail and slice toward the head, thus more easily including the belly meat as part of the fillet.

If you prefer to eat fish without skin you can also save work in filleting by saving the skinning to last and eliminating the scaling. Lie the fillet skin down on the board, slice gently through an end of the flesh until you can grip a bit of skin firmly, turn the blade flat, cut with one hand and pull with the other, putting slightly more emphasis on the pulling than on the cutting.

Don't wash your fish after it's cleaned or filleted until you're ready to cook it, for water deteriorates flesh. Refrigerate the fish until cooking time and then wash it. Dry it out as much as possible with absorbent paper or a towel before put­ting it into the pan.

There are many ways of cooking fish. Broiling, pan frying, french—or deep-fat—frying, baking, boiling, barbecuing. This chapter will give you recipes for each that do not call for elaborate preparations. They concentrate on the flavor of the fish, not condiments, and they're guaranteed to make Mother and Andy and Peg and you go back for seconds.

In only the french frying do we suggest that you do a bit more work than you might think necessary, and that is to render your own fat instead of choosing from the great variety of alternatives available in your food store. You'll find olive oil, peanut oil, salad oil, butter, margarine, lard, cotton seed oil, vegetable shortening, corn oil. But just about every one of them has a penetrating effect when highly heated; they saturate your fish with grease and take away from the flavor by adding their own.

But good old-fashioned beef fat doesn't penetrate, doesn't smell and doesn't change the flavor. Here's what to do:

Get about five pounds—it'll cost no more than about a nickel a pound, if that much—of fresh, white beef suet from your butcher. Line the bottom of a large pot or frying pan with some chunks and render them slowly and without a cover over a low flame.

Add more chunks as the suet cooks down, drain the oil into your french-frying pot, using a strainer, as the rendering pot fills up. When you're through you'll not only have several inches of fine oil for deep frying, you'll also have cooked up a nice batch of nice tasting beef chitins.

In addition to giving you fried fish that you'll want lots more of, there's one other nice thing about homemade beef oil —you can use it over and over again for months and it will keep without refrigeration.

Your french-frying pot, with its wire basket for holding eating-sized fillets, ought to be about eight inches in diameter. If your hardware dealer doesn't stock them, he'll be happy to order one for you.

With most of these recipes, it doesn't make any difference what kind of fish you use. If we say "striper" but you've caught snapper, go right ahead and use snapper—or pompano or amberjack or yellowtail or what-have-you—and it will taste just as good.

Many of these recipes can be used with any kind of fire, whether it be gasoline stove, campfire, kitchen range or char­coal grill. The most important thing to remember is never to overcook fish and to rely on look and feel more than the clock to tell when it's done.

If you like a very well-done beefsteak, then you'll probably like a fish steak or breaded fillet fried a deep golden brown. If you like your steak rare, then you'll probably call your fish done when it's the color of an egg yolk. That's the way to tell by looking. To tell by feel, poke the fish gently with a fork. If it flakes easily then it's time to start eating.

The proportions used in all these recipes should provide the four of you with a generous first portion and with enough left over for seconds.

And now—let's start cooking!

Planked Striped Bass

dressed striped bass, about 4 pounds 1/4 cup oil

salt and pepper to taste mashed potatoes

Brush striper with oil. Salt and pepper inside and out. Place fish on well-greased pre-heated plank about 18 by 12 inches. Bake in a moderate (350° F.) oven 40 to 60 minutes. Re­move from oven and arrange a hot mashed potato border around plank. Place in broiler, about 8 inches from heat, and broil 6 to 8 minutes or until potatoes are slightly browned. Arrange a ring of your favorite hot vegetable between fish and potatoes and serve.

Coral Sauce Fillets

2 pounds of fillets		1 teaspoon grated onion
1.teaspoon paprika		1/4 cup oil
2.tablespoons lemon juice		salt and pepper to taste

Place fillets, skin side down, in well-greased baking pan. Com­bine ingredients and pour over fillets. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 20 to 25 minutes.

Baked Almond Flounder

2pounds flounder fillets		1/2 cup slivered, blanched
1/4 cup oil		almonds
1/4 cup lemon juice		salt and pepper to taste
2teaspoons paprika

Place fillets inwell-greased baking pan. Combine oil, lemon juice, paprika, salt andpepper and pour over fillets. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 20 to 25 minutes. Then place in broiler, about three inches from heat, and broil 2 or 3 minutes.

Creole Sauce Fillets

2 pounds fillets		2 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup chopped onion		½teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup chopped green pepper		1 whole bay leaf
3 tablespoons butter		1 whole clove
2 cups canned tomatoes		salt and pepper to taste

Place fillets in well-greased baking pan. Cook onion and green pepper in butter until tender. Blend in flour. Add seasonings and tomatoes and cook until thick, stirring constantly. Re­move clove and bay leaf. Cover fillets with sauce. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 35 to 40 minutes.

Baked Fish Alaska

2 pounds fillets		1/3 cup grated parmesan
1cup sour cream		cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onion		salt to taste
tops

Place fillets in well-greased baking pan. Combine cream, onion tops, salt and cheese. Spread over fillets. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 30 to 35 minutes. Garnish with paprika.

Broiled Bantam

2 pounds dressed small fish		salt and pepper to taste
1 pound sliced bacon		cheese

Sprinkle fish inside and out with salt and pepper. Wrap each fish in bacon slices. Place on greased broiler pan about 3 inches from heat. Broil 5 to 8 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

Pan Fried Fillet

2 pounds skinned fillets		salt and pepper to taste
1 cup flour		1 tablespoon chopped
½cup butter		parsley
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper and roll in flour. Fry on one side until browned to liking, then turn carefully and brown other side. Serve on hot platter, pouring lemon juice blended with melted butter over fish. Garnish with parsley.

Small Fry in Cornmeal Batter

2pounds any small fish		1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup evaporated milk		1teaspoon paprika
beef oil		salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup flour

Combine milk, salt and pepper. Combine flour, cornmeal and paprika. Dip fish in milk mixture and roll in cornmeal mix­ture. Heat about ⅛inch oil in heavy frying pan until it is almost but not quite smoking. Fry on stove about 5 minutes; on outdoor grill, about 4 inches from hot coals, about 4 min­utes. Turn carefully and fry equal time or until it acquires color you like on other side. Drain on absorbent paper and serve with lemon wedges.

French Fry

2 pounds breaded fillets		2 teaspoons chopped sweet
beef oil		pickle
1/4 cup mayonnaise		2 teaspoons chopped parsley
2 teaspoons chopped onion		2 teaspoons chopped olives

Heat 2 or 3 inches of oil until it is almost but not smoking (about 375° F.). Place fillets in wire frying basket and lower gently into oil. Make sure the fish is totally immersed. Fry about 4 minutes or until it acquires color and texture you like.  Drain on absorbent paper. Combine other ingredients into a sauce and serve.

French Fry in Egg Batter

2 pounds fillets		onion powder to taste
beef oil		1/2 cup white flour
2 eggs		1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
juice of one lemon

Heat 2 or 3 inches of oil until it is almost but not smoking (about 375° F.). Combine eggs, lemon juice and onion powder. Combine flour and bread crumbs. Dip fillets in egg batter and roll in flour and bread crumbs. Place fillets in wire frying basket and lower gently into oil. Make sure the fish is totally immersed. Fry about 4 minutes or until it acquires color and texture you like. Drain on absorbent paper and serve.

After dipping and frying your fillets, scrape the leftover flour and bread crumb mixture into the leftover batter. Mixgently and form into balls. Place infrying basket and lower into oil. Fry to color you like. Drain on absorbent paper and serve with your French fried fillets.

The following six recipes, Dong with the barbecue sauce recipe, are ideal for outdoor cooking—either on campfire or charcoal grill—but they can be cooked just as well on your kitchen stove.

Sassy Susan Sauce

1 cup chili sauce		2 teaspoons Worcestershire
1cup catsup		sauce
6 tablespoons lemon juice		6 drops Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons horse radish		salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons mayonnaise		onion powder to taste

Combine all ingredients and chill. Makes about 3cups of bar­becue sauce. Dip over any fish dish you desire.

Hickory Smoked Steak

2 pounds fish steaks		1 tablespoon hickory liquid
⅓cup soy sauce  smoke
2 tablespoons salad oil		1 clove finely chopped garlic
½teaspoon ginger

Combine ingredients and pour over steaks in a shallow baking pan. Let stand 30 minutes, turning once. Place steaks in well-greased hinged wire grin. Save sauce for basting. Cook about 4 inches from hot coals about 8 minutes, basting as steaks cook. Turn and cook other side an equal time.

Barbecued Steak

2 pounds fish steak		1 teaspoon Worcestershire
(salmon is excellent)		sauce
1/2 cup catsup		1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup salad oil		¼ teaspoon onion powder
3 tablespoons lemon juice		1/2 teaspoon powdered
2 tablespoons vinegar		mustard
2 tablespoons hickory liquid		¼teaspoon paprika
smoke		1 clove finely chopped garlic
3 drops Tabasco sauce

Combine ingredients and pour over steaks in a shallow baking pan. Let stand 30 minutes, turning once. Place steaks in well-greased hinged wire grills. Cook about 4 inches from hot coals about 8 minutes, basting as steaks cook. Turn and cook other side an equal time.

Charcoal Broiled Steak

2 pounds fish steak		1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire
1/2 cup oil or melted butter		sauce
1/4 cup lemon juice		¼teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons salt   dash of		Tabasco
paprika to taste

Combine ingredients and baste steaks. Place in well-greased, hinged wire grills. Cook about 4 inches from hot coals about 8 minutes, basting as steaks cook. Turn and cook other side an equal time.

Seaside Stew

2 pounds fillets, skinned		2 cups diced potatoes
1/2 cup chopped bacon		1 cup catsup
1. cup chopped onion		2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2. large cans (1 pound, 12		sauce
ounces each) tomatoes		salt and pepper to taste

Cut fillets into 1-inch pieces. Lightly brown bacon in a large kettle over a hot fire. Add onion and cook until tender. Add potatoes, catsup, tomatoes and seasonings. Cover and cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add fish and continue cooking another 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Grunion or Smelt Cookout
4 pounds dressed smelt or		2/3 cup chopped parsley
grunion		4 strips bacon, cut in half
2/3 cup chopped onion		salt and pepper to taste

Cut 4 squares of heavy-duty aluminum foil, about 14 inches each, and fold in half. Grease lightly. Divide fish into four one-pound portions. Place each portion on half of each aluminum square. Sprinkle each portion with parsley, onion, salt and pepper. Place two half-strips of bacon on each por­tion. Fold bare half of foil over fish and double fold the edges. Place packages of fish in a bed of hot coals. Cook 15 min­utes, turning twice. Cut a large criss-cross in the top of each package and fold back the foil to serve. The foil serves as adish.

Fisherman's Bacon Crisp

2 pounds small dressed fish		1 pound sliced bacon
2tablespoons lemon juice		salt and pepper to taste

Brush inside of fish with lemon juice. Sprinkle with seasoning. Wrap each fish in bacon slices. Place in well-greased, hinged wire grills. Cook about 5 inches from hot coals until bacon is crisp. Turn and cook other side equal length of time.

Damiano Bivona was a Sicilian fisherman who liked to cook what he caught. He came to America to join his cousins, Gloucester fishermen all, and they, too, liked to cook what they caught. These next four recipes were theirs, passed on to you by Damiano's grandson Don of the New York Herald Tribune. 

Damiano's Delight

4 pounds mackerel, steaked		1 cup red wine
6 medium onions, sliced		1/2 cup flour
1 cup olive oil		1 tablespoon capers
1/2 cup red wine vinegar, or		salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1/2 cup oil in frying pan at moderate temperature. Add onions and fry lightly. Remove with fork when almost cooked, leaving oil in pan. Dip steaks in flour, add remainder of oil to pan and fry mackerel until brown. Combine mackerel and onions in saucepan, add wine or vinegar, capers and season­ing and cook for five minutes. Transfer to serving bowl and chill. Damiano's Delight is better eaten cold than hot

Cod Canape

2 pounds boiled cod fish,		juice of one lemon
flaked		chopped Italian parsley
1/4cup olive oil		salt and pepper to taste
1 clove garlic,		chopped fine

Mix oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper and spread over flaked fish on platter. Garnish with parsley, chill and serve cold.

Baked Fluke

2 fluke, about 2-3 pounds		2 tomatoes, sliced each,
split in half with		1 teaspoon thyme
bone in		1/4, cup water
1/2 cup olive oil		salt and pepper to taste

Place fish in well-greased baking pan and top with tomato slices. Mix oil, water, thyme, salt and pepper and pour over fish and tomatoes. Bake in a moderate (350° F.) oven about 15-20 minutes.

Broth Bivona

4 pounds of any bony fish		1/4, cup olive oil
3 quarts water		1 clove garlic, diced
Italian parsley, flaked small		salt and pepper to taste

Cut fish into serving-size pieces. Boil water in large soup pot. Add fish and all other ingredients when water comes to a boil. Cook at a slow boil for 8 minutes. Remove fish and serve broth hot. To eat the boiled fish just substitute whiting for Mr. Bones. The broth also makes a delicately tasty spaghetti sauce.

New England Fish Chowder

2 cups fillets, skinned		2 cups water
1/2 cup chopped bacon or		2 cups diced potatoes
salt pork		4 cups milk
1/2 cup chopped onion		salt and pepper to taste

Cut fillets into 1/2 inch pieces. Fry bacon a light brown in soup pot. Add onion and cook until tender. Add water, pota­toes, seasonings and fish. Cook about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add milk and heat. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Fish-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

1 pound cooked fish, flaked		1 cup hot milk
4 large baking potatoes		1 cup grated cheese
1 tablespoon butter		salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon onion powder or to taste

Bake potatoes in very hot oven (450-500° F.) 45 to 60 min­utes or until soft. Cut a slice off top of each potato. Scoop out insides and mash. Blend butter, salt, pepper, onion powder and hot milk into mashed potatoes. Mix in fish flakes. Stuff shells with potato-fish mixture. Sprinkle cheese over each potato. Bake at 375° F. 25 to 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Flaked Fish Soufflé

1/2 pound cooked fish, flaked		1/2 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup melted butter		6 egg yolks, beaten
1/4 cup flour		6 egg whites, beaten
1 cup milk		salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire		sauce

Blend melted butter, flour and seasonings. Add milk gradually, stir constantly and cook until smooth and thick. Add Worcestershire, cheese and fish flakes and continue heating until cheese melts. Stir a little of the hot sauce into egg yolks and add to remaining sauce while stirring constantly. Fold into egg whites. Pour into a well-greased 2-quart casserole. Bake in moderate oven (350° F.) 45 minutes or until soufflé is firm in center.

Seafood Salad

1 pound boiled fish, flaked		2 hardboiled eggs, chopped
1. cup chopped celery		1/2 cup mayonnaise
2. tablespoons chopped onion		salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix with fish. Serve on lettuce, with sliced tomatoes.

Mother's Cheer Spreader

1/2 pound boiled fish, flaked		1/2cup mayonnaise
1/2 pound cream cheese		salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and mix into a creamy paste with a fork. Spread on bread with lettuce for sandwiches or transfer to cocktail bowl, garnish with paprika and serve with crackers.

Father's Cheer Spreader

1 pound boiled, baked or		1 tablespoon Worcestershire
broiled fish, flaked		sauce
3 tablespoons horseradish		dash of Tabasco
3 tablespoons mayonnaise		salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon prepared		mustard

Combine all ingredients (vary the amount of all to your in­dividual taste, more if you want to grow hair, less if you want just a little zest) and blend well with a fork. Serve on pumper­nickel with sliced onion or transfer to bowl and serve with crackers.