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The spiny "striped" fish is probably a serious problem for many housewives. By visiting the fishing routes of the Putorana Plateau, they could learn many secrets, including how and when this predator easily removes its fine armor.
Some fishermen's wives flatly refuse to clean perch, suggesting their husbands do the prickly task themselves. In fact, perch is easy to prepare. However, sometimes the question arises as to whether it's worth scaling at all, since it cooks perfectly well without scales.
Do you need to clean it at all?
Cooking this delicious fish can eliminate the need for cleaning, especially on shore while rafting. For example, when adding it to a rich fish soup or when smoking. It can be cast whole, without removing its natural shell. Initially, you only need to remove the gills. As for preparing other dishes, arm yourself with the necessary tools and get ready for battle.
What allows you to remove perch scales.
When outdoors, a sharp knife helps remove scales from perch. At home, you can use knives with serrated edges, like a saw. These were previously called self-sharpening knives. These knives allow you to remove small scales from fish.
Sometimes a fine vegetable grater can be a useful tool. A brush for removing metal shavings can also come in handy. Nature has, after all, endowed perch with good protection. However, even this can sometimes be ineffective in preventing them from falling into the jaws of a voracious pike.
Instructions for cleaning prickly:
The easiest way to scale perch is while rafting; freshly caught predators are easier to clean. However, when fishing, there's not always enough time to clean trophies. Therefore, the above-mentioned tools are helpful at home. Methods for cleaning perch:
- Take a sharp, fine-serrated knife and start as usual, starting from the tail. To avoid pricking yourself, you can trim the fish's fins. But in the hands of professionals, even fins don't get in the way; the key is to hold the predator in the right places so its backbone protection doesn't stick out. For example, when cleaning the tail, hold it close to the head with the fin flattened. After passing the middle of the perch's body, pick up the fish by the tail. This also applies when using a grater or wire brush.
- If you can tolerate the pain of cleaning the fish, regular salt will do the trick. Coat the fish in salt and leave it overnight, until morning. After that, the scales will peel off much faster and easier.
- Another method is cleaning in hot water. Rinse the fish or immerse it in boiling water for a few minutes. It's best to add vinegar.
- Sometimes DIYers use beer bottle caps, nailing them to a wooden base. This creates a simple grater. Incidentally, it's quite useful for cleaning perch, but not for fishing, and certainly not for rafting.
In addition to these options, there is a method for cleaning perch in a cafe or restaurant:
1. We make an incision along the spine of the prickly predator;
2. Cut off the meat along with the scales on both sides;
3. Cut off the rib bones;
4. Place it on the table with the meat side up and separate it from the skin and scales with a sharp knife.
These are the methods for removing perch scales. The only caveat: this procedure requires perfectly sharp knives. The easiest option, however, involves using a fine grater. Round graters with a handle on top are easy to use for cleaning this wily but tasty predator.
Or using high temperatures, as described for boiling water. This method also helps clean the perch quite quickly. You can then prepare it into delicious delicacies.
