How to Clean Whitefish

[fishinggeek]

Anyone have any tips on how to clean whitefish? Never caught one before and want to try my luck at catching and maybe eating one. Is the skeletal structure the same as trout/salmon, or more like a walleye?

[iceguy]

There usually pretty chunky and fillett like a walleye.

[Guest gbfisher]

They are a little different. They have a double rib cage and you have to take the second one out last. You cut right through the first one and leave the other one behind as you would do to clean a trout starting from its back and cutting down towards its stomach on the outside of the rib cage. That leaves you with the top rib section to cut out after that. After skinning of course. Take away all of the fat line next to the skin as well. Tastes like crap.....

If you can handle bones, leave them all in.

 

Hope that helps.

[ketchenany]

I gut it, scrape the scales off, take off the head and tail/fins. When it's time to cook fill the cavety with onions and lemon slices and butter, salt and pepper; wrap in alluminum foil, add white wine and bake, meat falls off the bones . . .

[Beans]

Dontcha just love the optimism of fishermen...worried about how to clean them before even catching...

 

The above recipie sounds good to me only I would add a bit of soy or oyster sauce and a bit of garlic and fresh grated ginger to the wine before pouring over the fish...a few slashes in the flesh will help the sauce permeat the flesh...

[fishinggeek]

Thanks!

[Big Cliff]

You have to try some of it smoked, it is SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spiel]

They have a double rib cage and you have to take the second one out last.

 

....I've cleaned many, many whities and have never encountered this. They do have a lateral row of small bones extending out towards the lateral line. I prefer to fillet just as any trout or salmon remove lateral bones, skin and dark lateral meat then lightly pan fry with a little lemon pepper. Yummmy!

[Guest gbfisher]

Um....would that not be two sets of bones? Ribs, Lateral bones,.. ..

I was pointing out that the second line of bones are present and should come out if you like boneless fish.

Its an easy run of the knife on an angle on both sides. Not like most fish is all.

 

I guess I should be more up with what type of bones I am talking about and less helpful.

 

Thanks Spiel.

[Riparian]

it is not a set of "Y" bones as if it were a pike. The culinary term for it is "pin bones" and they are easily removed with needlenose pliers after 24 hours in the fridge.

 

if you buy a salmon fillet in the grocery store it will most likely come with the same set of bones, Unless you ask them to remove it for you.

[fishboy]

I'm with spiel on the cleaning; try baking whitefish in a white sauce seasoned with celery salt. pepper and a little vegetable or chicken stock.

[Dabluz]

If you look closely, even walleye have this extra set of bones going to the backbone.

 

Like brook trout, these lateral bones are quite small and no one who I have met has yet to say that they exist when it comes time to eat whitefish.