Trout is an incredibly valuable fish, famous for its unsurpassed nutritional qualities and excellent taste. A huge number of a wide variety of dishes are traditionally prepared from it - trout is fried, boiled, baked, marinated and salted. But the preparation of any dish from this fish cannot be imagined without the process of cleaning it, which consists in removing inedible parts. In trout, these include the entrails, tail, ridge and costal bones, skin and, of course, scales. Let's look at what features does trout scale removal have?

It is advisable to remove the scaly cover only when it is planned to cook trout in the skin. If it is intended to remove the skin from the fish, then there is no need to remove the scales, since later it will be removed along with the skin.

Also, you should not clean the scales even if you plan to cook broth from trout. Only in this case it will need to be carefully filtered, thereby preventing small bones and scales from getting into it.

What is harmful trout scales?

Experienced chefs do not recommend cooking trout without first freeing it from the scaly cover. This is due to the fact that the composition of the scales contains such a substance as chitin, which is the strongest allergen. It is especially important to clean trout if dishes from it are prepared for children, pregnant women and people prone to allergies.

Features of cleansing

Before proceeding directly to the removal of the scaly cover of the fish, it is necessary to rinse it under running water. If the trout is slippery enough, then you can sprinkle it lightly with salt, so that it will not slip out of your hands.

To clean the scales from a trout, it is necessary to arm yourself with a short serrated knife. Of course, you can use other improvised means and devices, but it will be easiest to clean the scaly cover with a knife. Scales can be removed both in the direction of its growth and against it. At the end of the process, the trout must be thoroughly rinsed under running water.

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!

When choosing fish, you should give preference to chilled rather than frozen carcasses. This will allow you to carefully examine the trout and understand how fresh it is. In preparation for cutting, you need to pick up a sharp knife and a suitable board.

Before salting, you need to properly cut the trout

Preparation for the main cutting process includes several stages:

1. Moving from tail to head, it is necessary to clean the skin of scales and rinse the fish with cool water.
2. Cut open the belly and carefully remove the contents, being careful not to tear the intestines.

If there is caviar, put it in a separate container for subsequent salting, and discard the insides. The film covering the abdominal cavity gives bitterness to ready-made dishes, so it and the remaining blood clots must be removed. Wash the fish again with water.

How to cut a trout: the main stage

Now you need to prepare the carcass for cutting into portioned pieces or separating the fillet for salting. The work includes several processes:

• the head and tail must be cut off and put into a separate bag, they can be used later for cooking first courses;
• to remove the fins, the flesh from both edges must be cut and the protruding part pulled towards you. The fins that are located on the abdomen are cut off;
• Finally, the skin must be removed. To do this, you need to pick up the edge of the skin near the cut where the head was, and gently pull it towards the tail.

From the prepared carcass, you need to remove the fillet, cutting off the meat from the ridge and removing the remaining bones with tweezers. As a result of the work done, you will receive two pieces of red fish fillet that can be salted, as well as a set: head, tail, fins and backbone for cooking first courses.

Video: how to cut trout

The proposed option is suitable for salting red fish in a dry and wet way. The finished fillet can be left whole or cut into small pieces. If necessary, the remaining fish can be frozen, this does not impair its taste.

To better understand how trout is cut, watch the video. The workflow may seem complicated, but with practice, your movements will become more confident, and cleaning the fish will not be difficult.

Trout is one of the delicacy products and is not often found on the table of an ordinary inhabitant. This is due to the rather high cost of fish, as well as periodically introduced restrictions on its catch. Therefore, the issue of proper cleaning and cutting of fish so rare in the daily diet is extremely relevant. And despite the fact that the process of gutting a trout is not much different from similar actions aimed at butchering other types of fish, there are still some subtleties and secrets.

Description of the species

Trout is one of the brightest representatives of the salmon family, it is distinguished by excellent taste and high nutritional properties. The slave feels equally good in both fresh and salt water, and is very demanding on the cleanliness of reservoirs. The length of adults usually varies from 25 to 35 cm, and the average weight is 1-1.5 kg. However, there are also quite large specimens, the mass of which sometimes reaches 20 kg.

Trout is characterized by a large number of trace elements vital for humans, which are in a form that is easily digestible for the body. Trout is far superior to meat in its useful properties, it is subjected to frying, baking and boiling, as well as grilled and smoked.

Benefit and harm

The composition of the trout contains a large amount of omega-3 fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins of groups A, B, D, E and various trace elements. Regular consumption of fish reduces cholesterol levels, strengthens the nervous system and reduces the risk of cancer. In addition, fish lovers often have healthy skin and strong hair, and are less likely to suffer from high blood pressure. Another important advantage of trout is its low energy value, which, despite the rather high fat content, is only 88 kcal per 100 g of the substance. This allows you to use it for cooking low-calorie dishes and consider it a dietary product.

However, along with undeniable advantages, trout has one significant disadvantage. And the point here is the content of a small amount of mercury, harmless to the body of an adult, but representing some danger to children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. In addition, people suffering from diseases of the liver and gastrointestinal tract are also not recommended to use trout.

Cleaning and gutting

In order for the trout to not lose its original shape during the cooking process and not fall into pieces, it must be properly cleaned. For self-cutting at home, you need to stock up on a plastic board, rubber gloves, a metal utensil sponge, a fine grater, salt, a sharp knife or a fish scaler. Moreover, the cutting board should not be made of wood, and should be used exclusively for cutting and cleaning fish. It is strictly forbidden to use boards designed for cutting bread and vegetables.

Before you start cleaning the trout, you must thoroughly wash it under cool water, trying to remove all the mucus. Then the carcass should be laid out on paper towels and allow excess water to drain. Next, in order to avoid the fish slipping out of your hands, you need to rub it on all sides with coarse salt, put on gloves and start cleaning. First you need to remove the scales from the fish. For this, a serrated knife or a metal sponge for washing dishes is quite suitable. Scales should be peeled in the direction from the tail of the carcass to her head, while trying to act as carefully as possible and not tear the skin.

When removing the scales, it must be taken into account that the scales on the abdomen are lighter in color and are hardly visible. Therefore, the quality of work must be checked with a finger, and accidentally missed scales should be removed immediately. Instead of a serrated knife or a metal sponge, you can use a special fish scaler or fine grater.

The next step in cutting the trout will be its gutting. To do this, an even incision is made from the anus to the head, after which all the insides are taken out, the films are removed, the blood is cleaned with a spoon and the gills are removed. If the dish is planned to be cooked without a head, then it is carefully cut off and thrown away. Then both lateral fins are cut off, and the dorsal fin is completely removed. Next, the fish is thoroughly washed under running water and again laid out on a paper towel to remove excess moisture.

Filleting

If you plan to cook a steak, and you need to choose a fillet, then you need to proceed as follows: first you need to make a deep cut from the base of the head to the ridge, then turn the knife around and move along the ridge to the tail. The same should be done on the other side of the trout. Then, along the incisions, you need to carefully unfold the carcass, separate the head with the spine and send them to the ear. As a result of this manipulation, two halves should be obtained, each of which will have one row of ribs and one side fin. Next, you need to cut the rib bones as thinly as possible and completely remove the fins. Then, using tweezers, you will need to pull out single bones, and then feel the carcass with your hands and make sure that they are completely absent.

Next, you need to put the fish skin down and use a thin sharp knife to separate the skin from the pulp. In smaller specimens, the skin can be removed at the cutting stage, cutting it at the head and pulling it like a stocking to the tail. Then both parts of the carcass should be cut into medium-sized pieces, while checking the slices and the flesh for the presence of remaining bones.

If the knife is not sharp enough, then when cutting the trout into fillets, you can use scissors, not forgetting to thoroughly rinse and disinfect them after completion of work.

Separation of caviar

In order to properly separate trout caviar from films, there are two ways.

• In the first case dissolve 2 tsp in a liter of hot water. salt, mix them thoroughly and place caviar there. Then, using a fork, gently beat the contents of the container, thus separating the remnants of the film from the caviar. Then the water with eggs is leaned back on a fine sieve and washed well.
• Second way consists in passing the caviar through a coarse grater, as a result of which the eggs slip into the holes, and the film lingers on the sharp edges. Further, the caviar is also washed in cool water and sent for salting.

Storage conditions

After the trout is cleaned and gutted, it is used for cooking various dishes or stored. Before putting the fish in the freezer, it is wrapped in parchment paper. This allows you to remove excess moisture and helps preserve useful elements. In order to increase the shelf life of cut trout, it is recommended to place it in salt water for half an hour, and only then freeze it.

Salt solution can be replaced with vegetable oil. Before freezing, the fish is generously lubricated with it, and thoroughly wiped before cooking. If you plan to cook trout in the next day, then there is no need to freeze the product. To do this, the carcass is covered with crushed ice, and blotted with a dry cloth before cooking.

Thus, cleaning and cutting trout is a completely simple and understandable procedure, which even the most inexperienced housewife can do.

For how easy it is to clean trout at home, see the video below.

We are so accustomed to fish that is cleaned and butchered for us that, when taking our first steps in cooking, we often avoid buying everything that requires additional effort and manipulation. Everything that is not marked with the word “fillet” is perceived as a product with which you will not end up with problems: how to clean trout, sea bass or dorado from scales, gut and get rid of bones? Not a fish, but just some kind of chef's nightmare. But while all these nuances may be true of some river fish, cleaning trout is so simple that it will make you return to cooking this fish again and again.

Have you already decided what you want to cook with trout? Then, in the matter of cleaning, you can navigate the key dishes, because for different recipes the number of preparatory stages may vary.

Roasting a whole carcass

If the fish is small and you want to bake or fry it whole, then we assure you: you can clean it in just 5 minutes. The thing is that trout scales do not look like carp or perch scales and are very small plates that are peeled off the fish without much physical effort.

• So, first you need to rinse the fish in running water. If the trout is very slimy and it is inconvenient to hold such a carcass in your hands, then even repeated washing is unlikely to help you. It is better to just sprinkle the fish with salt to create friction: you still have to salt it later.
• It is best to clean the trout directly in the sink: due to the fact that the scales do not adhere firmly to the skin, they practically do not scatter around the kitchen, but if something gets on the cabinets, table or floor, then you may simply not notice the contamination. The walls of the sink will save you from such trouble, and collecting at the drain will allow you to collect all the large scales and prevent the water supply from clogging.
• It is convenient to clean the trout with a small knife both against and in the direction of the scales. You need to be especially careful in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe abdomen: the skin color is lighter there, and the scales are noticeably worse, but at the same time it is tougher there than on the sides. Run your finger down your belly from head to tail to make sure your meal isn't ruined by crunchy teeth.
• If the fish is not gutted, it is not so difficult to do it yourself: cut the abdomen from the anal fin to the gills and take out all the insides. If caviar is caught, then you can pickle it, but feel free to send everything else to the trash.
• It is not necessary to cut off the head: it is enough to remove the gills so that the dish does not acquire the wrong taste. In addition, the gills, like a filter, do not collect the most useful substances, so it is advisable to remove them if you care about your health.
• Rinse the fish again, and that's it - you can bake!

You can not touch the fins and tail: it is not for nothing that in many cafes they are left with the fish for the beauty of the presentation.

Fillet, sushi, cuts for salads

If you are going to cook a dish that requires pieces of trout or its fillet, get ready to add a few points to the cutting process. How to clean trout so that it can be added to a salad or sushi? You can see all the basic actions above, and here are the manipulations that we will deal with now.

To get appetizing pieces, we need to remove the skin from the trout. You can remove it from a small fish with a stocking, after cutting off its head, but for a small fish such an action rarely makes sense: it is very difficult to get a sufficiently thick layer of fillet from it, so this option is rarely used.

• If the fish is large, then before peeling it from the skin, you will have to cut the carcass. To do this, after cutting off the head, you will need to cut the fish along the line of the back along the spinal bone. As a result, you will get 2 identical halves, one of which will have a ridge.
• The spine with bones will need to be removed, but it is not necessary to throw it away. Most likely, there will be some meat left on it, and on the basis of the ridge of a fairly large trout it will be possible to cook soup. The fins are also cut out at this stage.
• Well, the last step is cutting the fillets from the skin. If you have ever made red fish sandwiches, you can imagine this process: after trimming the fillet, you need to cut the meat, pressing the knife against the board so that no large pieces remain on the skin. The only thing is that to work with raw trout and remove the fillet in one piece, you have to get a little dexterous. The key to success will also be a sufficiently strong and long knife: it is desirable that the length of the knife be no shorter than the width of the fillet.

Begin to pry the fillet from the tail: since the length of the fillet is shorter there, it is more convenient to start cutting the meat in this direction.

Cleaning both small and heavy trout is easy if you put into practice this cut-up guide. We are sure that from now on, when you are going to cook a dish from its tender meat, you will not delay the culinary experiment because of your unwillingness to get involved in cleaning the fish.