Contacts
home/ Desserts

How to fillet a pike perch. How to clean and cut pike perch at home

When drawing up a menu for a holiday or for every day, any housewife tries to make the diet varied. And useful, of course. Zander fits perfectly into this variety. It is low in calories, has an excellent taste and is easy to prepare. In addition, this fish prefers clean waters, which means that when buying fish you can be sure that it does not contain a lot of phosphates and other chemicals. Fragrant pies from pike perch, ear, slaves, baked in sour cream sauce- this will surely delight loved ones and loved ones. But before you start culinary creativity, you need to prepare the fish. You need to clean and cut it so that it does not lose its attractive appearance.

Pike perch is a common fish, but healthy

It is not difficult to recognize pike perch on store shelves. Elongated body and pointed nose, slightly resembling. A greenish-brown back, brown-gray spots on the sides and a white belly - this is the color of our hero. The spots on the sides most often form a beautiful pattern consisting of 8-10 regular stripes. But the fins are dotted with dark leopard-colored specks, and its jaws are powerful, with rows of canine-like teeth.

True, in the South-West of our country there are also dark species belonging to the black suit. Apparently, the fish acquires this color due to the special climatic conditions. Attempts by scientists to move light specimens to lakes with this species of pike perch led to the fact that after a couple of months the color of the fish changed to dark. It is easy to distinguish between normal and dark: it has a much lighter color.

The following types are found in nature:

  • light-feather,
  • ordinary,
  • Volga,
  • sandy,
  • nautical.

Shop windows usually display small specimens from 1 to 3 kg and 30-50 cm long. But adult pike perch living 8-10 years can reach 150 cm in length and 18 kg in live weight. If we immediately imagined what size this fish will be in another 10 years, we will have to disappoint: the fish live up to 14 years. And the weight over 7-8 kg is rather an exception than a rule.

Although zander is considered a common, non-exotic fish, it is extremely healthy. Firstly, its meat has a low calorie content: only 84 kcal per 100 g, and secondly, it completely lacks carbohydrates, unlike other freshwater ones. Thirdly, it contains a large amount of vitamins B, C, E, as well as potassium, magnesium, iron and other trace elements. This fish, when eaten, has a very positive effect on the functioning of our brain and nervous system, let alone taste buds.

Nutritional value and composition

100 g of pike perch contains up to 35 mg of calcium, 25 mg of magnesium and 230 mg of phosphorus, which is necessary for the healthy development of our body.

As already mentioned, there are no carbohydrates in the composition, and the nutritional value: proteins - 88%, fats - 12%.

How to clean fresh zander from scales at home

As with all freshwater fish, a lot of problems arise with zander when cleaning: the scales do not want to succumb even to skillful hands, let alone those who clean it for the first time. The fish slips out of hands and strives to fly away from the shell. We will talk about simple and available ways rid the catch of scales.

Important! A prerequisite for cleaning is to cut off the fins first! They are very sharp, like needles. Failure to remove them can injure your hands.

We may need:

  • Rubber or heavy duty household gloves;
  • kitchen carving scissors for cutting off fins;
  • kitchen knife;
  • salt;
  • scaler;
  • a saucepan with boiling water;
  • fishing knife;
  • grater;
  • high pressure hose;
  • fillet knife;
  • old newspapers;
  • plastic wrap or bags;
  • tablespoon

With the help of all of the above, we can easily clean the pike perch. We stock up on patience, self-confidence and caution. Caution comes in handy both when removing prickly fins and when working with sharp knives.

We clean with a knife under running water

Cleaning with a knife will require some skill.

Important! The knife should be well sharpened.

  1. In order not to collect the scales that have flown off during the cleaning process all over the kitchen, fill the sink with a quarter of water. They will sink into the water.
  2. We cut off the fins so as not to get hurt when cleaning.
  3. We place the fish under the water stream, peel off the scales with a knife against the growth of scales. The jet from the tap will wash the scales adhering to the knife and fish into the sink.
  4. We take out the insides only after the scales are removed.

A fish scaler will make the task easier

If this necessary tool has remained in the kitchen since the days of grandmother or mother, we can safely take it in our hands. But when there is no fish scaler in the cupboards, you can buy it at any hardware store. It is inexpensive, but it will be very useful in everyday life, especially if the husband is an avid fisherman. To make it easier and more convenient to clean the pike perch, we will take salt in addition to the fish scaler. We also need a newspaper or plastic wrap - we will lay the table, saving ourselves from unnecessary cleaning.

  1. We spread a newspaper or film on the table surface.
  2. Sprinkle the pike perch with salt - this way the fish will not slip out of the hand.
  3. We take a fish in one hand, a fish scaler in the other.
  4. With a fish scaler we lead the fish along the body from the tail to the head.
  5. We remove the insides only after cleaning the fish.

You can do a fish scaler yourself:

We need a wooden kitchen spatula. Not necessarily new. On one side, we screw the beer lids with screws so that the bottom of the lid fits snugly against the wooden surface.

Instead of a fish scaler, you can use a regular fork. We hold the carcass tightly with one hand, rip off the scales with a fork against growth.

A grater is useful for scales

  1. Let's take a regular kitchen grater, preferably a quadrangular one (it's more convenient to hold it in your hands).
  2. We put the pike perch on a cutting board or other surface (you can put it in the sink) and hold it with your hand.
  3. Three perch with a grater (the side intended for vegetables, with barbs) from the tail to the head of the fish. In this case, the scales come off easier and fly away less.

High pressure hose

Unthinkable, but this is one of the modern folk ways of cleaning perch fish. It is suitable, however, only for young goons, weighing a little more than 1 kg. The method will appeal to owners of summer cottages or private houses who have a high pressure hose installed. Recall that such a hose is connected to devices operating under pressure. For example, systems used in agriculture for irrigation.

We use a hose for cleaning zander

Boil the carcass with boiling water

Professional anglers advise this method.

  1. In a pot of sufficient size, collect water and bring to a boil.
  2. We dip the pike perch in boiling water. The time varies from 30 seconds to 1.5 minutes, depending on the size and freshness of the fish.
  3. We take out the fish and let it cool slightly.
  4. Under a stream of cool water, peel off the scales with a fish peeler or a knife. It can be removed easily.

Fishing knife to help

When the owner of the house is an avid fisherman, it will not be difficult to clean the pike perch. Every fishing enthusiast has a fishing knife. It is made in such a way that one part of the blade is intended for cutting, cutting. The upper part (blunt for kitchen knives) is riddled with jagged edges. It is intended for cleaning fish.

  1. We put the carcass on a cutting board, take it more comfortably with your hand.
  2. We take a fishing knife with the other hand.
  3. We clean the fish from tail to head with a serrated blade.

We clean the fish with a fishing knife

We do not clean, but cut into fillets

  1. If the fillet knife is not available, use a regular long and narrow knife. The main thing is very sharp.
  2. Cut off all the fins.
  3. We rip the abdomen from the head to the tail.
  4. We clean out the insides and remove the films.
  5. We make a deep cut along the entire back of the fish, reaching the ridge.
  6. On the abdomen, at the base of the head, we make an incision.
  7. From the place of the incision, we pry the meat, turning the knife flat, parallel to the ridge.
  8. We cut the meat along the ridge, turning the knife at an angle of about 30-35 degrees, in the direction from the tail to the head.
  9. Turn the carcass over and repeat the previous steps.
  10. We have 2 fillets with scales and a ridge with a tail left on the board.
  11. From the side of the meat, and not the edge of the abdomen, we pry a row of bones and cut them off.
  12. Put half of the fish with scales on the board.
  13. We pry the meat with a knife (keep the knife flat) and cut off the fillets from the skin.

How to cut pike perch into fillets - video

Remove scales with a spoon

  1. We put the fish on the work surface.
  2. Press with your hand.
  3. Turn the spoon over with the convex side towards us.
  4. Three fish with a spoon against the growth of scales, prying off the scales like a spatula.
  5. Even a large specimen can be cleaned very quickly in this way.

We clean the fish with a spoon

How to gut a fish

After we got rid of the scales on the fish, we can proceed to the next step. We need to gut the pike perch, get rid of the entrails, in order to further butcher the fish. Let's start.

  1. We take the carcass with one hand by the head, under the gills, and put it belly up.
  2. With the other hand, hold the knife so that the blade is pointing up.
  3. We hold the knife at a slight angle, in the direction from us, and cut the abdomen near the gills (you can use cutting kitchen scissors).
  4. We cut through the belly in the direction from the head to the tail.
  5. We remove the insides and rinse the fish with water.

We cut zander correctly

Housewives often do not like to mess with river fish... She has a kind of scales and a lot of bones. Butchering fish after cleaning also seems like a dubious pleasure. But we will tell you how to make the process of butchering easier.

  1. We cut the fish along the back from head to tail. The cut should be quite deep - reaching the ridge.
  2. Raise the cut meat, and with careful movements separate the flesh from the ridge with a knife.
  3. It turns out that we cut the meat in small sections, moving towards the ribs.
  4. The edges themselves can not be removed - it's a matter of taste.
  5. We do not remove the skin from the fish, we simply cut the resulting fillet into small pieces, about 3-4 cm wide.

How to quickly butcher a walleye

Finnish-style fish cutting

  1. Put the zander on a cutting board.
  2. Holding with your hand, we make an incision under the gills and an incision in the abdomen at the base of the gills.
  3. We hold the fish by its head, sticking our fingers under the gills.
  4. We combine both cuts and cut the fish along the ridge, thus removing the fillets.
  5. You need to cut off the pike perch meat in the direction from the head to the tail.
  6. We turn the fish over to the other side and repeat all actions.
  7. As a result, we are left with 2 halves of fish fillets and a ridge with a tail, which can be used on the ear.
  8. We remove the bones.
  9. Holding the fillet with a fork, we pick up a thin layer of pike perch meat together with the bones.
  10. Cut off carefully, leading the knife to the edge of the abdomen.
  11. After removing the bones, turn the halves of the pike perch so that the fillet is on top.
  12. Holding with a fork, we cut off the pike perch meat from the skin, moving from the tail to the head.
  13. Rinse with water.
  14. Salt and fillet are ready to cook.

In the absence of a special fillet knife, it can be replaced with an ordinary long and narrow knife. Almost any set of kitchen knives has one.

Finnish way

At all small bones can be removed with tweezers. This method is often used by chefs in restaurants to make sure that the bone does not get caught by guests and does not cause trouble when eating.

We clean and cut frozen

Anglers are often advised to lightly freeze the fish before cleaning. To do this, it is removed for 30-60 minutes in the freezer. Such fish is easier to clean from the scales than fresh. You can use any of the above methods. Or try another option:

Removing the skin from the fish along with the fins and head

  1. We cut the fish along the back along the ridge.
  2. We carry the knife from head to tail. The incision should not be deep: 2-3 mm.
  3. From the side of the tail, we hook the dorsal fin with a knife and pull it out of the incision.
  4. We put our fingers through the cut part between the pike perch meat and the skin.
  5. Separate the skin from the inside with light movements.
  6. We make an incision in the back at the base of the head.
  7. It is not necessary to separate the head with a knife. We leave a small area of ​​uncut skin.
  8. We take the fish head with one hand, holding the pike perch under the skin with the other hand.
  9. Remove the skin along with the head and fins.

Cutting into video

Frozen pike perch is cut in the same way as fresh:

  1. If the carcass is very frozen, let it thaw a little in cold water.
  2. We make a cut along the ridge.
  3. We cut the carcass near the gills.
  4. We cut the fillets with a knife along the ridge.

Whichever of the proposed options for cleaning and butchering zander you choose, working with fish will not take much time and effort. The preparation will become easier and the family dinner will be ripe on time.

Reading fish seems to be difficult for many people. Scales are often poorly removed from the skin, and sharp fins sometimes severely prick hands. We'll show you how to clean a walleye, and these tips can be applied to other types of fish as well.

  • Before cleaning the fish, it is recommended to cut off the fins from it. They are often as sharp as needles and prick the hands until they bleed. Therefore, it is advisable to remove everything except the tail.
  • Gutting the fish before removing the scales from it is not worth it. It is better to leave the head and entrails for a while, since it is more difficult to clean a carcass with a ripped belly.
  • Scales, especially small ones, tend to scatter throughout the kitchen. Sometimes its remains can be found almost a month later. To avoid such a nuisance, it is better to clean the fish under a tap or in a sink filled with water. If you don't want to clog the sink with scales, use a basin filled with water.

Ways to clean pike perch

  • Fish with small scales, such as pike perch and perch, can be easily cleaned with a regular metal grater. It is advisable that the grater is four-sided, then it will be easier to hold in your hand. Working with a float, you need to remove the scales in the direction from the tail to the head. With this method of cleaning, the scales almost do not scatter to the sides.
  • To clean the pike-perch without any problems, you can pour over it with boiling water, or it is better to put it in boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Hot water will soften the skin of the fish and the scales will then easily come off. After boiling the carcass with boiling water, cool it and peel it with a knife under running water. Try not to overexpose the fish in boiling water, so that the scales do not peel off along with the skin.
  • If you are not in a hurry to clean the fish and you can leave the carcass overnight, then sprinkle it well with salt before that. In the morning, the scales from the salted pike perch will be removed quickly and easily.

It is most convenient to clean the fish with a special device, which is used, for example, by traders. But if such a device was not at hand, it does not matter, you can use a simple kitchen knife. It should be short and sharp. Movements are carried out from the tail to the head - against the growth of the scales. To make the process even easier for yourself, take the carcass by the gills and tail, and then pull it sharply in different directions. If the fish is small, then this will help to quickly remove the scales from it.


How to peel pike perch for fillets

If you are going to prepare fillets from fish, then there is no need to free it from scales at all. You will need a special fillet knife and the following instructions:

  • Sharpen the fillet knife as sharply as possible.
  • Cut the fins from the carcass and remove the head. Slit the belly and remove the giblets. Remove the inner film as well.
  • Make a cut on the back all the way to the ridge along the entire fish.
  • From the tail to the head, cut the fillets off the spine. Flip the zander to the other side and do the same.
  • You will get two fillet halves on skin with scales. Place them on the table with the scales facing down and cut the meat off the skin.
  • So you get a fillet, from which you just have to remove the remnants of the bones, if any.


Called to help clean and butcher pike perch Sander lucioperca, this. Perch Percidae. This still frozen ...

The length of the knife from the tip to the end of the handle is 30 cm - this is for scale.

Well, I was waiting for a dozen defrosted from 3.2 kg to 4.5 kg


I had to tinker. The knife given to me - lying on the right - could not cope with the grown ctenoid scales of large pike perch, tore it off with a fish scaler, which is on the newspaper next to the caviar. Scales are also present on the operculums.

I put some on fillets


Probably everyone already knows how to mill, and if for some reason not, you can watch the silver carp cutting
https://maxnicol.livejournal.com/2067286.html

And the rest of them separated their tails and heads


Cut off the heads with a downward movement: from the back to the belly. We need carcasses with the maximum amount of flesh and with a minimum of bones, so we carry the knife behind the back of the head to the spine - we cut it not with a small grasping knife, but with a large heavy debauch, it is in the second photo from the top - and then again with the sharpest short Tamahagane. I draw a blade across the belly immediately where the posterior edge of the bone base of the pelvic fins ends: it is almost impossible to cut these bones, and it is not necessary - they will go with the head into the soup.

When removing the head, most people cut it off in one fell swoop - but it was important for me not to cut the insides. Further, with this method of evisceration, we firmly grab the esophagus with our fingers and gently pull out the entire digestive tract for it.
The result is a clean carcass with an uncut belly.



Fish gutted in this way can optionally be stuffed with the abdominal cavity, for example with mushrooms and / or walnuts.
But even with conventional cooking in a frying pan - and I cut my pike-perch carcass across, dipped it in an egg and fried - the result will be completely different than it would have been with a banal cutting through the belly.



The fact is that in many predators, fat is deposited mainly on the wall of the abdominal cavity. In traditional gutting, the knife cuts the belly along from the anus to the throat - and in pike-perch, whose fat melting temperature is low, the accumulated fat simply flows out through the incision, while the pieces of fish are waiting for their turn to get into the pan, where, when heated, its remnants are melted, so that pike perch then seems a little dry to many. Well, when gutting fish through the throat or back, the untouched belly will provide you with more juiciness of the dishes.
Fried pike perch is very good: bright taste, firm texture and light stickiness on the lips.
It is better to cut mackerel through the back.

Severed heads with fins and tails also went into action


it was good that he worked in a chainmail glove - otherwise the rubber gloves, which he pulled on from above, were torn by 4 pieces on each fish.

The rubber clung to the scales, and the spikes of the fins are dangerous for unprotected hands.



I set aside a couple of heads and tails for soup



I cooked spare parts from broiler chicken in three liters of water, took them out of the broth with a slotted spoon



The broth brought to a boil again and loaded the heads and tails


took out after 15 minutes - and did not wait for a second boil.

And still I have already slightly digested


but still delicious - pike perch has a lot in its head that is not just edible: for those who understand it is a delicacy.

Well, he removed the tails and the second head, without taking it out of the pan, into the refrigerator - and the next day the fish was already in jelly.
I will not show the head butchering for now: I have long wanted to make such a reportage, but so far I can’t find a 3-4 kg head. It can be a catfish or a gigantic silverhead. It is easier to photograph a large one and explain the disassembly procedure.
Somehow I almost took out such a head of a huge cod from Murmansk, but technical circumstances prevented it.

Freshwater zander is quite common in rivers and lakes. The natural habitat of pike perch in Europe stretches from the Netherlands to the South Urals and from the Baltic to the river basins of the Black and Azov Seas, as well as the North Caspian, but in the second half of the 20th century. successfully introduced into the water bodies of a number of other European countries, incl. Great Britain. There are practically all over Ukraine.
In Siberia at the end of the 1950s. acclimatized to the Novosibirsk Reservoir, from where it was already in the 1970s. biennium spread over the Ob and her. tributaries. The pike perch is not capricious, but it needs clean water with a high oxygen content - it avoids stagnant water bodies - and a rich food base, as it eats away the rest of the fish, it can turn to cannibalism. It is an active predator - we can see it even from its sharp teeth and powerful fangs.
It eats almost all types of fish with which it lives, it does not chase adults of large species, being content with juveniles.
In reservoirs with large reserves of bream - in particular, in the Curonian Lagoon - pike perch often enter schools of bream - and move in them between large bream, despite the fact that large bream pike perch not only cannot be swallowed, but also not bite.
But pike perch are not interested in bream, which few are afraid of, but in roach and small silver bream that goes to hide among the bream. Actually, the pike perch themselves also hide between the bream: a large high-backed bream screens the pike perch for the side line of small cyprinids, they mistakenly feel safe, do not feel the pike perch moving sideways from its side, and lose their vigilance.
The pike perch attacks the victim from the side, after which it turns the fish stunned by the blow of the jaws and swallows it head first.
Pike perch spawns in spring, it begins when the water warms up to 7-8C. For spawning, pike perch leaves the currents to areas where water movement is minimal - usually in a backwater with depths of up to 2 m - where it builds nests: it digs holes 10-15 cm deep and up to 60 cm in diameter, where females lay eggs. The parents guard the nest and aerate the water over the eggs by moving their fins.
Often, caviar is harvested and transported to other lakes and rivers, thus populating more and more reservoirs with pike perch.

Pike perch is a good trophy for recreational and sport fishing


Photo: Pike perches weighing 5-6 kg are considered large, individuals of 1.5-2 kg prevail in the catches.
Maximum length 115 cm, record weight 20 kg.
The pike perch, which I butchered, were brought from the Volga in the Volgograd region.

Fish farmers also sell pike perch. It is launched into carp ponds: so that the predator destroys the crucian carp that takes the carp away from the carp, but often pike perch is also a key breeding object. On compound feed, pike perch grows much faster than in its natural environment, but its taste is less advantageous than that of wild.

Pike perch is fried, smoked, boiled, excellent cutlets are made from it, and due to the special stickiness of pike-perch broth, it is traditionally served as aspic ...

Working with some fish can lead to unpleasant, albeit not very serious, but unpleasant injuries. For example, if you don't know how to peel a walleye, you can prick all your fingers with the sharp thorns on its fins. Yes, and it is not so easy to get rid of the scales of this individual, which is why many amateurs fish dishes refuse to purchase it. The component preprocessing process is really not that simple. But hassle can be minimized if everything is organized correctly. And the delicate taste of the finished product will be the best reward for the work done.


To clean the pike perch with minimal time costs and get a high-quality harvest as a result, you need to arm yourself with a number of simple techniques:

  • The process will go as quickly as possible if you first rub the carcass with coarse salt. This will rid the surface of the scales of mucus and the component will not slip out of your hands.
  • Live fish will be more humane and convenient to stun. To do this, she should be hit on the head with a heavy object. After that, we make a shallow cut between the head and the fin to get rid of the blood.

Tip: It will be easier to work with the carcass if you insert a stick of a suitable diameter or a pencil into its mouth. When trying to hold the product in your hands, you can accidentally injure yourself or spoil the surface of the meat.

  • If a fork or a knife is slightly oblique in the direction from the tail to the head, it will be easier to get rid of the scales. And in general, the scales should be tried to be removed, acting not along the body, but slightly diagonally.
  • To make the process of cleaning pike perch as easy as possible, you need to immerse it in boiling water for a couple of minutes.

Of course, cleaning fish is not only performing manipulations aimed at getting rid of scales, but it is with this stage that housewives most often have problems.

What can be used to remove scales from a walleye?

In some kitchens, you can find fish cleaning tools from the Soviet era. In addition, specialized tools are sold in modern hardware stores. If at the right moment neither one nor the other was at hand, you can get out of the situation in the following ways:

  1. We take a metal grater for vegetables with the smallest section, bend its edges and string it on a wooden stick that will act as a handle. Of course, you can use the object in its expanded form, but you cannot achieve high-quality cleaning this way.
  2. We take an unnecessary wooden spatula and screw 3-4 beer lids to its surface, turned with the embossed side outward. It is safest to fix them with screws, such a product will not be demolished.
  3. We knock out the bottom from a small tin can, with the help of a nail we punch a lot of holes in it. It remains to bend the workpiece with pliers and put it on some kind of handle made of wood or metal. The best option would be a holder made of thick metal wire, which can be shaped into any shape. It remains only to fasten the edges of the sheet metal to each other, for example, using a screw and nut.

The working surface of these tools should be placed at a slight angle in relation to the handle, then cleaning will be as convenient and effective as possible. As a last resort, you can peel the walleye with an ordinary metal fork (only not aluminum) or with a knife with a curly blade. But these approaches can lead to damage to tools, and they do not guarantee high-quality removal of scales.

How to clean and cut pike perch correctly?

In order to quickly prepare the fish for heat treatment, not to stain the entire kitchen and not injure yourself, you should act according to the following scheme:

  • First, we remove all the fins of the pike perch, which are a source of danger. You can use sharp kitchen scissors or a knife to do this. In the second case, the elements are cut with a small amount of meat. In both cases, you need to work exclusively from yourself, from the tail to the head.
  • Next, you can start removing the scales using one of the above tools. It may take a long time to work, even if you use techniques that can facilitate the process. Zander scales are very dense, so you need to clean them all, otherwise there is a risk of spoiling the final result.
  • The scale removal procedure is best done in water. This is the only way to reduce the likelihood of contamination of the surrounding space and a strong spread of odors throughout the room. Some fishermen try to carry out all the stages already described in nature. This will certainly facilitate the process of working with the component already in the apartment, but will reduce its shelf life. Therefore, the technique should be used only if there are no more than 4-6 hours left before cooking.
  • It's time to clear the guts from the pike perch. To do this, we take the product in a non-working hand, turning it with its belly up and grabbing the gills with our thumb. With the other hand we take a knife, turned with the blade up. We hold the knife at a slight angle in relation to the carcass, pierce the skin between the gills and cut the belly, moving towards the tail. We make movements carefully so as not to pierce the internal organs of the fish.
  • We spread the resulting flaps to the sides and remove the insides, films, everything superfluous. If necessary, cut off the head, cut out the gills (this already depends on the characteristics of the recipe). We wash the carcass under running water, not only inside and outside. We evaluate the result obtained and, if necessary, repeat some manipulations. You do not need to remove the skin from the pike perch, in the process heat treatment it will become tender and edible.

The pike perch remains divided into its component parts and can be used for its intended purpose. Some housewives, even at the cleaning stage, try to remove bones from the carcass, but this is best done after the component has been brought to readiness.

Pike perch, like other river and sea inhabitants, has a strong and persistent aroma, which can hardly be called pleasant. To prevent it from eating into the skin of the hands, all manipulations should be carried out with thick rubber gloves. After cleaning is complete, hands should be washed with soap and water and sprinkled with cool water with the addition of lemon juice.

Fish is a unique product used to prepare dishes from various cuisines of the world. Among the representatives of the aquatic environment, the owner of the useful, with delicate taste meat - pike perch. Dishes made from it can become a highlight of any table and pleasantly surprise family members and guests. You can clean and cut a carcass in different ways.

Features and value of pike perch

Zander is a predatory freshwater representative of the perch family with an elongated sharp head and two dorsal fins with spiny processes on an elongated body. The fish has sharp, canine-like teeth on the jaws.

Pike perch is appreciated for its white, tender and not bony meat. Fish is a source of vitamins and minerals, an easily digestible protein. Pike perch meat contains a unique chemical composition, normalizing blood sugar levels, improving the condition of mucous membranes and skin, as well as preventing endocrine disorders, contributing to the prevention and treatment of nervous and cardiovascular diseases. Pike perch meat is dietary product, useful for people who are obese, sick or have had a disease.

In cooking, pike perch has found wide application for the preparation of various dishes.

The process of cleaning pike perch for those who have no experience and dexterity in this matter can be a difficult test. To clean pike perch, you can use a knife, special scrapers available on the market, a vegetable peeler with a longitudinal blade, or your own device using covers from glass bottles, or an old kitchen grater.

How to clean this fish

Before starting the process of cleaning the pike perch, using culinary scissors remove the thorny fins in order to avoid injuring the hands. If there are no scissors, use a sharp knife - in this case, remove the upper fins with a slight grip of the meat.

Pike perch can be cleaned on a cutting board, however, small scales will fly apart during cleaning, additional cleaning of the room will be required. To avoid this, we recommend cleaning the fish in a container with water - this can be a dishwasher or a bowl or basin of a suitable size. You can clean the pike perch by placing it in a tight bag, inside which the scales will remain.

The cleaning process can be greatly accelerated by using one of the following methods:

  • rub the fish with salt - the scaly cover will be freed from mucus, the carcass will not slip in your hands;
  • the fish can be doused with boiling water or dipped in boiling water, holding it by the tail - the scales will become softer and easy to clean. It is important not to overexpose the fish in boiling water, it will be possible to remove the scales at the same time as the skin.

How to gut a carcass

  1. Put the cleaned and washed fish on a cutting board or take it belly up in your hand. To avoid a persistent fishy smell, brush your hands and board with lemon juice.
  2. We make a longitudinal cut from the tail to the head, opening the belly of the fish.
  3. We carefully remove the insides without damaging the gallbladder - if its contents get on the meat, it will taste bitter. If the bladder ruptures, sprinkle the bile site with salt and scrape with a knife. If desired, separate the milk or caviar, as well as the fat enveloping the insides, for further cooking.
  4. We remove the black strip running along the center of the ridge inside the carcass, otherwise the meat will taste bitter.
  5. We wash the fish thoroughly.

How to cut into pieces or fillets at home

As a reminder, the fins are removed before cleaning.


Video: cleaning pike perch

Many people prefer to cut fish into fillets - more quick way cutting, which does not require cleaning the scales.

Preparing fresh fish fillets

  1. We make an incision along the head.
  2. We insert the knife into the incision and with short movements separate the pulp, sliding along the bone.
  3. Cut off the rib bones.
  4. Separate the fillet from the skin.
  5. We repeat the procedure on the other side.

The backbone remaining after cutting can be used to prepare fish soup or fish broth.

Video: filleting pike perch

Cleaning and cutting frozen carcasses

Some people prefer butchering frozen pike perch, a process similar to slicing frozen snapper.

  • We keep the fish under the belly, make longitudinal cuts from head to tail on both sides of the ridge.
  • We remove the upper fins.
  • We insert our fingers into the incisions between the skin and the meat and separate it, the skin of the pike perch is dense and quite easily separated.

    We recommend cleaning the fish with work gloves in order to avoid injury to your hands.

    Using the outlined tips and acquiring skills in cleaning and cutting pike perch, you can quickly cope with this procedure without spending much effort. Let the dishes from this delicious and useful fish will become a frequent guest at your table.