I was thinking it might be a good idea to add a new area to the forum that deals with handing fish after you get it home.
Or even, how to transport it home.
At the moment for example, I am looking to find out what is the best way to thaw out the fish to make sure it doesn't end up with that strong odour.
Also, what is a good recipe to BBQ bass.
Cheers
The regulations has a section on transporting fish home. They have to be dead (no live fish transport). You can either keep them whole or gutted. If the fish are fillet, you have to leave a section of skin on, at the minimum, so the species and size can be identified.
Do we really need a section to tell people to ice their fish from the fishing location to home?
I assume you don't want a fishy smell when the fish is defrosting. I don't think there is a way around it...except bag, double bag and triple bag. And even then...you could still smell it. Another option is to vacuum pack and seal. Make sure all the slime, juices and smell stays in the package.
I have never BBQ bass...only steamed, or cooked on stick over a camp fire.
No, what I mean is, gutting the fish etc.
I'm thinking, it's best to clean the fish (gut it) before transporting it, but some might argue differently.
Also, you will be surprised how many people do not bother reading the regulations, my guess would be over 80% of the population.
I know what the regulation is regarding the transporting it home, but that was written to allow officers to recognize the type of fish and also, prevent spreading any bacteria that might be harmless in one body of water but not another.
You would be correct, I am trying to avoid the fishy smell, but to me that has to do with how fresh the fish is, no matter how many bags you use, you will get that smell once it unfreezes.
To me, cooking fish over camp fire is same as BBQ, it is an open flame, not cooked in a pan with oil or boiled/steamed etc.
Did you use any kind of spices with that? Ideally, I like to stuff the bass and cook it on my grill, my son caught a good size bass on the weekend, he is excited to cook it and I really don't want to mess it up for him. He's 10 and it's his first fish of a good size worth keeping and not releasing.
If you keep the fish cold, it doesn't matter if you keep it whole or gut it first. Bleed the fish immediate does improve the taste a bit though, and getting rid of the blood helps to preserve the quality of fish much longer. Just cut the gill and let the fish bleed out.
You are right. The fresher the fish, the less the smell. Unfortunately, the fishy smell comes from proteins that are degraded (broken down) after death, and from the freezing process too. There's little you can do except eat the fish fresh...or keep a box of baking soda in the fridge with some extra lemons or limes for good measure.
When we're camping, we just keep it simple. Cook it on the fire, then add a bit of salt if necessary. We don't even bother with any spices. But if you are doing it on the BBQ, you can always try lemon pepper. Bass is white flesh and the flesh can be sweet. It takes on the flavour of whatever spices you used. I did cook a Smallmouth Bass once on a campfire, in a pan, with pesto sauce and it turned out pretty good.
Be warned though...sometimes fish that came from weedy, shallow water like Bass, can taste a bit muddy. It's for that reason I don't keep Bass most of the time unless we're camping or if the bass is caught from cold water in the fall (or Smallmouth from deeper lakes up north).
It's an interesting topic, but it doesn't need a subforum of it's own. It's a discussion, not a whole category of discussion. Ideally you'd start a thread about it on the General Discussion forum. Maybe the mods can move this thread there.
(08-25-2016 11:03 PM)MuskieBait Wrote: [ -> ]If you keep the fish cold, it doesn't matter if you keep it whole or gut it first. Bleed the fish immediate does improve the taste a bit though, and getting rid of the blood helps to preserve the quality of fish much longer. Just cut the gill and let the fish bleed out.
You are right. The fresher the fish, the less the smell. Unfortunately, the fishy smell comes from proteins that are degraded (broken down) after death, and from the freezing process too. There's little you can do except eat the fish fresh...or keep a box of baking soda in the fridge with some extra lemons or limes for good measure.
When we're camping, we just keep it simple. Cook it on the fire, then add a bit of salt if necessary. We don't even bother with any spices. But if you are doing it on the BBQ, you can always try lemon pepper. Bass is white flesh and the flesh can be sweet. It takes on the flavour of whatever spices you used. I did cook a Smallmouth Bass once on a campfire, in a pan, with pesto sauce and it turned out pretty good.
Be warned though...sometimes fish that came from weedy, shallow water like Bass, can taste a bit muddy. It's for that reason I don't keep Bass most of the time unless we're camping or if the bass is caught from cold water in the fall (or Smallmouth from deeper lakes up north).
Very informative, thank you