Thread: Removing Strong Fishy Taste

As Hunter7711 said all trophy class fish go back..Have tried bass and walleye ..too strong a taste for the wife...Have tried Buttermilk never italian dressing...Have soaked deer steaks in italian dressing to remove some of the wild...Saw a recipe where they made a mustard rub and I did not like the looks of it..Assumed it had a mustard taste..Not for me...JIM...CL....

I catch a few salmon up in Canada on a yearly trip up there. I don't particularly care for salmon because of their strong oily meat and the only way I'll eat them is with a pancake batter mixed with a can of 7-up soda. I cut up the fish into chunks, dip in the pancake mix, deep fry, and put ketchup on them. No strong fish taste at all. Ya might try that with large cats. The 7-up seems to neutralize the strong oily taste.

For bream, that's about the only fish I keep and eat, after you fillet, place in a bowl of water and pour in a capfull or so of white vinegar. Refrigerate overnight. The next day the fillets will have turned white and firmed up. They taste great with no fishy taste.

Originally Posted by brimeater

For bream, that's about the only fish I keep and eat, after you fillet, place in a bowl of water and pour in a capfull or so of white vinegar. Refrigerate overnight. The next day the fillets will have turned white and firmed up. They taste great with no fishy taste.

Are you talking about using this method for Bluegill? I have never had a strong tasting Bluegill in my life. I find it to be one of the most preferred fishes to eat by nearly everyone. Maybe I am misunderstanding the post.....I still would like to know if anyone has tried your method...or any other method, on White Bass, or Yellow Bass..Sand Bass...same thing. Do you think your method will remove the red from a White Bass and or Yellow Bass. The meat is delicious if you cut the red part away but it is a lot of work and on the Yellow Bass they are so small anyway it is not worth the time to cut out the red.


Regards

We use to have a Super Bowl Fish fry and all would bring fish day or two before. Well you know some people don,t take care of there fish. Some freezer burnt, some not frozen in water, some just wanted to clean our there freezer. We always trimmed the freezer burnt part or dark blood line of fish But what always worked for us is to put about 1/4 cup mustard and one cup Beer or more mixed together, seasoned with seasoned salt, lots of Garlic powder mix seasoned fish with Beer and Mustard mix pack in gallon or quart freezer bag for at least 4 to 6 hours . Day before in refrigerator works best but can put in refrigerator for two days. No one could tell difference between old and fresh fish. Always a sucessful fun enjoyable fish fry. Cooking at right temp makes a difference also

the best way I have found to remove the fishy taste on any fish is to cut the fat off and the dark meat.. rince all blood off of the fish and any slimy stuff you find on the fish.. then soak for a while in salt water...when freazing your fish put in a baggie and cover with tap water... burp the bag and freaze flat (prevents freazer burn).. thaw and then soak in buttermilk for 1 hour or more... the lactose in the milk will break down any sent left on the fish... I always add a few teaspoons of hot sauce to my buttermilk marinade... I do the same thing for chicken drum sticks!...then bread and fry!

Try buttermilk and ranch dressing together

I cut off all the red flesh and soaked the fish over night in ginger ale. There was no fishy taste at all. I used Zataran's fish coating and it was awesome. Thanks for the idea of using soda. I would have never thought of that. My fish didn't taste like ginger ale or have a sweetness to them and they didn't get squishy.

I did not intend to soak them that long it just turned out that way.

I freeze any fish I do like someone else said is totally cover the fish in water in a freezer bag then add a teaspoon or so of kosher salt while freezing that keeps the meat from getting mushy, and freezer burn.
Then when cooking we always ad some crystal hot sauce to the milk and egg , it gives just a very little extra flavor but I think the viniger in the hot sauce helps out on fishy taste , but specks are usually just egg and milk with cornmeal and a little all pourpose flour and golden brown them little suckers.. Cant been specks for eatin, I do a lot of snook and grouper fishing and I still prefer the specks over both..Guess cause I was raised eating specks and white bass from the Dale hollow lake in Tennessee.
And I dont keep a fish that I have to work at to make taste good either unless you concider brining for smoking fish , I love smoked spanish or cero mackeral when they run down here in Fla.
And ALWAYS cut out the mud vein ( except specks )
Gary

Don't just remove the blood line, but the whole skin side. I do this:

Fillet the side of the cat per usual.

Now, look at the fillet, skin side up (skin should be removed by now), see that seam going from tail to head? Split that seam, all the way from end to end.

Cut those two pieces into about 3-5" pieces top to bottom.

Now to remove the taste. Put the pieces skin side down, thick part facing you, see where the fat changes into good meat? You need to press that fillet down lightly, using a normal or electric knife, fillet that part off. On a big cat you may need to remove 3/16-1/4" of meat to get rid of the fat. I use this technique even on smaller channels, just don't have to remove much, more of a shaving except the chunk right where you split the fillet. Smaller fish is more of a wedge cut instead of actually filleting the side off.

In the end it seems you're wasting a bunch of meat, but you are creating magic. That resultant fillet of fish is delicious.

I have family and friends that swear they can't eat anything other than crappie or like tasting fish... they have eaten a meal of my cat not knowing the difference other than mentioning the size/shape. I repeatedly ask, "how's the fish".... then tell them. 100% cat. Now, I have plenty of folks that love cat, if I clean it.