pollock

I was told that if you are going to keep some pollock to eat,you have to gut them immediately when you catch them. I was not given any reason for this.Is this true?

iv often had them in the boat for a day then gutted them on the way back to harbour, aint killed me yet! dont see how it could be that bad once there kept cool...

like all fish the quicker they are gutted the better they will be for eating

thanks nialler-immunecfg for your help on this . :wink:

i left some fillets in the fridge overnight in a binliner, well, you didnt need to open the door next day, smelt awful, i think the trouble was they were caught on the rocks durin a hot previous day and that maybe done for them, do you think a few ice blocks is essential for storage on the rocks? i thought they wouldve kept for a few hours any ways

i left some fillets in the fridge overnight in a binliner, well, you didnt need to open the door next day, smelt awful, i think the trouble was they were caught on the rocks durin a hot previous day and that maybe done for them, do you think a few ice blocks is essential for storage on the rocks? i thought they wouldve kept for a few hours any ways

Dont know about ice blocks, but i dont think the binliner would have helped, i hate to see plastic bags in a fringe, when i have fish in fridge i always wrap them in cling on a plate keeps them nice and fresh. Id say they were half cooked already lying on the sun baked rocks.

This is why pollock get such a bad name, we just dont care for them as well as we do premium fish. If it goes into rigor mortis and then relaxes, the flesh is already mush.

I've started taking a cool bag with me on the advice of Hugh Fearnly Whittingstal in his 'Fish' book, and it really does make a difference.

If you want it top quality, kill it, snip the gills, bleed it out, gut it and put it on ice / in a cool bag with freeze blocks. Plastic / binliner really helps decomosition.

FWIW, pollock I treat this way are delicious, as are most fish.

have to agree with pollocKing. If they are looked after properly they are fine, not sure about delicious but better than chicken fillets.

How about filleting it there and then on the boat?
Make any difference or are you better leave the 'ugly' bits on till your ready to cook? :)

Hello,
If you fillet too quickly (i.e. before rigor mortis) then the fillet will shrink a lot (not so good).
Gut straight away but don't fillet too quickly

Blackie

I've started taking a cool bag with me on the advice of Hugh Fearnly Whittingstal in his 'Fish' book, and it really does make a difference.

This is a *really* excellent book and I couldn't recommend it highly enough to anyone into cooking & gaining more knowledge of fish. I bought it about 3 months back and have followed at least 15 recipes from it since as well as reading practically the whole book at this stage. Its not simply a cookbook but offers much information on most of the sea species as well as in-depth info. on filleting, smoking, barbeque'ing etc...

Yep. Its a book I know I'm going to refer to for the rest of my life.

I've started taking a cool bag with me on the advice of Hugh Fearnly Whittingstal in his 'Fish' book, and it really does make a difference.

totally agree with you pollocking, a cool bag not only keeps your bait fresh, it keeps a few for the pot fresh till you get home, and they are not expensive, i got a good sized one in Asta for only £1.20 8)

i really can't get the reason why pollock is regarded a inferior fish if cooked right it is tasty in its own right.....anyhow people have long been getting pollock served as their fish and chips.....

Some people form this opinion because it's simply a bottom feeding fish (Hence the 'extra' smell when you gut them!!).
Like mullet, people think it just eats sh*te and therefore its classed as inferior.

Re: that book above;
The biggest difficulty I always have with filleting (sorry if this is slightly off topic :? ) is successfully removing all the bones. I'm relatively new to filleting and tend to watch a video on youtube before I do it :roll: , depending on what species it is. I personally cannot enjoy a fish on my plate with bones - and if I find one, it spoils the whole meal for me.
As I've learned over time, different species have different bone structures and in different places etc. - does this book explain how to fillet each individual species & debone?

@Security man

The book does have a pretty good section on filleting but I wouldn't say it is so specific as describing how to fillet each particular species. It does separate out some different types though - filleting flat fish, filleting fish with bony fins (eg. bream), etc. I find it very good but like anything filleting is a matter of practice - learning from previous attempts while using book / youtube videos as a reference.

That sounds pretty OTT though about a meal being ruined for you if you find a bone in your fillet!

One reason why it's good to gut the fish as soon as possible is because of the presence of the roundworm/nematodes in the gut. For some reason Pollock are very prone to these worms and once the fish is dead for a length of time the worm migrates out of the fish, mostly through the digestive tract but sometimes through the flesh.

And this is where the danger is. These worms can live in humans but I've read somewhere that even digesting well cooked fish can cause an allergic reaction in people. And if you eat undercooked or raw fish with the little b*st*rd in it then it can penetrate the gut wall causing pain and various other symptoms. Your system will eventually kill the parasite but best to avoid it.

There was a case in Dublin some time back where a guy bought some fish in Howth for home-made sushi but also accepted a small pollock from a guy on the pier. He was treated in on of the hospitals for the infection some days later.

Sorry if this causes concern for people but better to know than not know. I've caught and eaten fish for 40 years and never been unwell from it. Clean fish as soon as you can and you'll be grand.

slowarm, thanx 4 da heads up. ill be makin sure i gut wen i catch from now on.
cheers wayne

I'm a complete newbie so I might be wrong on this, but another reason I've heard is to check the stomach contents to see what they've been eating. Obviously your bait/lure has just worked so you don't 'need' to switch, but maybe you could do better.

Maybe the reason it was mentioned for fish you are taking to eat is because you can't really do it with one you're going to throw back :)

One reason why it's good to gut the fish as soon as possible is because of the presence of the roundworm/nematodes in the gut. For some reason Pollock are very prone to these worms and once the fish is dead for a length of time the worm migrates out of the fish, mostly through the digestive tract but sometimes through the flesh.

And this is where the danger is. These worms can live in humans but I've read somewhere that even digesting well cooked fish can cause an allergic reaction in people. And if you eat undercooked or raw fish with the little b*st*rd in it then it can penetrate the gut wall causing pain and various other symptoms. Your system will eventually kill the parasite but best to avoid it.

There was a case in Dublin some time back where a guy bought some fish in Howth for home-made sushi but also accepted a small pollock from a guy on the pier. He was treated in on of the hospitals for the infection some days later.

Sorry if this causes concern for people but better to know than not know. I've caught and eaten fish for 40 years and never been unwell from it. Clean fish as soon as you can and you'll be grand.

:shock: Now im glad i asked this question, thanks for all the helpful answers :wink: