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Cleaning
Crappies Made Easy...
Ever struggled with
cleaning crappies? I have. Well, I'm going to share with
you, what my friend Jay Pruette shared with me.
A few years ago
my buddy Jay bet me that he could fillet a Crappie in
less than 20 seconds. Having cleaned literally thousands
of the little buggers myself I could not resist the bet.
I knew that it would take me a minimum of one minute to
clean a Crappie even with a very good fillet knife. So we
wagered a traditional bottle of 12 year old George Dickel.
Give ya' one guess what happened. You got it, he cleaned
that fish in about 15 seconds flat wasting no meat. Can
you believe he had the nerve to go for double or nothing?
- He said he could fillet a minnow. After watching him go
at that Crappie I figured it was a sucker bet.
Needless to say I
have been cleaning Crappies his way ever since.
First catch some
crappies. No easy task, I know. But like cleaning 'em,
catchin' 'em requires some practice too.
Actually, this
technique will work on most fish, so experiment. Go in
the kitchen and get your electric knife. If it's not one
with a trigger on the bottom, put it back where you found
it. The beating you will take for using the wrong kind of
knife will not be worth it, trust me. Go to Wal Mart and
get yourself a brand X electric carving knife. Just make
sure it has a trigger on the bottom, not a push button
operated by your thumb. The knife I use cost me a
whopping $9. No need to get the best one. I do not
recommend the DC powered fillet knives. We all keep one
in the boat for shore lunches. But when you are going to
clean a bunch of fish you will appreciate the power of
the AC knife. Besides, the DC knives are big and hard to
handle.
Ok here goes.
Follow along with the photo's...
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1) Do not scale the Crappie! This is not necessary when
using this technique. Start the knife in just behind the
gill plate and fin. Cut in until you feel the backbone.
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2) Be careful! The
knife will go right through the tender bones of the fish.
You will need to practice on a few to get the feel for it.
As soon as you feel the back bone, turn the knife blade
towards the tail of the fish. |
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3)
Run the blade along the backbone, being careful to keep
the blade as close to the backbone as you can. You don't
want to waste any of the meat. Stop! Just before you get
to the tail of the fish, stop the blade of the knife.
Flip the fillet, skin, scales and all, over. |
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4) Start the blade
of the knife in between the meat of the fish and the skin.
Run the blade of the knife all the way back to the end of
the fillet.
Now you have the
fillet separated from the skin.
5)
Cut the rib cage out. Get rid of the little bits of fin
muscle and sinew. |
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And there you
have it. A perfect boneless fillet.
Repeat on the
other side. Keep going' on the rest of your catch.
After a few tries,
you will be able to whip through a mess of fish in no
time.
Another cool part
of this cleaning technique is all the scraps stay attached
to the carcass of the fish. Bones, guts, head everything
stays together.
Freezing
Your Catch...
When you freeze fish make sure you
have cleaned and rinsed them well. If your tap water is
not of superior quality do not use it for freezing your
fish. All the nasties in the water will absorb into the
fish. You catch will taste like the water it's frozen in.
Another good tip is to make sure you get all the air out
of the freezer bag. A good way to do this is to put as
many fillets as you will eat in a normal meal in a
freezer bag. Do this part in the sink. Overfill the bag
with water. How do you do that? - Just fill it until it
won't hold any more water! Then start to zip it shut. The
excess water will run out, with no air left in the bag.
It might take a
try or two - but believe me it works.
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Make your own
structure!
Pallet Example
Get a hardwood pallet. Cut the slats off the top and
bottom. Leave the frame or outside boards intact. Nail or screw the
slats back on the frame in a vertical position. Tie a cinder block
to the middle and sink it in 20 feet of water. Put two or three in a
spot and you'll have a perfect "Crappie Condo
Complex".
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