Fishing 101: Scales and Bones
Summer 20th 496 AV; 15th Bell; Age 10
"Alright son, are you ready?" Burt turned around to see if Ricky still paid attention, when he watched his son nod he then turned back to the two fish on the table. One was a sea bass, the other was a salmon. Both laid on a sheet of paper to keep the table from smelling of fish, and were going to be cut open in front of Ricky while his dad instructed him, as he believed it was definitely a good time for Ricky to learn how to do this. "Watch closely now.' His father said as he grabbed the knife next to the bass, he picked up the small wooden bucket he placed next to him and put it on the table. Ricky watched as his dad used the blunt end of the knife and scraped the scales, sending some flying while the rest went into the bucket. Each scrape noise that was made want him to cover his ears as he imagined the pain the fish had to feel, but then he remembered the fish had been dead now that it was out of the water long enough. Freshly caught by his own father, along with the salmon, to be their supper tonight.
"You scrape off the scales because?" Burt inquired to see if his son still paid attention, after all he didn't want the lesson he taught to be forgotten.
"They're not very edible." Ricky answered as his father flipped the fish, the other side now losing scales.
"That's my boy." Burt smiled as he picked up a faster motion, after about a chime passed he checked to see if the scales were off and showed it to Ricky. Completely clean and scale free.
"Now I'm gonna show you how to clean out the fish, and then fillet it." He remarked as he rested the bass on the paper, which he then scooted to the edge of the table and took a seat. After he placed the bucket between his knee's he took the tip of the knife, and cut it into the fish near the tail area. He made saw like motions to cut the meat of the Bass as the underbelly split in two, then pulled the knife out when he came close to the head area. Burt placed the knife on the table and held one hand on the top of the bass, while he used a pointed finger from the other to pull the innards out into the bucket.
Ricky thought he would've gotten sick as he heard the squishy splat that came when the innards hit the inside of the bucket. Surprisingly enough he didn't feel as sick about it as he believed he would, it was actually kind of cool to see all the innards that came out. 'So all this stuff keeps the fish alive, just like our innards do.' Burt made a couple more sweeps through the hollowed out fish to make sure he didn't miss anything, then laid it back down onto the sheet so he could put the bucket down. "What do we do about the bones when we cut them?" Burt inquired once more as he grabbed the knife once again.
"We take them out or else we could choke." He repeated with a grin, Burt didn't pause or look to Ricky but he too smiled when he heard the answer.
"That's right son." He took the tip of the knife and cut along the top of the bass where the spine would be, then when he nearly reached the head pulled it out once more. This time he took the knife and placed its edge behind the fin, and cut to the head while going inward this time. With a flip and repeated process the head of the fish was severed, but still remained intact with the rest of the fish. Burt then cut along the spine once more, this time inside the fish so he would seperate the meat from the majority of bones.
Two good sized fillet slices were made out of the bass as the head and spine were now completely seperated from the fish, as Burt and Ricky picked any left over bones that escaped into their dinner out. Once the two were sure the meat was picked clean, the salmon came next to be sliced. Burt started with the same process as before, but a little differently this time. Instead of cutting into the salmon's underbelly he cut at the side near the tail, he used the tip of the knife to seperate the meat of the salmon from its core area, the saw motion being replaced with quick cuts with the very tip of the blade. Finally when he came close to the head area it was the same thing he did with the bass, a inward cut in the direction towards the head as the slice of meat became free. "Why did I cut closer to the head?"
"There's more meat around there and it'd be a waste if it wasn't cut." Ricky repeated the words his dad told him before, Burt slid the paper with the salmon meat over to him.
"Very good son, clean the bones out of the fillet while I do the next one." Ricky nodded to show that he understood, as he rubbed his fingers along the meat to find shards of the skeleton in it. He didn't expect the process of skinning fish to be so thorough, but then again he did like it when he could eat his fish bone free.
After much search and picking the fish were finally done cut up and ready to be cooked, Ricky would have to remember this whole process very soon; as he would start scaling and gutting fish on his own.
Summer 20th 496 AV; 15th Bell; Age 10
"Alright son, are you ready?" Burt turned around to see if Ricky still paid attention, when he watched his son nod he then turned back to the two fish on the table. One was a sea bass, the other was a salmon. Both laid on a sheet of paper to keep the table from smelling of fish, and were going to be cut open in front of Ricky while his dad instructed him, as he believed it was definitely a good time for Ricky to learn how to do this. "Watch closely now.' His father said as he grabbed the knife next to the bass, he picked up the small wooden bucket he placed next to him and put it on the table. Ricky watched as his dad used the blunt end of the knife and scraped the scales, sending some flying while the rest went into the bucket. Each scrape noise that was made want him to cover his ears as he imagined the pain the fish had to feel, but then he remembered the fish had been dead now that it was out of the water long enough. Freshly caught by his own father, along with the salmon, to be their supper tonight.
"You scrape off the scales because?" Burt inquired to see if his son still paid attention, after all he didn't want the lesson he taught to be forgotten.
"They're not very edible." Ricky answered as his father flipped the fish, the other side now losing scales.
"That's my boy." Burt smiled as he picked up a faster motion, after about a chime passed he checked to see if the scales were off and showed it to Ricky. Completely clean and scale free.
"Now I'm gonna show you how to clean out the fish, and then fillet it." He remarked as he rested the bass on the paper, which he then scooted to the edge of the table and took a seat. After he placed the bucket between his knee's he took the tip of the knife, and cut it into the fish near the tail area. He made saw like motions to cut the meat of the Bass as the underbelly split in two, then pulled the knife out when he came close to the head area. Burt placed the knife on the table and held one hand on the top of the bass, while he used a pointed finger from the other to pull the innards out into the bucket.
Ricky thought he would've gotten sick as he heard the squishy splat that came when the innards hit the inside of the bucket. Surprisingly enough he didn't feel as sick about it as he believed he would, it was actually kind of cool to see all the innards that came out. 'So all this stuff keeps the fish alive, just like our innards do.' Burt made a couple more sweeps through the hollowed out fish to make sure he didn't miss anything, then laid it back down onto the sheet so he could put the bucket down. "What do we do about the bones when we cut them?" Burt inquired once more as he grabbed the knife once again.
"We take them out or else we could choke." He repeated with a grin, Burt didn't pause or look to Ricky but he too smiled when he heard the answer.
"That's right son." He took the tip of the knife and cut along the top of the bass where the spine would be, then when he nearly reached the head pulled it out once more. This time he took the knife and placed its edge behind the fin, and cut to the head while going inward this time. With a flip and repeated process the head of the fish was severed, but still remained intact with the rest of the fish. Burt then cut along the spine once more, this time inside the fish so he would seperate the meat from the majority of bones.
Two good sized fillet slices were made out of the bass as the head and spine were now completely seperated from the fish, as Burt and Ricky picked any left over bones that escaped into their dinner out. Once the two were sure the meat was picked clean, the salmon came next to be sliced. Burt started with the same process as before, but a little differently this time. Instead of cutting into the salmon's underbelly he cut at the side near the tail, he used the tip of the knife to seperate the meat of the salmon from its core area, the saw motion being replaced with quick cuts with the very tip of the blade. Finally when he came close to the head area it was the same thing he did with the bass, a inward cut in the direction towards the head as the slice of meat became free. "Why did I cut closer to the head?"
"There's more meat around there and it'd be a waste if it wasn't cut." Ricky repeated the words his dad told him before, Burt slid the paper with the salmon meat over to him.
"Very good son, clean the bones out of the fillet while I do the next one." Ricky nodded to show that he understood, as he rubbed his fingers along the meat to find shards of the skeleton in it. He didn't expect the process of skinning fish to be so thorough, but then again he did like it when he could eat his fish bone free.
After much search and picking the fish were finally done cut up and ready to be cooked, Ricky would have to remember this whole process very soon; as he would start scaling and gutting fish on his own.
