Bones in fish

[Maverick2272]

Um, OK I need to go on a fishing trip next summer!!! Walleye, Sunfish, Bluegill... all yum yum yum!
Trout, Bass, catfish, Perch...... I could on forever! But the question was about bones. Yea it can be a pain (and man it hurts to get one stuck in your throat!), but if the fish monger is good, or you are, you can pretty much get most of em out. Dad always filleted his by cutting down just behind the gill, then slowly and carefully following the spine down to the tail. This almost always resulted in little to no bones in the fillet.

 

[AMSeccia]

Not sure where in MN you are, but you should have access to some great perch in that Land of How Many Lakes (!!), which should be relatively bone-free if properly butterflied. Blue Gill too ... but probably harder to find for sale. Pollack (dirt cheap), cod, haddock, halibut, orange roughy, flounder (all frozen) are all bone-free. Tilapia is another one, but that is a farmed fish (not wild caught) and can taste muddy because of how it's raised. You can cure that by soaking in buttermilk (got that tip from Cooks Illustrated). If near the Twin Cities, they have a Festival Foods (as do we) and Tilapia is frequently on sale for $3/lb there. I am originally from MI and live in WI, and we have access to Great Lakes whitefish, which CAN have some bones, but less toward the tail (however, they're easier to see toward the center of a filet because of size). It really is the nature of the beast, I guess.

 

[AMSeccia]

Holy cooler full o'fish JoeV! I am so jealous!

 

[gadzooks]

"Everyone cooking fish should be proficient in the knowledge of cleaning fish..." - JoeV

My ex-wife would've said "everyone CATCHING fish should be proficient in the knowledge of cleaning fish."

 

[Erinny]

I know this sounds stupid but when I debone fish I catch I use a super-fine flea comb. My grandfather did too and we never had a problem with bones very much at all, even on catfish.

 

[Maverick2272]

"Everyone cooking fish should be proficient in the knowledge of cleaning fish..." - JoeV

My ex-wife would've said "everyone CATCHING fish should be proficient in the knowledge of cleaning fish."

What about "everyone proficient in eating fish should also be proficient in cleaning said fish..." LOL.

 

[buckytom]

I know this sounds stupid but when I debone fish I catch I use a super-fine flea comb. My grandfather did too and we never had a problem with bones very much at all, even on catfish.

the problem is wrestling one away from one of those super fine fleas, with all of their bling and threads...

 

[Leolady]

What about "everyone proficient in eating fish should also be proficient in cleaning said fish..." LOL.

This is the right answer! I catch fish. I don't eat or clean them.

Carp doesn't have any bones to speak of......

 

[AllenOK]

I'm the person that usually cuts the fish where I work.

And yes, I fish for both sport and food for my family. I can clean what I catch. Run a search on "Flathead catfish" plus my handle, and you should hit on a thread I started back in October or September. I had caught my first (and so far, only) flathead, and was remarking on how different it was from the channel and blue cats that I normally catch.

I'm hoping that soon I'll be able to get out fishing again (once things settle down here at home), and can hook a few stripers (a.k.a. rockfish) at the spot I normally fish at. There's some big'uns in there!

 

[AlanS2323]

All fish have bones. There are some that the bones are so small, that when cooked, can be eaten. Salmon is one.

I bought several filets of large salmon from Pike Place market in Seattle the other week and there were bones everywhere. I have very little fish, so I'm not sure if I got the wrong cut or what, but these bones were not edible at all.

 

[ChefJune]

Okay, that might have been a stupid question. I mean, which fish have bones that are small enough to eat or which fish, bought in filets, are usually boneless or with really small bones?

Or suggestions for eating more fish without having to deal with bones.

Thanks!

If you are buying fillets from a reputable fish market, they will have removed the most prominent of the bones. The fish section at the grocery store, not so much. However, if you get yourself a pair if tweezers that you don't use for anything else, you can remove those bones yourself before you cook the fish. Place the fillet on a flat surface (like a clean chopping board) and run your fingers over the top of the fillet. Most bones will protrude from the top of the fish and you can grasp them with the tweezers and pull them out. It's really very easy to do.

Otherwise, you can eat shrimp, scallops, and other shellfish whose "bones" are removed either before you get them, or the shells are so obvious as to be super-easy to remove.