I am not very cultured, but I would like to be. On my quest in that front, I have run into difficulties with whole fish. How are you supposed to eat this shit? Is the skin edible? How do I know what to eat, and where do I start? How do I prepare one of these for someone else to eat? Any suggestions are welcome, even the gentleman that tells people to "cram it (in their butt)"! Please help, as the /ck/ cookout is coming up and I don't want to be a failure.

>>21482129 (OP)
>picture of cooked fish with skin on
>'is the skin edible?????'

>>21482129 (OP)
Buy a smoked mackerel and tear into it with a knife and fork, get a feel for the positioning of the bones and how to easily remove them etc. People can tell you a million different ways to eat a fish but you have to have your fingers memorize the animal to truly understand.

>How are you supposed to eat
with your mouth silly
>Is the skin edible
yes, and depending on preperation can be one of the best parts
>How do I know what to eat
everything on a cooked and gutted fish is edible (besides the skeleton, although, you can and on smaller fish the bones really aren't a problem), including the fins, if grilled properly they become crispy and can be really good
>where do I start
pick up knife and fork, eat fish, or use your fingers if socially acceptable
> How do I prepare one of these for someone else to eat
depends on the fish, there are milions of ways, i prefer grilled, or if i have a whole smoked mackerel i just wrap it in foil with a lot of butter, lemon and dill, on the grill for like 10/15minutes

again, it can also be species specific, a lot of people dont really like fresh water fish, for some reason, personally, as an avid fisherman, i love em, although pike can be annoying to fillet, so i usually just gut them, skin them and throw them in a blender bones and all, makes really good fish cakes

>>21482129 (OP)
You slide the meat off the bones on each side of the fish.

>>21482129 (OP)
let the pros teach you

>>21482129 (OP)
I bought a bag of frozen 'croaker'. I have no idea what to make with them. I'm sure the Asian people who buy them make awesome shit but they won't share their secrets because I don't know them.
Croaker. Anyone?

>>21482129 (OP)
Crispy skin is delicious. As per above but without chopsticks, pick up the tail of a plated fish and gently pull upwards towards the head. On a perfectly cooked fish the flesh should just flake off. If it's overcooked or particulary firm fleshed it might take a bit of gentle persuasion.

Most of the head, cheeks, eyeballs, brain are edible and delicious. I just chew the lot. You can also chew the skeleton or deep-fry to make it crispy. Same thing with the tail and fins. Sometimes I cut them off and give them a head-start in the pan. By the time the fish cooks they become crispy like chips.

>>21482239
>so not the best for first dates.
certified incel fish, good luck

>>21482129 (OP)
>How do I prepare one of these for someone else to eat?
A la meunière is the easiest way. Drench in flour, fry in butter, season with salt and pepper, then pour some brown butter over the fish and sprinkle with parsley and lemon juice.

>>21482230
Not sure what kind of fish that is but I have never had a fish that didn't disintegrate into flakes and broken bones the moment you touched it. Does it have to be prepared a certain way to be eaten like this?

>>21482250
>disintegrate into flakes and broken bones the moment you touched it
what kind of trash tier quality fish have you been eating? or do you have cerebral palsy shaking it apart when you try to eat?

Depends on the fish.
Typically you remove the scales by scraping a knife from tail to head, then you slice the belly and remove the guts. You can cook as is then tail and head are garbage and you need to be wary of bones as they can be small and get stuck in your throat.

>>21482129 (OP)
First, check if you have to remove the scales. If you do, take a board, place the fish in it, go somewhere where you can make a mess, and use the blunt side of a big knife to scale it.

Then, à la meunière like >>21482246 said is good, or simply throw it in the oven on a plate with some olive oil on it.


>How do I know what to eat
Usually yes, check it beforehand
>How do I know what to eat, and where do I start?
Slice it along it's back, and try to remove the meat delicately to get it boneless. You won't succeede at first. Then use your fingers to get as much of the good stuff as you can. Anything below the head is good, and you can get some good bits on the head.

Then once you're familiar with it's anatomy you can try your hand at fileting it.

>>21482129 (OP)
I eat whole fish pretty often (asian) firstly before its cooked its scaled and gutted meaning everything thats there can be eaten. then you just go in with chopsticks preferably (easier to pick around the bones) and eat the whole midsection first, and then the cheek (the best meat is in the cheek) and eyeball of that side. then you can just flip the fish around and repeat the same process and clean up any other bits. Other than the head which still will have some stuff here and there the rest of the fish should be pretty much a pure skeleton when you're done but if its cooked correctly all the meat should fall off the bones just as you grab it to eat. i always eat it with rice but likely in other cultures you eat it with other stuff.

>>21482240
You just reminded me of a Japanese restaurant I went to a couple years ago where after eating a steamed fish they took the bones and deep fried them so we could eat the whole thing (picrel). god this shit was delicious

i had ray once, not really a fan, it was kind of neat i guess

>>21482884
It is great dredged in cornmeal and deep fried. Guess it depends what kind of ray though.

>>21482905
>It is great dredged in cornmeal and deep fried
anything can become edible when deep fried

>>21482230
so this is the power of chopsticks???

>>21482212
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqOOEWjXw7c&t=13s

I'm baking a huge mackerel in the oven as we speak. Some olive oil, white wine, salt/pep - maybe some dry oregano.

You can also shallow fry some white fish or whatever.

Cut the head off, fillet the fish, throw the bones and head in the trash, then cook and eat while 3rd worlders seethe.

>>21482230
it's still full of bones

Gut, descale, clean, and season the fish, then cut a bunch of spicy peppers, sliced tomato, bell pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro. Sear the fish then use the same pan to saute vegetables. Add tomato paste and water or broth to create the sauce, then place the fish back in. Usually you eat it with a fork but I prefer my fingers because it's easier to pick out the bones and meat in hard to reach areas like the cheek. If you marinade the fish for a few days it tastes even better. Usually this is eaten with rice

>>21484419
I remember when I cooked mackerel for the first time. I bought it because the store ran out of the typical fish I use. The meat was super fatty, bloody, and fishy. Tasted good, maybe I should fry the rest like what you did in your picrel

>>21482150
Do you eat the fucking bones in your meat?

>>21482150
Well, is it?

>>21482152
>People can tell you a million different ways to eat a fish but you have to have your fingers memorize the animal to truly understand.
This is the best board

I love this thread

>>21482240
when i was a young pudding, dad used to fry up the fins when we were having fish dinners

I'll be there in five

>>21486005
ever had fried anchovies? They're like popcorn

>>21485304
Based fish fondling enjoyer

>>21482129 (OP)
Few ways
>prepared and seared as shown in picture
>fillet with skin on
>fillet and remove skin (tho you went to the trouble of buying a whole fish so leave skin on)
>bones can be deep fried and eaten
>fish can be chopped up and cooked in soup
>chinese fish soup (think it's called milky or white fish soup tho no dairy)
>deep fried
Lot a ways, be creative. Different results with different fish, go with popular types and you should be fine. If fuck up and overcook, add more sauce until palatable.

>>21486011
>iwillnowproceedtopleasuremyselfwiththisfish.jpg

>>21486010
never had the pleasure of trying
looks very snacky

>>21486040
look for them at your local asian/international market. Look for bags of dried anchovy or 'dilis'. All you need to do is fry them in oil, season to taste. Prior to cooking they keep well frozen

>>21486010
>>21486040
>>21486157
i always get them when I'm in France or Greece, PEAK beer snack.

>>21482150
heckin cute pupperino
koff koff koff koff koff

>>21485191
Yeah, mackerel is one of the fattiest fish, it's one of the fish that have the most omega 3 fatty acids.
A lot of people don't but I like really like it.
Picrel>>21484419
is Haddock not mackerel. Fried mackerel is real heavy.

>>21485199
Yes.
Deens

>>21482129 (OP)
>How are you supposed to eat this shit?
You either filet it beforehand, or you do so as you eat it.
Generally speaking you want to remove the side fins, cut behind the gills, then move along the spine to the tailfin. Depending on the fish, there's additional places to look for fish bones, but that gets rid of the main part of the skeleton.
>Is the skin edible?
Yes and usually very flavorful, as that's where many fish varieties store a bit more fat. But some people prefer to eat the fish without the skin, so that's fine too.
>How do I know what to eat
Skip the head and anything that's tough in your mouth (fins, bones). Everything else you can eat (assuming organs are removed, which most bought fish will already have done for you)
>and where do I start
At the side that's facing you. Look up a video on how to filet a cooked fish it's not hard.
>How do I prepare one of these for someone else to eat
Rub with oil, put flavorful stuff in the belly (usually herbs, lemon and salt. You can add the cuts in your op pic to the skin if you want to appear fancy, I prefer not to. Then into the oven or onto the grill it goes, simple as.

>>21484392
What a show of misinformation, unsafe cooking temperature and poor hygiene!

Mackerels are also predatory fish. He said that they aren't. Most fish are predatory.

>Almost all wild salmon have parasites.

>You can't cook away "fresh salmon" parasites with his pathetic 40*c.

>If you want to cook at low temperature, then your salmon/ tuna/ other fish needs to be properly frozen to kill off parasites.

Also that guy was incredibly unhygienic.

> Reference: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/anisakiasis/faqs.html

>>21486010
those are burnt,dry and chewy.

>>21485199
depends, if I can crunch it I swallows

>>21486366
did you eat them?

>>21487192
no but I fry anchovies often and know what they are like when they look like that.

>>21485199
dis nigga never had osso buco

Grilled mackerel is perhaps the best fish dish there is. IDK what's confusing about eating it, just take off chunks of meat and remove any bones you see. If you get a bone in your mouth, take it out. That's it.
Also have it with some rice.

>>21487200
>know what they are like
no, you know what they are like when YOU fuck up cooking them

>>21482129 (OP)
You need sauces and make sure the fish is not dry then you hit it a bit with the spicy sauce, keep chewing, bite on a piece of lemon , keep chewing
drop some more pepper , keep chewing, hit the garlic sauce , keep chewing, go back to the lemon , keep chewing, eat some raw parsley leaves , keep chewing, drink some extra dry wine , keep chewing, now you're getting closer to satiation so go easy on the bread, keep chewing but do it slower, now focus so you can drop a burp to make more room and keep quaffing wine to make your stomach less sensitive to satiation , keep chewing, never stop chewing cause once yo do your body goes into digestion mode and don't talk cause you might swallow some air too.

GOOD LUCK!

>>21487474
>How do I know what to eat, and where do I start? How do I prepare one of these for someone else to eat?
Depends on the fish, generally if fresh it's best grilled and you can eat it whole, head included.

>>21482129 (OP)
Like a cartoon cat

>>21482150
Not even cooldog would eat the tail fin

>>21482129 (OP)
God I hate northern yuppies so much. Come down south and learn a little something, I swear to God. You'd all starve if it wasn't processed, mulched, and formed into a nugget for your weakass palettes. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Grab it with two hands and bite into it like a corn on the cob. Then say "oishii~~~."

>>21487216
love me some mackerel, not a fan of it stinking up my apartment...but now I want some mackerel teishoku with grated daikon...cept the daikon here is old and floppy...fucking living in the flyover region

>>21488076
We have standards.

>>21488185
living standards, maybe. culinary...kinda grim

>>21485199
>can’t even eat fish bones
Are you some spaz who still needs his carer to cut up his tendies?

>>21488076
The north has much more distinguished fish dishes.

>>21488156
mirin' this fine piece of saba mirin

>>21482373
where was this?

>>21489368
It was Izakaya Seki in DC

do squid count as fish? obviously, i know they are cephalopods, but, in cooking, would you consider them fish?

>>21489518
Seafood but not fish.

>>21489518
I can't think of any fish that's similar in squid's rubbery texture. Cooking methods are easy enough to transpose, same as anything, but calling them fish is like calling lobsters or clams fish

You don't. Fish are intended to be planted as fertilizer for vegetables. They taste like fish, which is nasty.