I have a renewed admiration...

[theclaud]

... for the knife-skills of Japanese chefs.

Got my hands on some mackerel and scallops so zingingly fresh that I just had to try my hand at sashimi for lunch today. Well - it tasted great, but it looked like a car crash, or at least the mackerel did (scallops are less challenging). Any dab hands on here that can give me a few tips on tackling the teleosts?

 

[ttcycle]

what knives have you got tc?

 

[Aperitif]

With mackerel, the sky's the limit! (For me, anyway )

Here's a salmon - it's a rose by any other name...

Did you spike the brain of the fish immediately it was caught Claudine, or did you chat it up in the bar and spike its drink instead?

I used to have a set of Global knives once upon a time.

Sorry, can't help you.

 

[ttcycle]

Teef!!

Most important is a super sharp knife - I have a fish knife from Analon - what you'll find is that with japanese cooking a lot of the equipment is high end expensive stuff which enables people to produce the results, as well as years of training. A good quality sharp fish knife and a grinding stone to sharpen it will be worthy investments.

With the mackerel - fillet the mackerel - no easy way to describe this in words - best to show you but you're not often down these parts apart from the FNRttC. I'll try my best to describe it but another question first - did the fish need gutting or did they come pre-prepared?

 

[theclaud]

what knives have you got tc?

Nothing specialist - just a nice set of German things. They are sharp though. Do I need one of those things that looks like a thin cleaver?

 

[Crackle]

Teef!!

Most important is a super sharp knife - I have a fish knife from Analon - what you'll find is that with japanese cooking a lot of the equipment is high end expensive stuff which enables people to produce the results, as well as years of training. A good quality sharp fish knife and a grinding stone to sharpen it will be worthy investments.

With the mackerel - fillet the mackerel - no easy way to describe this in words - best to show you but you're not often down these parts apart from the FNRttC. I'll try my best to describe it but another question first - did the fish need gutting or did they come pre-prepared?

I suspect that's the answer for theclaud, simples, training.

 

[theclaud]

With the mackerel - fillet the mackerel - no easy way to describe this in words - best to show you but you're not often down these parts apart from the FNRttC. I'll try my best to describe it but another question first - did the fish need gutting or did they come pre-prepared?

I had the fishmonger fillet the mackerel. I can do it, but he is neater so I thought that would be a headstart. Should I pin-bone the fillets? I wanted to cut diagonally across the grain, but that would have left pin-bones in the slices. And I was worried that if I tweezered them out it would mess up the fillets. I'd be up for a Masterclass though!

 

[theclaud]

I suspect that's the answer for theclaud, simples, training.

Of course, but my ambitions are fairly modest - I'm not aiming to win competitions, but just to get Slices That Look Good. A little bit of technique can go a long way.

 

[ttcycle]

The sets usually don't include a decent filletting knife - not a mini cleaver -that's good for other tasks - you'd need something that is flat and flexible in the blade and fairly small.

I could show you how to fillet and gut a fish- great skills to have - no guarantee that I would be as neat as a fishmonger though - sometimes it's great but sometimes not as neat!

Tweezers are the way to go at home, you can usualyl feel for small bones in the flesh. It would depend on the fish and texture whether you cut across the grain, but it's usually on the grain rather than counter the grain.

 

[Aperitif]

Of course, but my ambitions are fairly modest - I'm not aiming to win competitions, but just to get Slices That Look Good. A little bit of technique can go a long way.

Get your plate and fillet with admiration sort of thing...I understand.

 

[ttcycle]

Get your plate and fillet with admiration sort of thing...I understand.

it never stops!

 

[Aperitif]

it never stops!

We're all just fish in the sea...and there but for the Grace of god go I...

You're right - I'll shut up.

(I was going to add that it i=s good to have a birds eye view but all that feeling for bones would leave you with fish fingers - but that's a bit too am. ain't it? )

 

[theclaud]

The sets usually don't include a decent filletting knife - not a mini cleaver -that's good for other tasks - you'd need something that is flat and flexible in the blade and fairly small.

I could show you how to fillet and gut a fish- great skills to have - no guarantee that I would be as neat as a fishmonger though - sometimes it's great but sometimes not as neat!

Tweezers are the way to go at home, you can usualyl feel for small bones in the flesh. It would depend on the fish and texture whether you cut across the grain, but it's usually on the grain rather than counter the grain.

I'm fairly happy with gutting and filleting for things other than sashimi, but then I usually make the sort of food where one has a bit more leeway in the quality of the knifework. Skinning flat fish I find rather tricky. On the grain, you say? Jolly good. I must look at some illustrations...

 

[theclaud]

Get your plate and fillet with admiration sort of thing...I understand.

Behave!

 

[ttcycle]

It would depend on the type of fish whether it was grain on/off - there's a whole art to sashimi presentation.

What went wrong with the mackerel?

Could be pressure applied to knife cause that can crush the flesh