How to clean catfish with an electric knife is an effortless way to prepare your catfish. There are different varieties of fishes, and each has its methods in which they are made. You might be a fishing guide, a cook or a stay home mum looking for an easy way to clean your catfish, well you have come to the right place.
Using an Electric Knife
You'd probably be wondering why an electric knife or special about an electric knife. Well, electric knives bring effective when using it to clean meat. They are also very sharp and save a lot of time for their users.
Knowing How to Handle an Electric Knife
You'd probably be wondering why an electric knife or special about an electric knife. Well, electric knives bring effective when using it to clean meat. They are also very sharp and save a lot of time for their users.
Step 1: Getting a Catfish
Before you clean a catfish, you should have one. You can catch a catfish of your own in a river, or get one from the market. If you are purchasing one from the market, make sure that the fish are healthy looking. Sometimes the catfish can be dead or alive either way. Always make sure that they are fleshy and look healthy. If you are getting a live one, make sure you know how to kill it, but if you don't, whack it on the head repeatedly.
But if you are scared, you can take a big knife, position it above its brain and spinal cord, and push down the knife into the brain cavity, but make sure you do it with a lot of force and pressure to kill it. But if you are still scared, purchase a dead one.
Step 2: Beheading the Fish
A lot of people don't eat the head of a fish, so if you don't also eat the head of a fish, I would suggest that you cut the head and do away with it. Or you can cook it up for your cats or dogs if you have any. To cut the head of the fish, lay it flat on a surface, then hold it firmly from behind and then place your knife behind the gills and begin to cut. If you are still new to this, use the fish's backbone as a guide.
Step 3: Removing the Fins and the Tail
Using your electric knife, cut off the fins at the back and the stomach if they are getting in your way. Using your knife cut the tail out, but you can leave it if you want to use the tail to handle the fish. Some fins are dangerous, so make sure to remove them to reduce danger while handling.
Step 4: Removing the Fins and the Tail
After you are done cutting the head of the fish, take your pliers to keep the fish in place because, at this point, your fish can become very slippery. If your fish is small, it will be much more comfortable doing it at a countertop, but unless you have a large countertop, you can pull through. To skin your fish easily, using your electric knife cut the fish in half from the top till you make your way down because this way skinning, it would be effortless.
Once you are done cutting the fish in half, using your electric knife, remove the skin. First, take one half of the fish and gently peel the skin off before you move to another half. While using an electric knife, you'd notice that you are peeling it off precisely, compared to a conventional knife. As I mentioned earlier, make sure that you know how to peel the skin off, so you don't hurt yourself. While peeling, try not to take a massive chunk of flesh.
Step 5: Removing the Guts
No one wants to see the guts of a fish in their meal, so when you are done, beheading the fish remove any connecting tissues and dispose of it. Remove all the guts and pile them with the head. Try not to cut the guts as this will make it messier. If you didn't know what to do with the guts, you could bury it under a plant, but make sure you dig deep to prevent some animals from digging it out. If you live near a water body, you can use the guts as a bait to catch your next fish.
Step 6: Filleting the Fish
Using your electric knife, make an incision next to the spinal cord until you go down to the ribs. When you are using an electric knife, try to keep your hand steady because the knife is very sharp, and you wouldn't want to cut right through the ribs because it can ruin the fish, and you might end up hurting yourself as well once you have reached the ribs cut through the upper part till you have reached the tail. Make sure you are cutting the region alongside the spine, and repeat it to the other half.
Some Additional Tips
1. When cutting the fish, don't apply too much pressure, so you didn't damage the fish by squishing it.
2. When you cut your fish, you might have some pieces and bits that you may have missed. Store the leftover portion in the freezer so that you can use it to prepare stockfish.
3. Avoid getting your hand close to the area you want to cut to prevent the knife from hurting you.
4. Wash the fish when you are done cutting it to remove the blood that may have stuck to it.
5. Use a knife that has a sharp blade to help you make incisions precisely.
6. Clean up the mess when you are done.
Now you know how to clean your catfish with an electric knife.
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