Harvesting Smaller Fish

[badflash]

While vacationing in Rome we went into a tratoria for dinner. They had a baked fish special, so I ordered it. What arrived on my plate was a whole tilapia with only the scales removed. It had not been headed or gutted.

I used my fork to pull back the skin and was pleasantly suprised at how easy it was to pick the meat off the bones. You need to be careful of the small bones close to the head along the back bone, but that is it. You get all of the meat with no waste at all, and it was wonderful! Talk about easy! This fish was way under a pound.

What this means is that you can harvest fish as small as 10 ounces and enjoy them without hardly any prep, once you get over having them stare back at you!

This puts O. mossambica on the menu! I am partial to them as they are so easy to breed. Their only drawback was their small size.

[jackalope]

I wouldn't care for the non-gutted part, sounds scumbag to me ...... also ernie, I certainly wouldn't be sucking the eyes out and swallowing them ....... to me that would be like eating "Rocky Mountain Oysters."

[badflash]

I was just amazed that not gutting the fish had no effect on the flavor. The less you need to do the better. It will be some time before I'll be sucking out eyes, but I'm no longer skeeved out about a head-on fish. Perfecto indeed!

[wolfracer]

I wouldn't care for the non-gutted part, sounds scumbag to me ...... also ernie, I certainly wouldn't be sucking the eyes out and swallowing them ....... to me that would be like eating "Rocky Mountain Oysters."

I like "Mountain Oysters" it's a big deal down hear in kansas!

[jackalope]

I wouldn't care for the non-gutted part, sounds scumbag to me ...... also ernie, I certainly wouldn't be sucking the eyes out and swallowing them ....... to me that would be like eating "Rocky Mountain Oysters."

I like "Mountain Oysters" it's a big deal down hear in kansas!

I'LL PASS You might want to hop a plane and make it up to the festival in Clinton, Idaho if you like them. July 29th to Aug 2nd this year.

[Cris Gaston]

Hi to all. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Here in the Philippines, tilapia is mostly sold whole at 150-300 grams a piece depending on the local market demand. Favorite way of cooking is " inihaw" or charcoal broiled scales on but sans the gutt and gills. If you have not learned how to eat the head, then you are really missing something. Happy eating to all.

[badflash]

When I was in the Navy years ago we had a bunch of guys from the Philippines. They always had a batch of fish heads and rice going. They didn't waste a thing!

Lately I gut & head them, then grill. Yum!