Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

keep an eye on them VB, i think the surfactants are sometimes the worse of the ingredients in many things....................i remember a conversation and a bit of reading on round up to that effect.................

but i guess surfactants and detergents are not necessarily the same thing.

such a negative bastard, i know.

They are fine.

good to hear

Killed 2 of the purged Jades tonight, to get them ready for smoking tomorrow. Once smoked I am going to make them into a smoked jade perch dip for new years. For this reason, filleting was necessary. In fact I filleted and skinned the fish, leaving gut intact.

Some figures for those interested in that sort of stuff:

Fish 1: Whole 635gms, fillets 145gms and 148gms (skin still on)
Fish 2: Whole 665gms, fillets 123gms and 138 gms (skin still on)

It is interesting that the smaller fish had more fillet weight. This one was fatter in the guts, so the extra weight would have been stored fat. The difference in the 2 fillets from fish 2 was due to poor technique with that fish.

The skin from the 4 fillets weighed about 100 grams. Although the flesh recovery rate was quite low on these fish, the flesh is of gourmet quality. Quite a bit is left on the fish due to the need to fillet. Normally I would eat the fish whole, meaning more retrieval of flesh. The fat layer under the skin of the fish was evident when I took the skin away - but it was liquid and will have washed off with the rinse. You will see from one of the pics that the fillets are glistening. This is the fat, pre wash. Anyway - here are some pics. It will need a second post.

More pics

Forgot to say - I was a bit surprised at how much blood there is in the flesh next to the skin. I'd not skinned them before. It is possible that they should be bled at slaughter - though I have not found the red meat to spoil the taste at all.

anyone thought of tanning the fish skins???

Yep - just today thought about it. Then thought about all the other things I have to do . Maybe sometime in the future. Would be pretty easy and they are pretty tough skins.

BTW - forgot to mention, I'd recommend against catching perch by hand. I've been catching the perch from the purge tank by hand to try and reduce splashing of the 5ppt salt onto metal stuff in the shed (not to mention the shed walls and frame). Also caught some a couple of times on Xmas day when I was half full and wanted to show different visitors the size and look of the fish.

Reason I recommend against it is rarely do I avoid getting a decent spike wound.

Nice fisshies you got the recipe for the dip

Will base it on this one F&F - with some variations. Will post how it all goes - both the smoking of fillets and the making of the dip - after new years.

http://www.3men.com/smoked.htm# Smoked%20Fish%20Dip

that sounds sensational. your sure to have some satisfied friends come new years. i'm a huge fan of "homemade" smoked fish.

food fit for a king. homegrown ap style.

enjoy the fruits of your labor vb.

VB the "blood" colour under the skin side of the fish is normal for every fish when you skin them.....

Lots of small capillaries to supply the skin..... never had a problem with it affecting the taste of a fish......

"Bleeding" fish (when caught) is usually done to prevent any toxins from circulating through the flesh and resulting in "off" flavours..... particularly in "soft" flesh fish.... like salmon, tailor, trout... etc

nice looking fillets there man. Can almost taste 'em.

Maybe a 1/4 stick of gelignite????? worked in the rivers in the north west when i was a kid