Halibut

[PatsyMFagan Profile]

On my Greek holiday (with the weekend man - I must have been mad ) a couple of years ago I ordered a local fish dish. Both the waiter and the weekend man explained to me how to remove the bones ... Hello !!! I wouldn't have ordered it if I didn't think I could deal with it. I understand the waiter explaining, but the weekend man won't touch any fish if it contains bones .... just one of several occasions when I got soooooo angry

[karadekoolaid Profile]

I have to admit I get bored with eating a fish if there are too many bones to pick through!
The Greeks love red snapper; and it´s Caribbean cousin is also very popular this side of the Atlantic.
I think the boniest fish I ever ate was in Prague - river carp.

[Pampy Profile]

I gave up half way through eating a grayling - I've never seen so many bones!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

The bonnets edible fish IMO is the gurnard - I only buy them if the fishmonger will be able to fillet it, though I have once or twice bought large ones, and rather wastefully and inefficiently filleted them myself

Lovely Fisk though

[jeral Profile]

I wonder if Rick Stein has a "how to" for filleting gurnard, his being a fan of it. He probably does put bonnets on them

Our fishmonger had red snapper once last summer, but I hesitated and missed out, then he had only frozen pieces. I managed to cook only one of them well (not under or over) and liked it. I don't recall any bones in any of them or they'd have had to be a bin job (choking hazard for me) so must have been lucky.

[Pampy Profile]

I think they're a choking hazard for everyone!

[jeral Profile]

For me, it's the tiny hair bones that are potentially deadly, like in kippers. It's impossible not to detect big bones whilst in mouth isn't it? I am wary of cutlets though where big bone "bits" might be left if one or more has been chopped through.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

That should of course have been boniest not bonnets

The problem with gurnard as with a number of smallish fish is that there seem to be extra bones connecting the fins to the main skeleton and I’m never sure what to do with them, and I’m not sure my fishmonger is either!

Another hazard is the “frill” round plaice, flounder, and to a lesser extent sole, but I’ve given in, and remove that with scissors before cooking the not-quite-whole fish, you don’t lose a significant amount of meat

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Google has it all, Jeral:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyNXh-cxb1Q

[jeral Profile]

Blinking 'eck - one minute, 16 seconds = done! I see he used a bonnet no less (kudos to autocorrect) to protect his hand from the spiky head. OK, so 1m 16secs it is then folks!

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Wow - so he starts with the dorsal fin

The difficulty will be getting one not already cut to gut it

[jeral Profile]

Our fishmonger sells (and weighs) all whole fish in the round before scaling, gutting etc. I have asked occasionally for one to be sliced at the top (either side of top ridge bones where applicable) and gut it that way so as to butterfly and stuff it. It amazes me that first they know what I'm on about and second take it in their stride. They do have sharper knives than I do of course.

[Gillthepainter Profile Website]

Excellent vid find. I'll remember no grayling or gurnard - I've made something of Rick Stone's using gurnard, can't remember what (obviously no a keeper).
From his food heroes book that went to the charity shop.

I've now just seen the cutlet word I was looking for, on Benares website menu: Tronçon
I give it a miss if I see it.