Register

Skinning a Dover sole

For all refugees from the old Beeb Food Boards :-)
Chill out and chat with the foodie community or swap top tips.
NOTE: CHATTERBOX IS IN THIS FORUM

Moderators: karadekoolaid, THE MOD TEAM, Stokey Sue, Gillthepainter

Posts: 567
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:48 pm

Skinning a Dover sole

Postby cherrytree » Fri Oct 16, 2020 6:06 pm

I managed to buy two beautiful Dover soles today off one of the fishing boats in Maryport harbour. A real bargain I think at £5 in total. I watched two YouTube videos on how to skin them . My it was hard work. Why did Rick Stein and another bloke make it look so easy? Or was it just brute strength on their part?

User avatar
Posts: 6058
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:19 am
Location: East Anglia

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby Suffs » Fri Oct 16, 2020 6:39 pm

Strong wrists and thumbs is a lot of it ... and plenty of practice :lol:

Posts: 567
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:48 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby cherrytree » Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:04 pm

I think you are right. And at that price, the practice will be worth it.

User avatar
Posts: 4920
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:52 pm
Location: North West London

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby Pepper Pig » Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:17 pm

And a very good knife.

User avatar
Posts: 2152
Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 2:38 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby PatsyMFagan » Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:18 pm

This might be an entirely stupid question, but wouldn't skinning be a lot easier once it's cooked ? This from someone who hasn't ever knowingly cooked Dover sole (more Plaice than Dover seems to have crossed my plate ;) :roll: )

User avatar
Posts: 3919
Joined: Fri Jul 06, 2012 6:33 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby scullion » Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:29 pm

Pepper Pig wrote:And a very good knife.


i put 'and a very sharp knife' but then i looked up how it was done and it consists of pulling the skin off rather than cutting it off - like you would do with a rabbit - and removed my post.

User avatar
Posts: 4920
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:52 pm
Location: North West London

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby Pepper Pig » Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:41 pm

I get that but surely if you had a lousy knife it would be even harder?

Am not likely to ever skin a bunny or a fish.

User avatar
Posts: 3146
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:28 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby jeral » Fri Oct 16, 2020 7:44 pm

Flat fish often have the skin left on so they don't fall apart whilst cooking, which suits me as it'd no doubt be minced beyond recognition by my hand. I can fillet and skin round fish, although a doddle by comparison.

I hold the knife steady at an angle (not flat) and jiggly-pull the skin starting from the tail end after almost cutting through an inch in, for the starting kife point, and hold that bit with a bit of kitchen paper for grip. I don't think the knife has to be ultra sharp as it's only cutting through the fish, not skin or tough things, and doesn't need to be a bendy filleting one for skinning <- all IMO.

cherrytree, how will you cook your prize find now filleted/skinned?

User avatar
Posts: 8629
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:21 pm

I usually cook Dover sole and slip sole just gutted, and worry about the skin later, like trout

Unt I have a massive lemon sole in the freezer, and I think I might remove the dark skin before cooking

Sometimes it works, sometimes not so well, I find the trick is to start with the knife, get a piece loosened just big enough to grip, choose your angle and really go for it, rather like pulling off a plaster or a leg waxing strip :o - I think it’s more a flick of the wrist than brute force. When it works. When.

User avatar
Posts: 6058
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:19 am
Location: East Anglia

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby Suffs » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:49 pm

I really like eating soft gelatinous fish skin :oops:

User avatar
Posts: 4920
Joined: Thu Feb 21, 2013 5:52 pm
Location: North West London

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby Pepper Pig » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:52 pm

You have all reminded me of the large turbot on Waitrose fish counter yesterday. Didn’t even ask what the price was but those rich folk upon The Hill will have gone for it.

User avatar
Posts: 8629
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 2:02 pm
Location: Stoke Newington, London

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:58 pm

Suffs wrote:I really like eating soft gelatinous fish skin :oops:

But the dark skin doesn’t go gooey does it? The white skin does

User avatar
Posts: 6058
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:19 am
Location: East Anglia

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby Suffs » Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:59 pm

It goes gooey enough for me. :yum

Posts: 567
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:48 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby cherrytree » Mon Oct 19, 2020 4:52 pm

Thank you for your advice and encouragement. I’ll just cook them as they are next time.

User avatar
Posts: 1547
Joined: Fri Jan 15, 2016 6:16 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby dennispc » Mon Oct 19, 2020 5:35 pm

Dark skin on lemon sole, plaice etc., is soft enough to eat, though OH only eats the white skin, not black. For Dover sole always get the fishmonger to remove it, it’s more akin to sandpaper.

User avatar
Posts: 2581
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 1:40 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby karadekoolaid » Tue Oct 20, 2020 1:51 am

This post has just reminded me of a pub pianist I used to know. I suppose he was well over 70 when I got to know him - about 50 years ago. He used to play some wonderful smutty tunes, including:
" What a wonderful fish, the sole is!
What a glorious fish, is sole!
When placed on a plate,
It´s hard to relate,
The magical flavours of sole.
What a wonderful fish, the sole is!
What a glorious fish, is sole!
Ahhh, sole,
Ahh sole,
Ah sole!!"
8-) 8-)

User avatar
Posts: 3146
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:28 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby jeral » Tue Oct 20, 2020 2:38 am

Did he shout Altogether Now! towards the end ;)

Posts: 567
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 3:48 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby cherrytree » Tue Oct 20, 2020 11:54 am

I can just imagine asking the skipper of the fishing boat to skin my Dover Sole.” Skin it yersel’ lass !”would be his immediate reply. I think I’ll just cook it with the skin on next time.

User avatar
Posts: 3146
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 6:28 pm

Re: Skinning a Dover sole

Postby jeral » Tue Oct 20, 2020 1:41 pm

A couple of entrepreneurs presented Dragon's Den with packets of baked, so fat-free, fish-skin crisps, saying they had minimal input costs as fishmongers gave fish skins away freely. None of the Dragons liked them one little bit. Ouch.

I know "they" say you shouldn't put anything on a plate that's not edible, but I always leave skin, and in round fish I hate that it means it still has the spinal "blood line". Flat fish doesn't usually have one and it's easy to me to slide the fish off the skin to eat it, so cooking skin-on is fine by me for flat fish.

Return to Food Chat & Chatterbox

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot] and 18 guests