No More Fillets! ( Sometimes Anyway!)

[fishryc]

 Caught 8 or 10 nice gills in the 9 to 11 inch range last weekend, and let my wife talk me into not filleting and skinning them. A lot more work- but I scaled them, de-finned, and gutted them and let her do the cooking. She sprinkled them with a generous amount of onion powder, salt, and pepper. In a medium heated skillet with a stick of melted margarine and a splash of cooking oil, she slowly cooked them until they were very dark and crispy. I was worried about bones, but the skeleton stays together except for the ribs, however, they are simple to pluck off once you peel the fillet from the skeleton. Also, split the meat on the top and bottom of the fish behind the dorsal fin and anal fin so that the meat will separate from each side of the fish.
 This was the best tasting fish I have ever eaten!!! Plus, you consume 100% of the meat with no loss as in fillets. Two 10 inch gills, a salad, and a couple dinner rolls stuffed me.
Super alternative to breaded / battered fillets.
 Anybody have variations to this method. Can’t wait to try it again, especially when the perch start up again this fall.
Fishryc

[Mikepike]

The skin also adds to the flavour of the fish, and just as you mentioned there is no wasted meat. that is the only way i cook my trout.

[TJ Bauer]

another great way to do that  is to do very much the same thing you did but instead warm up your grill and then cover the grate with Tin foil put some butter on that and cook untill done. You get the great smokey tatse of the grill but yet eating the best meat ever. YUM YUM eat up

[devil-man]

Hey Scott-
On Saturday night I personally filleted 19 of those big 'gills.
We didn't have much to work with, so I made two aluminum packages with a half-stick of butter in each. Added a dash of salt and pepper then threw them on my little grill.
I think you use (and waste) more filleting and skinning them, but the outcome is better.
JMO
Good luck this weekend! You should get a camera!!!
-M

[kerosenecounty17]

Don't bother taking off the fins next time.  They don't hurt anything, and the thinner ends (and the tail) get really crispy and are delicious.  And, don't EVER remove the skin.  Even if you fillet them.  Get a barrel scaller (sp?).  Greatest invention since gun powder.  I kind of compare eating gills with the bones still in to eating snow crab.  It can be a little bit of a pain, but the flavor is worth the extra effort.  There are times when my kitchen table could be confused with an otter's nest after a big meal.

As far as alternatives, a couple of things work pretty well.  Sometimes, I fillet the gills like normal, but then only coat the skin side and pan fry them (covered) on the skin side only until the meat begins to flake slightly.  Very good, and not so much coating to overpower the taste of the meat.  Another way is to fillet like normal but stop just prior to cutting the meat off the tail.  Do this on both sides and then use kitchen shears to snip through the tail bone.  You end up with two fillets that are still attached to the tail.  Pan fry these like you would the whole fish.  This is also good, but nothing is quite as good as when you make them with the bones still in.  The bones just add a bit of flavor that you can't get otherwise.

kc17