Spearfishing is the most selective and environmentally friendly way of fishing. The fish, even when caught at competitions, is always used to be eaten. Preparation and conservation of the fish caught is something that the Vice-World Champion Luigi Puretti and Cressi athlete knows well how to do. Let’s see his best indications.
Catch and gut the fish
“Well, first of all let’s try to catch a nice fish of correct dimensions, thanks to the great selectivity of spearfishing. Then we can gut our catch directly in the water. This is surely the cleanest thing to do compared to doing it at home in the kitchen, but it also helps to clean the fish properly and wash it well in sea water. There is nothing better. Additionally, the interiors of fish are the first ones to rotten, so the quicker we eliminate them the better it is to preserve the flesh”, says Luigi.
Best storage
“For the best storage in the fridge it is best to dry the fish with a cloth and wrap it completely in absorbing paper. Depending on the type of cooking we want to do, we can take or not the scales away. If we want to utilize the skin these have to be eliminated. On the barbeque instead, it is best to keep the scales which protect the flesh during cooking.”
Let’s start filleting
“I start cutting the fish from the head, diagonally behind the pectoral fins. With a strong knife a break the spine and remove the head. I then start cutting along the dorsal spine which is necessary to help me make a successive deeper cut. A good trick now is to position the tip of the blade on the central spine and make it slide down to the tail. The same procedure is done also on the belly. Now the fillet is connected only to the central spine. It is sufficient to insert the blade and make it slide all along the length of the fish. You then turn the fish and apply the same procedure to the other side.
We have now two beautiful fillets. The fish bones on the belly still have to be cut away with a more flexible knife. This part is the belly fillet and is very tasty and absolutely not to be discarded.”
The fillets can be then cooked in many ways, or eaten raw if the fish has been stored fresh and has been blast chilled to avoid risk such as Anisakis.
The head and the spine
Again, a real fisherman, or spearfisherman, uses all the fish and throws nothing away. The head and the spine of the fish are extremely tasty and can be used to make a great sauce to be eaten with pasta or bread. Something amazingly nice.
