My Mom has the same feelings of wasting as do I. There's so much flavor in the meat next to the bone. make a Couovion and you'll see what you've been missing. I've filleted catfish so big that if you threw the backbone away it would weigh 5 lbs, that makes a good gravy and it's awesome fried.ShowMeDaSauce said:Whole fried bluegill....KILLER!!!
Grandma never filleted any fish. She felt it was wasteful after living through the Depression years. Bony fish were scored to help reduce the small bones. Pretty much the same way many Asians do with carp. Get the grease/oil good and hot. The small bones just melt. Eating whole bluegill is a tiny bit more work than fillets but i love the flavor. Its pretty easy to strip the cooked meat off the bones and they dont have many small bones to deal with.
Rajun Gardener said:After doing all this I will never complain about the price of tamales again!!!