Preparing Fish

Once you have obtained your fish or game, you must clean/ butcher and cook/ store it. Improper cleaning storing can result in inedible fish and game.

a. Fish. You must know how to tell if fish are free of bacterial decomposition that makes the fish dangerous to eat. Although cooking may destroy the toxin from bacterial decomposition, do not eat fish that appear spoiled.

(1) Spoilage. Eating spoiled or poisoned fish may cause diarrhea, nausea, cramps, vomiting, itching; paralysis, or a metallic taste in the mouth. These symptoms appear suddenly 1 to 6 hours after eating. If you are near the sea, drink sea water as soon as you notice this set of symptoms, or, force yourself to vomit. Signs of spoilage include–

• Peculiar odor.

• Suspicious color. Gills should be red or pink. Scales should be a pronounced–not faded–shade of gray.

• Dent that remains after pressing the thumb against the flesh then removing it.

• Slimy rather than moist or wet body.

• Sharp or peppery taste.

(2) Preparation. Fish spoil quickly after death, especially on a hot day, so prepare fish for eating as soon as possible after you catch them.

(a) Cut out the gills and large blood vessels that lie next to the backbone. (You can leave the head if you plan to cook the fish on a spit).

(b) Gut fish that are more than 4 inches long cut along the abdomen and scrape out the intestines.

(c) Scale or skin the fish.

(d) You can impale a whole fish on a stick and cook it over an "open fire." However, boiling the fish with the skin on is the best way to get the most food value. The fats and oil are under the skin, and by boiling the fish, you can save the juices for broth. Any of the methods used for cooking plant food can be used

for cooking fish.

(e) Fish is done when the meat flakes off.

(f) To dry fish in the sun, hang them from branches or spread them on hot rocks. When the meat has dried, splash it with sea water, if available, to salt the outside. Keep seafood only if it is well dried or salted.