SCALING

Small fish, such as sand whiting, garfish and herring can be scaled with a small knife, small-headed fish scaler or spoon.

• Gently run the scaler from the tail to the head working methodically around the body of the fish, applying only enough pressure to remove the scales. (To minimise mess from scales flicking off, you can work inside a clean garbage/bin bag.) • Continue until you are confident all the scales are removed, then wipe the fish and your chopping board with a paper towel.

For large fish (plate size or larger) scales should be cut off if your knife skills allow for this.

• Starting at the tail end of the fish, hold your knife almost directly parallel to the bench while pressing against the scales and skin of the fish.

• Angle your knife very slightly to allow the blade to slip between the scales and the skin, then, using a back and forth motion, begin to cut away the scales in long strips. The aim is to remove the scales while leaving the skin of the fish intact. The first few times you do this you may puncture the skin exposing the fish’s flesh. Don’t panic, simply correct your knife and continue. Keep the scales that are removed for other recipes.

I recommend cutting off the scales like this from all large fish for several reasons. When scales are removed with a knife or fish scaler they are ripped from the ‘pores’ that hold them in position. This is problematic when the fish is rinsed as they soak up and store the tap water. Cutting off the scales preserves the skin so that it can be used as a barrier to protect the fish during storage. Fish prepared in this way is more suited to pan-frying on the skin, producing a crisp, crackling-like result.