Sturgeon Preparation!
Here's some guidelines for fish preperation for the sturgeon headed to Corona & SARL lakes.
Please follow any & all rules & laws as it pertains to sturgeon wherever you may be fishing.
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLETING STURGEON
Illustrated below are photos taken at the commercial processing facility at Sterling Caviar LLC.
FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT, be careful when using a sharp knife and be sure to use protective gloves.
If you have never cleaned a fish before get help from some one who has plenty of experience. I'm sure they would love to share in the bounty.
Kill the fish as soon as possible and bleed it out, otherwise the blood will disperse thru this white meat and the flavor could become fishy.
Cutting the gills will do this. You may also cut a ring just in front of the tail which will allow more of the blood to get pumped out of the meat. It is advisable to hit the fish on the head to stun or kill it before you attempt bleeding the fish. You don't want a fish jumping around with a cut gill or tail and obviously this is better for the fish in terms of humane slaughter.
Keep the fish cool or on ice if you continue to fish and begin the cleaning process as soon as it is possible.
Thoroughly rinse off your fish in clean water before you begin cleaning your fish.
Cut the tail off as shown. You will need a knife that is sturdier than your typical fillet knife.
Then cut the head off. Work the knife through the meat on both sides then cut through the backbone.
Remove the top scutes by cutting away from your body.
Remove the lateral scutes on both sides.
Remove the remaining fins as shown and slit the belly open. Insert the knife tip just enough to make the cut, try to avoid cutting into the gut.
Properly done, your bullet should look like this.
Remove the gut, scrape and clean the cavity and rinse with clean water.
At point you have 2 options. As you will find discussed later, Sturgeon must be aged in the refrigerator for 48-hours.
Sturgeon are not like other fish where it is best to eat it as soon as possible. When Sturgeon die they go into riggers and the fibers in the fillets tighten and tense up.
It takes 48-hours for the fibers to let go and loosen up so that the fillet is tender and has the proper texture and flavor when it is cooked. This is extremely important if you want to enjoy Sturgeon done properly, it makes all the difference in the world.
Option 1)
Commercial processors stop at this point and put the whole gutted and rinsed bullet in a bag and into the refrigerator for the 48-hour aging period. You may also use a large ice chest but be sure you use plenty of ice and check on it periodically to make sure your fish stay cold for the 48-hour period. After that,the bullet can be easily filleted and then cooked or frozen.
Option 2)
If you don't have the room in your refrigerator or have a large
ice chest to age the whole gutted and rinsed bullet, or several
of them if your a good fisherman for the 48-hour period, then
you can proceed as shown below.
When you try and fillet fresh, the muscles are still reactive and
the fillets made from fresh fish may twitch heavily on the cutting
board which makes it difficult to fillet as much meat as possible
from the fish but it can be done if you are careful, but it is not
the best way to do it.
Remove the backbone by cutting down one side first. Cut as close to the
bone as possible.
Then lay the body open and cut down the other side of the backbone.
When both sides of the backbone have been cut, slide the knife under the backbone and lift it out.
Properly done, it should look like this after the backbone has been removed.
Next, remove the ribs from both sides. Cut as close to the ribs as possible.
Ribs and backbone removed.
Split the fillets down the middle where the backbone was removed.
Remove the skin by starting at the tail. Slide the knife with forward pressure between the skin and the fillet while holding the skin in place with your other hand.
It helps if you move the knife in a back and forth sawing motion while you slide the knife down the fillet and hold the skin in place.
Once the skin is removed, you will find a blood line that must be cut away. You will want to get rid of any red or darker colored flesh and any skin that might remain.
If you followed the above process, you should have a pile of beautiful white sturgeon fillets just like the ones they sell for as much as $18.00 per pound to gourmet restaurants all across the country.
LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT STEP:
You must age your fillets in the refrigerator for 48 hours before cooking if you have not already aged the whole cleaned and rinsed bullet as discussed above, and proceeded with the filleting your fish in one step.
Again, Sturgeon are not like other fish where it is best to eat it as soon as possible. When Sturgeon die they go into riggers and the fibers in the fillets tighten and tense up.
It takes 48 hours for the fibers to let go and loosen up so that the fillet is tender and has the proper texture and flavor when it is cooked.
If you are going to freeze the rest of your fish for another day,do it after it has properly aged it for 48 hours.
Many people recommend soaking the fillets in milk during the aging process. The milk helps tenderize the fillets and makes the flavor verymild and delicious.
Others prefer to just use water, you might try both to find your preference.
If you cook it to soon and don't wait the 48-hours the texture will be tough, the flavor will be wrong and you will have cheated yourself out of what could have been one of the best tasting pieces of fish you have ever enjoyed !!
Properly done, you will be able to toss a fillet on the barbeque, flip it with your spatula and delicately cut it with your fork. Many say its texture is similar to a perfectly cooked piece of swordfish and it's flavoris even better with no fishy taste at all.
All information provided by Corona Recreation and Sterling Caviar LLC.
This article has been posted with their permission.
Here's a link to some great sturgeon receipes!
http://fishinglakes.com/SturgeonRecipes.htm
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My buddies in Oregon tell me sturgeon is a great eating fish. I didnt know about the 48 hour thing though. Good info if I ever get up to portland for some sturgeon action. Thanks for the post.
Originally Posted by sansou
