# Fish cleaning/rinsing question



## buckhunter32175 (Mar 9, 2010)

I watched a show on Sunday out of South Florida and the guide got into discussing fish cleaning and specifically how to rinse your fish off. The guide said that you needed to rinse your fish with salt water instead of fresh water and even went as far as to bring back a 5 gallon bucked of seawater to rinse his fillets with. He claims it makes a huge difference in the way the flavor of the fish.

I've grown up here in PC and been cleaning fish as long as i can remember but have never heard that. I certianly don't know everything so figured I would ask here for any input on the issue.

Do you thing that washing your cleaned fillets with sea water improves the taste over washign them with fresh water?


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## Downtime2 (Sep 27, 2007)

I plain don't rinse mine unless they get something nasty on em' besides me....


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## SouthAlabamaSlayer (Oct 13, 2011)

Never heard of that. I've never had a bad fish fillet washing it with freshwater. My question is, why would you wash it with dirty saltwater? If you can't drink it, I wouldn't wash fish with it. Agree with downtime, I don't wash mine unless they get really nasty.


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## flex (Feb 26, 2013)

it would make sense that rinsing food with chlorine and pesticide infested water would be bad. i have no doubt this has merit behind it

if i could i would clean my fish right on the surf with good quality sea water.. unfortunately thats not always the case.. i was at ft pickens and saw a diaper float by. people are filthy.


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## rfh21 (May 17, 2012)

I can't remember where but I heard something similar. It was about the fresh water causing the meat to ball up in some offshore species, think they were specifically talking about fresh tuna.


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## MrFish49 (Jun 30, 2012)

Well in general you never want that much water on the meat. But I have heard that salt water keeps there from being a fishy smell/flavor from forming, where chlorinated water will cause the off flavors.


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## Telum Pisces (Sep 27, 2007)

Been rinsing my fish fillets in fresh water since I can remember and it tastes fine with me. I have eaten fish from a friend that practiced the no fresh water rinse and I could not taste a difference.


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## Side Tracked (May 16, 2013)

As long as I've been fishing in salt water, from Main to Louisiana I have always rinsed my filets in a salt brine before freezing. Learned this from a cod fisherman in the 70s. Just use kosher salt. Seems to keep the fish fresher longer (not that they ever stay in the freeze very long).


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## cuzmondo (Oct 1, 2007)

I rinse in fresh water while I'm cleaning my fish, and fish I intend to freeze get frozen in fresh water. Do they taste the same as fresh caught? Of course not, but still pretty darn good and I know where they came from. Certainly not Balsa, Talapia or some other BS fish being pawned in a restaurant. I fish for fun and food and when we prepare fish tacos, fried fish, grilled, blackened, whatever, unless your were there when they were cleaned you wouldn't know whether or not it had been frozen, fresh, or rinsed in salt/fresh water. Go fish, have fun, and stop worrying about the little things. Hell, it's tough enough just to make time to fish and catch something you can keep, don't sweat the details.


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## BY Ryan (Apr 28, 2013)

I rinse mine with freshwater, then freeze it in saltwater. That way when they thaw they are brining at the same time which draws out the blood and takes some of the fishiness away, and the saltwater keeps the flesh firm.


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## speckledcroaker (Mar 23, 2012)

i rinse with freshwater, what doesnt get fried rightaway gets vacuum packed with a foodsaver and goes into deepfreeze. lasts forever


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## gator7_5 (Oct 4, 2007)

I rinse mine with fresh h2o and dry pretty quickly so that the water doesn't marinate into the meat. I sometimes vaccum seal the filets I don't eat, but give most away fresh.


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