Reply With QuoteI remember it well. Might have to spend a bit of time in the garden toughening up the lady hands. You know hubby is an IT geek so his hands are softer than mine
Remember that day up at 1770 when I was getting in to the macks and you ended up coming over to our spot and picking a few up yourself?
Well that's where we tried it.....not sure if your lady hands will be able to get a good enough grip on the skin so you might have to get hubby to help you.
It did work for us though....
I remember it well. Might have to spend a bit of time in the garden toughening up the lady hands. You know hubby is an IT geek so his hands are softer than mine
Two ways I do it. First was shown by Mark McClennon. One you have your fillet off, cut diagonally down to the skin then across the skin the last little bit in 15mm thick medallions. As mentioned, with their skin so soft and easy to go through without something like a big ham knife, this way you only have 15mm of skin to deal with each time so it is easier not to accidentally cut through it. I sometimes even quarter the fillet length wise cutting out the blood line so the 15mm medallions you get out of it are about palm size.
2nd way one of the old boys at the La Balsa ramp showed me. Basically steak it but in 100-150mm segments, not the 20mm thick segements like some people do when steaking them. Then you come in from the top or bottom and take the fillet off. Once again you then only have like 150x150mm fillet you have to get the skin off and less chance of going through it. I don't like this way so much as you have to cut through the bone so another knife is the go. I like to save my good knives and go over ribs etc, not through to save the edge on reefies etc.
like smithy said cut flesh off skin in pieces. that's how we do it. works well
I used to skin them but more recently have been leaving it on, them main reason for this is to prevent freezer burn, been ripping the whole fillet off using a long soft blade knife (sharper the better), dropping it on the bench skin down a then work the fillet into 10 to 15mm thick slithers and say 150 to 200mm long, it ends up the original fillet is trimmed in half down the centre and then portioned. To finish in glad wrap I place in portions one skin down piece, then no skin, and last a skin up piece like a sandwich, once frozen the skin takes the freezer burn and not the flesh. This week we ate 2 month old Mack and is still in good shape.
if you have never seen this youtube on mackerel filleting it is worth a watch. pure pro
and the best one when they catch them
I saw those vids a few years ago Snapperdan, I always love watching the telecom rope handline fishing program, and it cracks me up when blokes tell me that fishing 69lb single strand wire will be costing me bites when mackerel fishing hahhaaaa have a look at the gear on any pro Mack dory.
Thanks for posting them again,
Cheers,
Myles
"Elempi" American Bertram 33, 3208T Caterpillar power
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