Throw Ribcage Away?

[Dogmatic]

ONE OTHER THING ONE CAN TRY IS FREEZE THEM AND WHEN THERE IS  A FEW POUNDS, IN A LARGE POT AND ONION SOME CELERY TOPS OR SCRAPS, CARROTS OR CARROT PEELINGS , DILL,, WHITE WINE(COOK WITH THE BEST AND DRINK THE REST)  SALT AND PEPPER.  ADD WATER TO COVER 1-2 GAL.  AND SIMMER FOR 1 HOUR OR SO.  STRAIN THROUGH A FINE MESH STRAINER,  TOSS THE BONES AND VEG OUT.  A NICE FISH STOCK TO  USE FOR SOUP  OR REDUCE A CUP OR TW0 BY HALF AND USE AS A BASE FOR A SAUCE.  SOUPS TO MAKE--SEAFOOD CHOWDER--LOBSTER OR SALMON BISQUE.  IT WILL KEEP IN THE FRIDGE  A COUPLE WEEKS.

HEADS CAN GO IN ALSO

This^^^, and to add, you can put your fish stock into zip locks and freeze it to keep it for use throughout the year. About actually eating the rib cages, well the rib bones won't dissolve, but it has become a culinary trend in many finer restaurants to serve ribs in various preparations, much like pork or beef ribs, but it is usually done with larger species like tuna. Asian cultures have had a long tradition of eating whole fish, they would find it wasteful to throw away anything edible, and there is nothing wrong with frying the rib cages along with the rest of the fish and eating every last scrap of flesh from the fish(including the skin). Waste not, want not. I don't keep many fish I catch, but when I do, I usually prepare the whole fish. It's more flavorful, and in the long run easier.

[scaleface]

Wait , your friend filleted the fish then gave you the carcass?

[the reel ess]

I will fillet the back right down to where the ribs touch the skin. Then I'll start peeling the meat back off the ribs. That meat below the ribs is what fries the crispiest. I keep bass from a lb to 3 lbs. 3 pounders can be kinda thick. But what's below the ribcage is the tastiest. It also is the fattiest. No coincidence. But it also holds the most contaminants in places with warnings.

[Jtrout]

All he gave you was some rib cages and backbones?!?

[livemusic]

All he gave you was some rib cages and backbones?!?

 

Yep. And he's kind of a shyster, so, he probably did it on purpose, lol. He claimed it was a mistake, and it could have been, but he's suspect, lol.

[scaleface]

Yep. And he's kind of a shyster, so, he probably did it on purpose, lol. He claimed it was a mistake, and it could have been, but he's suspect, lol.

LMAO , At lest he didnt try to sell them too you .

[RoLo]

Put them in a zip-lock back and leave them ouside for a day or 2, then freeze them.

Trust me, that day or 2 in the sun will give it all the smelly goopy attractant you want. It works perfect for jugging. 

 

Yipes, that had to be channel cats 

 

When I lived in Georgia, the blue cat anglers went to great lengths to keep the bait fresh,

and for flatheads it was all live bait.

 

Roger

[gardnerjigman]

Yipes, that had to be channel cats

When I lived in Georgia, the blue cat anglers went to great lengths to keep the bait fresh,

and for flatheads it was all live bait.

Roger

Of course!

For blue wee use fresh cut perch or shad. For flathead we used live perch, pumpkinseed, or goldfish.

[deep]

Pan-fried a few whole crappies last week, and they turned out great. The rib bones gave me a little trouble, but it was worth it (I think).

[RoLo]

There are several furred and feathered friends in my backyard

who enjoy dining on ribcage, a whole lot more than me  

 

Roger

[Shanes7614]

Growing up a friends father would fillet crappie and other panfish and the rib bones would still be intact. After skinning the fillets he would use a meat grinder and grind them up like course chopped meat. He would then add other fillers such as egg and bread and made the most spectacular fish cakes that he would fry in oil that I've had my entire life. Never did we have a problem with the bones. They DO melt in oil when that small. Whole ribcages trying to fry still attached to a whole fillet I think would be a bit different.

[Ratherbfishing]

Me thinks he is yankin' your chain.

[Neil McCauley]

If you have enough of them you can use them for fish stock. But we're talking 20+ ribcages for it to be worthwhile imo.

I don't think they have any other value and definitely wouldn't leave them in a filet. (myself choked on a LMB filet fish bone as kid!)

A few times I have taken panfish and dressed them by just scaling them and removing the head and fins then pan-frying them. It's a little less work than fileting but then you're left picking meat out from the bones.

[Canyon explorer]

I don't eat the ribs unless it squeals. 8-)