Years ago we harvested a 295lb Warsaw. The fillets were so thick and large I thought it was gonna be terrible. I was way wrong, the thing was delicious.
Whoever harvested that grouper did a PHENOMENAL Job icing it down quickly and thoroughly. The way to tell if any fish was treated properly for harvesting is the eyes. This fish has beautifully still clear eyes as opposed to milky white eyes.
Obviously this comment isn’t meant to teach the man doing the fileting as it’s clear as day he’s more skilled at harvesting fish than pretty much anyone out there.
You did a phenomenal job cleaning this massive once in a lifetime catch for some extremely lucky fishermen
Cheeks and ribs...all u need is the bonfire and beer ....As a 68 year old man I've butchered over 50 deer and countless fish over the years.... I can truly appreciate the knife work and knowledge u have of all the different species of fish ... serious question here, Did you go somewhere to learn your craft or has it all been on the job training...?
Reed, I really appreciate your enthusiasm to your craft as well as how you explain what you are doing and why! I ended up being a 'Seafood' guy at a local grocery store in central Florida. We sold a large amount of salmon fillet at the store I worked at. I quickly learned how to portion the product that came in to make it look nice in the display case. Ended up increasing our sales on the product 2 fold by proper portion and proper presentation. I cant explain it but if someone wanted a one pound portion I could just eyeball and would almost always be spot on. Got to love your craft! You however are a master!
Boned out my deer for the year the other day, knifework is a very special skill that takes a lot of training and experience to master and be consistent. All tradesmen make any job look easy, be it carpenters, house builders, timberworkers or cooks. The time it takes to build true knowledge on any trade takes a lot of years and to get your hands on every day. Great video!
As usual outstanding!!! Ran a fishing boat out of a Lodge in Alaska for two seasons. The biggest fish we caught was a 465 pound Halibut!!! Big fish get a bad reputation because most boats do not have the capacity to properly care for them. We would always gill, gut and bleed every fish and ice them down. I live in Florida now and I can not believe most people do not gill, gut and bleed. Trying to teach them. Pressure bleeding makes it even faster!! The cheeks were the the size of a basket ball...
I've been on a few charters, and in all cases, the captains did not know how to fillet the fish well enough to minimize waste. And certainly were unaware of how to harvest the wings, and such. Painful to see the whole carcass of large fish go overboard after a poor filleting job. Finally I started telling them, I'll clean my share of the catch myself, please.
Reed you are a master of your craft. Your enthusiasm and charisma make these videos so enjoyable. I commend your constant effort to harvest every bit of edible food from these fish. Thanks for bringing us into your world.
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