When you buy your fish from us, we always clean, gut and prepare the fish for you. But knowing how to scale a fish is a useful skill to have. It;s very easy and you don’t even require any fancy tool!
Keep your fish wet until you scale it. If the fish has dried a bit, soak it for a couple of minutes in icy water. It is usually best to clean your fish as soon as possible after buying or catching it.
Prepare the area where you’re going to scale your fish. Removing scales can be a bit messy, so make sure you cover your table with newspaper or a cutting board. You can use disposable gloves if you want. If you don’t have a scaler, simply use the back of your usual cooking knife or a butter knife.
Hold firmly the fish by the tail and start scraping the scale with your tool or the back of your knife, starting from the tail and moving towards the head.
Make sure you apply enough pressure but not too much so you don’t damage the fish. Scales should easily come off. Work carefully around the fins and gills and make sure you remove all scales on both sides. The fish should feel smooth.
Wash your fish thoroughly before gutting it. Great British Chefs have made a useful video demonstrating the technique.
