For the last two months, we’ve talked about ways to eat every part of a fish—except the fillets. We’ve been through cheeks, collars, brains, whole heads, eyes, throats and tongues; hearts, intestines, stomachs, esophagi, air bladders, visceral fat, and livers; eggs, milt, spinal cords, spleens, and...

In this final installment of “Nostril to Caudal,” I’m tackling the exterior of a fish—specifically the skin, fins, scales, and slime. Unlike offal, most people aren’t grossed out by the thought of eating animal skin. Pork cracklins and crispy fried chicken are delicacies in many countries, and fish...

I carried a spoon in my wader pocket when I used to guide for salmon on the Fraser River. As guests dragged their fish onto the bank, I would rip the fish’s gills, then pull out its organs before the sun could coagulate them into a hotpot of sludge. One thing that always confused me, however, was...

Casual anglers might struggle to gather sufficient organs for all the different preparations I’m covering in this series. My intention, really, is to show you that these organs are edible and encourage you to sample a few. If you find that you really like particular bits, you can do what I’ve done...

As someone who regularly eats offal, I’m embarrassed to admit that I had a really difficult time determining which part of the fish was its liver. My husband and I debated this while comparing a mound of indistinguishable guts against the photos of neatly laid-out organs in chef Josh Niland’s “The...

If you’ve been following this series, you know that we recently took a closer look at eating fish heads. For many North Americans, an animal’s or fish’s head is the most intimidating part to eat, followed closely by organs. However, thanks to authors like Steven Rinella and Josh Niland, more and...

I can count exactly zero times when I’ve thought, “You know what sounds good right now? A meal of eyeballs!” My lack of enthusiasm for these slimy snacks isn’t unique. Eating eyeballs puts many meateaters on the fence. For some adventurous chefs, it’s a comforting reminder that they’re using the...

Eating fish heads certainly isn’t a new concept. Cultures around the world have eaten the tender meat out of the cheeks, throats, and collars of fish since time immemorial. Today, if at all, fish heads are usually used in stocks and sauces. Seafood chefs boil fish heads until the meat and bones...

I grew up eating cod’s tongues while visiting my grandparents in Newfoundland. But when I tried to recreate this nostalgic dish a couple decades later, it took me several days and a lot of fish heads to figure out exactly what to remove and how to butcher this part of the fish. I wanted to cook the...

I decided to begin this series with the tongue. I made that decision because I assumed it would be an easy place for me to start. Boy, was I wrong. You might recall my last article where I mentioned that my sister and I used to eat cod’s tongues in my dad’s hometown of Spaniard’s Bay, Newfoundland...