People Can't Believe The 'Country' Way This TikToker Cleans Fish
There's the Gordon Ramsay way to clean fish, and then there's the "country" way. Most probably know the former, which requires a sharp knife and a chopping board, but according to TikTok user @CountryBuckBrown, the latter is much more efficient. Technically, you do not even need any kitchen tools for it — just your hands and your teeth.
In a video that has since gone viral, Dominique Brown, who is a self-proclaimed "country boy," demonstrates the simple, two-step method on a perch he apparently just caught. Brown first takes what appears to be a dull pocket knife — an optional utensil, as he explains later in the video — and begins sawing off the head, right behind the gill plate. When the head is halfway cut, Brown rips it off the rest of the way. He then jams his finger into the cavity to dig around and remove the remaining guts that did not come off with the head.
As for de-finning the fish, Brown does not bother with that step. "Some people cut the fins off, but you can leave them on to give it a little extra crunch," Brown explained as he tossed the fish aside. But that's not all.
To clean a fish the 'country' way, teeth work just as well as a knife
Dominique Brown goes on to demonstrate a variation of his fish cleaning method that's perfect if you don't have a knife. It follows the same steps as the original, but instead of using a knife to behead the fish, you'll be using your teeth. After identifying where the gill plate is located, aka where you'll be putting your teeth, you'll take an aggressive bite. Keep chomping and yanking until the head detaches completely, then spit. "You might get a couple guts in your mouth, but you just gotta wipe it out, just spit it on out," Brown instructed. Once the head is bitten off, the guts can be easily removed, again by hand.
Brown's method may not be conventional, but clearly it does the job. TikTok commenters for the most part seem to disagree. "I prefer the go to the store and buy method," one user said. Another added, "Bro woke up and chose COVID-35." Whether or not you'll be following Brown's fish cleaning advice is up to your discretion, but let's just say, if there ever were a zombie apocalypse, this level of resourcefulness would certainly serve you well.