If you ordered a whole trout from a supermarket online delivery what would you expect to get?

[pastabest]

A) a whole trout - not gutted, not scaled. Entirely untouched
B) a whole trout - gutted and scaled
C) a whole trout - gutted, scaled and pin boned

Follow up question, if you got A, would you know you needed to do B/C before cooking?

I would specifically look for gutted/boned. For this very reason. I could not handle that 😬

@HeronLanyon

Whew think I misunderstood your post lobo Re viscera not being removed in a restaurant. I’ve never had scales left on (other than eg whitebait or similar) in a restaurant ! Would send it back pronto.

I don't think I understand yours. If I ordered a whole fish in a restaurant and it was scaled, filleted, head/off etc, I'd think I wasn't in a very good restaurant. If I didn't want that, I'd order fillets. If the menu said 'whole fish' and it came out with scales and I couldn't handle it 🙄 I'd send it back to the kitchen apologizing for my mistake. They could fillet it (messily) but it's not easy to descale a cooked fish without making it look like it'd been stolen from a fishmonger by a cartoon cat.

I'd expect to get a whole trout, gutted, head and tail still on. With all the bones still in.

lobo
Scaled - absolutely yes if not sent back (unless of course whitebait or similar)
Filletted - obviously never if you’ve ordered a ‘whole fish’ that means unfilletted. (Sp)
Gutted - of course - if not sent back and probably reported to ‘food safety’.
Head on or off - almost never off but I’ve seen it done.
I

A or B+ ie gutted and that's it. I know how to do the rest but don't usually bother- we eat carefully removing the bones as we go and the dogs have the skin afterwards.

Ok. But I don't send food back if it's my mistake. Clearly you would.

Gutted but not necessarily scaled. I could also gut it without s problem if necessary.

I would just cook it with the bones in unless the recipe calls for otherwise

Lobo - never ever would I send food back if it’s my mistake.

But in a restaurant an unscaled or ungutted cooked fish is never what I would have ordered nor what they should ever be serving under any circs. Whole cooked fish does not mean ‘with scales and guts’.

From fishmonger/supermarket raw, it does (usually - I was an A or C in that scenario).

Please tell me they didn't deliver my MIL to you.

B

You wouldn't send back an unscaled fish in a restaurant? Are you Aquaman or something? An unscaled, cooked fish does not belong on a dinner plate.

Wondering what you paid ? If it was expensive I would expect b or hopefully c.

B

Frig me, there's some philistines on here. Depressing. Of course whole fish (with - gasp! - scales) can be served in restaurants. And frequently are. Do yourselves a favour and google 'whole fish restaurants' or 'whole fish recipes' . . .

@LobotomisedIceSkatingFan

Frig me, there's some philistines on here. Depressing. Of course whole fish (with - gasp! - scales) can be served in restaurants. And frequently are. Do yourselves a favour and google 'whole fish restaurants' or 'whole fish recipes' . . .

Are you sure you know what 'philistine' means?

As an ex food retail worker I would have said A. That is what the description intimated.

I'll do myself a favour by getting the people who are cooking my meal to scale the damned fish. Mouthful of fish scales? No thanks.

Ha! Yes, thanks. An untutored, boorish person. I believe the OED has the entry 'one uninformed in a special area of knowledge and who likes their fish battered and factory-formed into the shape of a Powerpuff Girl . . . '

Leaving the scales on helps retain moisture and holds the integrity of the fish as it's cooked. Doesn't mean you don't scrape them off yourself. There are other foods that require a spot of audience participation. I presume (although I'm probably grossly overestimating some off you) you can scrape the 'meat' off a Jerusalem artichoke, or remove it from a crab claw? Or take mussels from their shells? Or a boiled egg from the shell? Or . . . peel a banana?

No, a philistine is someone who is uncultured/unintellectual. It has fuck all to do with how you like your fish served. In fact, I would submit that someone ignorant of the origins of the term 'philistine' who gets all wrapped up in other people's acts of consumption is probably ... a bit of a philistine.

I would expect to say ready to cook on the packaging or i wouldn't buy it

It would entirely depend on the description attached to the item. If it had a warning that some small bones may remain, I'd expect C or if it was described as a whole trout fillet. Otherwise I'd expect A but hope it had been gutted.

Are you sure it's not gutted? (Sorry). Was it not even cut up the middle? That does actually strike me as odd.

I seem to have strayed into a competitive dining thread. Phone for the fish knives, Norman . . . Must watch out, we'll be soiling the doileys in no time at all.

Was there no option to ask them to gut it before you checked out?

Normally if you buy a fish they won't gut it unless you ask them to.