Battered - Product covered in liquid mixture, usually egg and flour. This is usually partly cooked (pre-cooked) to set the batter in place before freezing.
Belly Burn - A condition where the rib bones protrude into the belly cavity. It
usually indicates soft flesh, and shows that the fish was not totally
fresh when processed or not properly eviscerated.
Bites/Bits - Small pieces of fish breaded or coated with batter, weighing less than
1 oz. each. Shape may be round, square, or irregular. May be cut from
regular blocks or blocks of minced fish. Also called cubes, nuggets,
petites, tidbits. Generally sold by count, 25-35 per lb.
Bleeding - Method in which fishermen remove blood from fish by cutting an artery.
Large meaty fish like tuna are routinely bled before further
processing. Skates and sharks are also bled to remove uric acid.
Block - Frozen fish blocks are rectangular or other uniformly-shaped masses of
cohering fish fillets or a mixture of fillets and minced fish flesh, or
entirely minced fish flesh. These blocks usually range in weight from
13 to 16 lbs. and are intended for further processing into fish sticks
and portions. Larger blocks may be available that contain whole dressed
fish for subsequent thawing, processing or resale.
Boned/Boneless - Term used by packer to indicate that product has been processed to
remove backbone and rib bones.: Term used by packer to indicate that
product has been processed to remove backbone and rib bones.
Breaded - Product covered in liquid dip, bread crumbs and seasonings. The
breading forms a jacket within which the product cooks gently. Breading
helps to retain moisture in the product during cooking, and also adds
contrasting texture and flavor to the product.
Brine Freezing - Freezing seafood by soaking in liquid brine. King crab or snow crab is often brine-frozen.
Bushel - Unit of measure equal to 8 gallons or 32-quart capacity. Often used to measure quantity of clams, oysters or crabs.
Butterfly Fillet - Fish is cut along both sides with the two pieces remaining joined by
the skin of the back. Technically, two pieces held together with the
belly skin is called a kited fillet.
Butterfly Shrimp - Peeled and deveined shrimp with the shell left on the last (tail) segment. Shrimp in this form is often breaded.
Join us to celebrate NFI's 24th Annual Chowder Party to be held on Saturday, March 10th, at the beautiful Westin Boston Waterfront. To register for the event contact NFI at 703.752.8883 or tolsen@nfi.org
