Slight smell and slight bitter taste of the belly parts of grilled fish
One of my favorite grilled fish is the Blackspot seabream
Unfortunately, now and then, the belly part of the grilled fish tastes slightly bitter and smells a bit, which makes me not to eat those parts (quite a waste).
Does this come from not cleaning/preparing the fish properly or, as I've been told by a local fish-restaurant owner, is this caused by the pheromones of the fish during certain times of the year?
Best Answer
From what I've been told, the bitterness around fish belly is caused mainly by spilled bile when the liver or gallbladder is punctured.
May be caused by improper handling, packaging, rough treatment, excessive pressure (too much weight during storage or transportation), or careless cleaning procedure.
Improper cleaning or removal of the guts may also play a secondary role, though I suspect bile to be the main culprit.
You can some times tell in advance if you notice mustard-yellow spots in the inner walls of the fish belly before or cooking, which tend to turn silvery-greenish after cooking, caused by the spilled bile tainting the meat.
These are usually a indication of bitterness.
You can see an example around the area where the finger is touching the fish. Image source
Food source of the fish may also play a significant role in belly taste.
I have noticed that aquaculture or farmed fish tend to have little to no bitter taste at all, as opposed to wild or free range ones, possibly due to different feeding habits. Farmed ones likely exclusively eat the provided feed (with controlled selection of ingredients for taste and growth), rather than whatever they can naturally find in their environment.
Specifically addressing the pheromone as a cause, I've never personally heard about it, but pork does get Boar Taint (which is pheromone based effect on taste), so it is not totally beyond the realms of possibility, thought I'd expect it to have a widespread effect of fish as well, rather than just around the belly.
I have recently had fresh grilled wild White Seabream (Sargo) and it is one of the worse fish in terms of bitterness, which contrasts strongly with the aquaculture Gilt-Head Bream I can buy at the same vendor, and has absolutely no bitter taste, supporting my food source hypothesis.
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Why some parts of fish taste bitter?
Sometimes the gall bladder of the fish, which contains bile which of course is bitter, gets punctured when the fish is being cut. The leaked bile gets quickly absorbed in the fish body. This gives it a bitter taste.How can you tell if cooked fish is bad?
To tell if your fish has gone wrong, touch it to see if it is slimy or has a strong odor. If it smells fishy, it's spoiled. It also has a bluish tint and an increasingly awful taste.Why does my fish taste weird?
Fish tastes "fishy" when it hasn't been handled properly. To avoid "fishy" fish, smell and feel it. It should have a fresh and mild odor. It should be firm to touch and "spring back" into place.Why does my salmon have a bitter taste?
Bitter. Bitter-tasting salmon is likely to be caused by fat in the fish that is turning rancid. In other words, the fish is no longer fresh. It may not cause harm to eat it, but it won't be as enjoyable.4 Levels of Grilled Fish: Amateur to Food Scientist | Epicurious
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Answer 2
When preparing whole fish at my household, we always slice open the stomach and use a pair of kitchen scissors to snip and remove its guts. We also rinse out the inside of the stomach after removing the guts.
I believe the reason the belly region of your fish tastes bitter is because of un-finished cleaning, just like your local fish-restaurant owner says.
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Images: Marta Dzedyshko, Chelsey Horne, Angela Roma, Milada Vigerova