How to Eat Fish Bones

Those bits with the tail are just the bones!

There's a woman who's a regular at my fish counter. We got to talking one day and she had me fillet up a Tai Snapper for her with the specific request to keep the bones so she could fry them. I did a double take. Fry fish bones? For what? A trendy necklace or something? I had some extra trout in the freezer and was intrigued...

A part of the journey with Nerdventure has been discovering why western food culture neglects so much of the available food around us. We have formed our eating habits around luxury products instead of total use of a food. For example, Americans consume huge portions of chicken and beef, but the hearts, tongues, livers, and other edible (and delicious) organs are usually ignored. Bones are just another example of something that American cuisine (at least that I was exposed to) neglects. Well, I'm learning a lesson from some other food cultures (Caribbean and Asian) and it's time to bring you guys along.

So, the question is, how do you fry bones? Well, fear not those of you who think you'll get a fish bone permanently lodged in your throat! It's really easy. Here's how.

Fried Fish Bones (A.k.a. Dem Crrriiissspppyyy Bones)

Ingredients:
4-5 fish carcasses 
-You can use pretty much any fish. The larger the bones, the longer the frying time. The spinal column and fins fry the best. 
1 1/2 cups of corn meal
salt and pepper to taste
coconut oil (or other frying oil)

Method:

Simply bread the fish skeleton and drop it in a fryer that's just below the smoking point. Fry until they are nice and browned. I would fry them longer than you typically fry a fish fillet. When you pull them out, they should be crispy, but should break apart easily when chewing. Dip them in tartar sauce or your favorite cheese dip!