Perch Braised in Cider

As I mention in the introduction, perch can be difficult to scale and, although not always practical, this is best done as soon as it is caught. The other way is to plunge the whole fish into boiling water to which you’ve added the juice of a lemon, leave for a few seconds then remove. Both the scales and the skin should now peel off easily, a bit like blanching a tomato. Do take care when handling perch as it has some very sharp spines, particularly on the dorsal fin, and on the gill cover