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Red mullet is one of the most desired fishes in Sicily and Sicilians gave it special names according to its provenience and size. For example, there is trigghia di fangu (sandy red mullet) which is pale-pink coloured and middle size; and the wonderful trigghia di scuogghiu (rock red mullet), which in rare cases can be even 35-40 cm of length and more than 1,5 kg of weight, orange-reddish coloured; since Roman times, these are the most expensive fishes and their value comes from their weight and size. There are also miezzi-trigghi (half red mullet), so called because, when still young, they are less than 10 cm of length; trigghiòla or sparacanàci (trigliola), very small red mullets, 1 to 5 cm of length, much asked not only for their taste but mostly because you don’t need to wash and gut them: you just eat them entirely, head included. And finally, there is red mullet nonnata, also called russuliddu, very valuable and rare.
A scholar spent much time looking for the meaning of the term sparacanàci, and now I will exactly tell you that the right term is sparacalàci, a fish belonging to the Class Actinopterygii, which has nothing to do with red mullet, but in some Sicilian localities it is a regional synonym for this fish.
Red mullet must not be gutted (attention: just if it is fresh), but cooked entirely; its liver does not contain bile acids, so it is completely edible. You just have to scrape off the scales, unless you have to roast it on the embers: in this case you don’t have to scrape off the scales.
