How to Fillet a Fish
The trick to properly fillet a fish lies in regular practice. Cleaning fish with a minimum amount of waste happens only when you are patient and show no haste during the process. Read on to learn one method to fillet a fish into medium proportions. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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1
Purchase the fish of your choice. Choose from trout, salmon, red snapper, halibut or your favorite. The meatier the fish, the easier it is to fillet.
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2
Remove the scales from the fish. Place the fish on a flat surface and scrape off the scales using the blunt end of the knife. Scrape against the direction of the scales.
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3
Lay the fish on a cutting board. Take a thin knife with a flat sharp blade and cut the skin at the back of the dorsal fin. Make another deep cut diagonally across the head. Be careful not to cut through the backbone.
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Gently press the head of the fish with the palm of your hand and run the knife through the previous cut all the way to the tail of the fish. Again, use caution not to cut the back bone.
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Put the knife blade near the tail against the backbone; gently push the blade to the other side of the fish. Place a steady hand on the fish and slowly cut the other side by inserting the knife from the open end. Do not use one single motion as it will leave parts of the fish meat attached to the backbone.
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Set the fillet without the back bone away from the rest of the fish. Carefully feel the bone structure of the fish, run the knife slowly below the backbone to remove the attached fillet.
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Cut the fillets in smaller parts of desired. Wash under cold water. Drain and apply your favorite seasoning.
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Tips & Warnings
Use caution when cutting the fish with a sharp knife.
Do not wet the fish prior to cutting the fillets.
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Comments
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BCPASSIONS
Feb 16, 2009
Great tips! Thank you. -
Scott Cleveland
Nov 16, 2008
Great article! Thanks for the tips.
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redhoss
Sep 15, 2008
Good job. Many people use your method and it works great. However, I agree with "bluefin". The starting at the head method is the easiest.
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Franco
Oct 01, 2007
thanks for the tips, im gonna try and see if i can catch a fish down near my lake, haha that should be fun! bluefin just seems to have tricks up his sleeve with his whole "i can fillet a fish witht eh skin still attached" skills, haha just playing, great advise.
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bluefin
Sep 29, 2007
Instead of starting at the tail - start your cut at the 'neck' or 'shoulder' (just behind the side fin). Slice the length of the fish along the backbone just until you reach the tail. Don't cut all the way. Now flip the filet longwise so that the scales or skin is now laying flat on the cutting board (fish should be twice as long). Now cut again but this time from the tail side and cut so that the skin stays and all you are cutting is the meat. You should have a clean filet with the skin still attached to the fish. Flip the fish over and repeat for the other side. Once you have the two filets throw away the unused fish and trim the new filets of any unwanted material and rinse. Filets can either be stored in the freezer using freezer bags or can be put in a container full of water and frozen solid.
