How to Fillet a Walleye
Walleye is one of the best tasting fish. Even people who don't care for fish like walleye. Yellow-brown in color with a dark spot by the first dorsal fin, big eyes, and large teeth, they're easy to recognize. Walleye are fairly easy to filet, but you need to use certain methods to get the largest, best tasting filets.
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Things You'll Need
- Plastic bags
- Cutting board
- Newspaper
- Sharp filet knife
- Bucket of clean water
Instructions
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How to Filet a Walleye
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1
Put the walleye in plastic bags in the freezer or on ice for about 45 minutes - long enough to make sure that it's stiff, but not frozen. Place a stack of newspapers on top of a cutting board and put your walleye on the top newspaper.
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2
Cut the walleye behind the gill and front fins to the backbone, slightly angling the knife toward the top of the fish's head. Don't cut through the backbone.
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3
Cut along the center of the walleye's belly from behind the front fin to just in front of the back fin. Feel for the hard backbone and cut along the backbone toward the tail. Be sure to cut through all the rib bones, but don't cut through the backbone. When you're 1/2 inch from the tail, flip the piece of fish over while it's still attached to the tail.
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4
Cut the piece of fish down to the skin. Slide the knife along the skin, cutting the filet from the skin. Remove the small bones hanging from the filet.
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5
Turn the walleye over and filet the other side using the same method. Cut off any dark meat to make sure your walleye doesn't have a strong fishy taste.
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Tips & Warnings
Slice off the meat on the walleye's cheeks and use them for gumbo.
