How to Fillet Fish With a Electric Fillet Knife
When it comes to fish, nothing tastes better than the fresh variety. One of the best places to get fresh fish is from a fish market, or you can always catch them yourself. The hardest part of using fresh fish is the sometimes confusing process of preparing them for cooking. By using an electric fillet knife, you can easily prepare fish fillets by following a few easy steps. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Live well
- Fish basket
- Stringer
- Ice
- Sharp fine knife
- Electric Fillet Knife
Instructions
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1
Keep fish fresh after the catch. Fish is a high spoilage food, declining in quality quickly unless properly kept. The freshest way to keep fish is keeping them alive by using a live well, fish basket, or stringer. Store the fish on ice if it cannot be kept alive.
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2
Remove the guts and other organs from your fish. Using a sharp fine knife, cut a long slit along the bottom of the fish from under its jaw down to its tail, being careful not to puncture any of the entrails. Spread the cavity open and scoop the entrails out with your hand. Rinse the abdominal cavity with water.
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3
Make your second cut behind the head, near the gill cover. Turn the electric fillet knife on and make a vertical cut down into the flesh until you reach the backbone, being careful to stop before you cut through it. Flip the fish onto its other side and make the same cut on that side.
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4
Turn the electric fillet knife so its edge faces toward the fin. Cut the fish along the backbone back to the tail, stopping at the start of the dorsal fin. Use the dorsal and anal fins as a guide as you cut back to the tail, always keeping the blade above each as you cut. Turn the fish over and repeat on that side.
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5
Remove the ribs and skin. Place the electric knife edge between the ribs and the fillet. Turn the knife on and cut closely against the under side of the ribs. Cut an inch and a half into the side of the fillet under the skin. Flip the fillet over and grip it by the cut away flap of skin. Insert the knife into the cut and hold it straight against the skin. Pull the fillet toward the knife, cutting the skin away.
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Tips & Warnings
Ice the fish overnight before filleting. Iced fish produce less bloody fillets and are less messy to clean.
The electric fillet knife can cut your hand as well as the fish. Keep your hand away from the knife edge.
Do not use electric knife to gut the fish. A finer knife is required to not cut into the guts.
