No fingers were cut while bringing you this how to.
Before you do anything else rinse the fish in cold water. Then cut off the fins as seen above. The easiest way to do this is to trace around the cartilage. Keep them if you are making stock other wise — into the trash.
Begin the cut at the base of the tail and lay the blade on the spine. You are going to trace the knife blade up against the spine of the fish keeping itΒ parallel to the cutting board.
Halfway through the fish take the knife and score down from the top. Use the top fin to judge where to make the first incision.
Using the knife blade separate the flesh from bone by working downward while holding the fillet up. By tracing the blade across the bones the flesh will lift away.
After working around the rib cage slice the remaining meat away from fish body.
There will be a small piece of fish remaining on the skeleton. Score against the bone to remove it. I like to use this part to flavor stocks and sauces.
Above are the two fillets plus meat tenders and carcass.
Nice work, chef!
….. but I buy them filleted π hehehe…
Fantastic tutorial! I always just ask the kind fish counter person to filet it for me, but now I’ll certainly feel better about doing it myself! Thanks!
My mom used to gut the whole fish when we were younger. This post definitely brought it back. Good job with those knife skills! Esp the no-cutting-yourself skills. π
I usually ask the fishmonger to do this for me too!
What did you end up making with your homemade fillets?
Pan seared them with some capers, posting the recipe in a few days. It’s good for any white fish, since the one we used isn’t common outside the southern U.S.
so thats how you cut it! great pics and post overall..fish is my fav
Rufus my friend, you can cut a fish. I can’t even imagine myself doing what you did in this post lol. I’m scared I would hurt myself lol. But with practice comes a nice piece of fish. Great post.
This is great. Love your blog. I hope you have a photographer because otherwise you did lots of stopping, washing, positioning, etc. – it looks great!
http://eatsomethingnew.com
Pingback: Great Food and Inspiration…A Blog To Visit | Just Ramblin'
Pingback: Seven Links (and then some) Challenge | Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide
Pingback: Trout Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce | Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide
Pingback: Poached Fish with Cilantro and Garlic | Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide
Pingback: Rufus Reruns: Is There a Butcher in the House? | Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide