How to Filet a Fish

Don’t you just love fish fillets? They’re delightful and easier to eat, compared to regular fish served whole. Buying fish fillets from a grocery or market is easy, but if you want, you can make your own fillets from a fresh fish. Here’s what to do.

What You’ll Need:

• Fish
• Cutting board
• Sharp fillet knife
• Cloth or towel
• Apron
• Fillet glove (optional)

Procedure:

1. Catch or buy the fish. If you opt for store-bought fish, ask the butcher how fresh they are.



2. Ready yourself and the surface you’re working on. Have all the tools ready. This is a smelly, fishy task, so wear an apron to protect your clothes. Before you begin filleting, you can slip on a fillet glove. This allows you to easily grip the fish and protect you from accidentally cutting yourself.
3. Clean the fish, holding it by its tail and running a knife or scaler from the tail to the head. Make sure you wash the outside thoroughly.
4. Put the fish on the cutting board. Hold your fillet knife with one hand. If you don’t have a fillet glove, just wrap a cloth or towel around your hand, to safeguard it, in case the knife slips. It also allows you to hold the fish more firmly.
5. Put the sharp knife on the part where the tail meets with the body, the sharp edge pointing towards the head. Cut along the backbone, going to the neck, with your knife at a 45 degree angle. Make sure you use long strokes, to give your fillet a neat look. A back and forth sawing motion will look unpleasant. Repeat this on the other side.
6. Use a spoon and scrap the fish from head to tail, scooping the innards out. Make sure you remove the kidney too, scraping it out with your fillet knife. The fins should be cut off too.
7. Cut off the fish head, using a semi-circular motion going from the backbone to the throat. You can turn the fish over and cut through the other side too. Throw the head, as well as the innards away, leaving only the two fillets.
8. If you choose to leave the skin on, scale the fish. This gives your fillets a strong and fishy taste. Hold it under running water while you’re scaling, so the scales won’t go all over the place. If you want to get the skin off, proceed to the next step.
9. Put the fish fillet down on the cutting board, with the skin side down. Remove the rib bones using the knife. Put the knife carefully between the meat and skin, sliding all the way through your fillet, until your skin is removed from the meat.
10. When your fillets have no rib bones or skin on them, rinse them well under water, and put on a platter until ready to wrap.
11. Wrap your fish fillets tightly to keep the air out. The fillets should also be dry before wrapping them.

Freshly made fish fillets are great for a deliciously fishy dinner! Whether you deep fry, sautee in sauce, or steam them, they’ll surely taste great.