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.
Step One
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.
Step Two
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.
Step Three
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.
Step Four
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.
Step Five
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.
Step Six
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.
Step Seven
Cut the fillets in smaller parts of desired. Wash under cold water. Drain and apply your favorite seasoning.