# How To Fillet A Fish? (The Best Way)



## smartcooker303 (Apr 8, 2010)

It takes a certain amount of touch to fillet a fish, but expending a little more effort at the cleaning stage is worth it because it means no bones at the eating stage. When you get the hang of filleting, you can zip through a pile of fish pretty quickly, and it gives you a sense of accomplishment that you can do something as well as the old-timers.

So, let's begin the work:

*Hold the fish on the cutting board with the back of the fish toward you. Using a thin flexible knife, cut through the back of the head to the backbone and turn the blade so it's running along the backbone.

*Hold the fish by placing your non cutting hand over the head. Push the knife along the backbone to the tail using a sawing motion.

*Pull the fillet away from the body of the fish while making small careful cuts with the knife to retain as much flesh as possible.

*Using small strokes of the knife, remove the fillet from the rib cage, feeling your way around the bones with the knife.

*Turn the fish over and repeat steps 1 through 3 on the other side. Using a flat bladed knife, slice a bit of the skin away from the flesh. 

*Cut a hole in the loosened skin so you can fit your finger through it.

*Hold the skin through the finger hole and pull the skin away from the fillet, using the knife to hold the fillet down. Hold the knife at a 45 degree angle.

*With your fingers and a clean tweezer, feel for any pin bones and pull them out of the fillets.

Take it slow on your first few to make sure you get the hang of it. Once you do, you’ll start to zip through your stringer like a pro.


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## Phil (Apr 8, 2010)

One cut along the spine, one cut between the skin and the meat, total of four cuts per fish. That's how it's done on the fishin' boat.


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