Cleaning your offshore catch! The proper technique and tools.
Filleting a fish is a task that many anglers detest because it is “difficult”. Indeed, filleting a fish could be difficult but it wouldn’t be so with a few tricks. If it is your first time to fillet a fish, use a sharp fillet knife – that is the secret of easy fish filleting. Compare to other methods of cutting, filleting requires only minimum force and pressure because the idea is only to let the knife slice through the meat. A sharp knife then would make this task easier as it would be effortless to guide and manipulate.
With your cutting board and fillet knife ready, here are your steps to how to fillet a fish.
- Clean your fish first by slipping your knife into its anus, and making a long cut up to the gills. Removes its insides and rinse.
- Lay the fish on its side, positioning it horizontally to you. Hold the head and make the first cut to the bone right after the pectoral fin. When doing this, angle the knife a little towards the front as it will save precious meat.
- Turn the fish, positioning it vertically to you. Hold half of its body, and angle your knife sideways to make the first fillet. From the edge of your first cut, run the knife towards the tail, avoiding the dorsal fin. Remember to angle the knife downwards, but also be ready to adjust when you feel your cut is already down the bone.
- Peel the meat back and separate the flesh from the backbone of the fish. Continue cutting the flesh, removing any sinew or skin attached to it until the fillet is freed.
- Flip the fish and repeat the same process on the other side of the fish.
If your first try at filleting a fish was not as easy and impressive and you would have wanted, remember to practice some more since it is a skill that improves with time. Also, before you try anything too big, try to start first with a small fish since smaller goals are easier to achieve.
