Let's Talk Filleting

[SaltyAlice]

I'm sure there will be a variety of methods and opinions here, but I'm curious what folks find is the best way to break down a fish. To me it is important to respect the fish and process it properly and ensure the highest quality food gets on my family's table. I'm interested in getting better every time I break a fish down.

So what is your preferred method for the perfect fillet? Guts out first? Keep head on? Just eat it whole like an orca?

Also, do you handle salmon different from a ling or black bass?

The way Gordon Ramsay does it in this video results in an impressive spine that hardly has any meat on it.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

I don't like using my fine hand sharpened sharp flat edge knives for cutting anything to do with bones, even lighter salmon bones will dull good quality fine knives quickly. So for the main cutting off of the fillets I use a very long high quality strong Henkle serrated knife to cut through the bones then my finer flat edged knives for the finer work of cleaning up the fillets. I use all the scraps for Hali, crab, prawn bait and/or for making fish stock with for chowders, soups, bisque's etc.. So no waste at all. The gill fin collar meat and the belly fat straps make excellent Hali bait that stays on the hook a long time.








I use the method shown here in this video except I remove the guts first cause if you accidentally puncture an organ while removing the fillets you can quickly ruin the meat.

 

[RiverBoy]

one of the things i do when i fillet is dry my table using a cheap squee-gee and use the back side of the knife to remove slime from the chinook. this a quick scrape that takes seconds and stops the fish from sliding all over the place. a while back someone suggested putting down a single piece of newspaper. this also works excellent.

anyway, now your fish isn't sliding all over the place.

i NEVER remove the head. this is my handle.
i then cut down the edge of the collar and start making my fillet, careful not to go thru the spine, wrecking the bottom side fillet. knife rides the spine horizontally all the way to the tail. if your knife is sharp you normally end up filleting off a small section of the tail. provided you keep your knife on the spine the entire length of the fish there should be zero waste.
i use my forefinger to lift the fillet up when the blade wants to catch on the fins.

dealing with the fillets now, i gently score the top end of the ribs and then go against the grain taking off only about four or five ribs at a time. hard to explain this step. alternatively you can score the ribs and “fillet” off the ribs in one entire section. belly fat gets trimmed as does the dorsal fin cartilage.
spine remnants get removed by cutting a 45 degree cut along each edge of the remnants

 

[Cookie's Cutter]

I don't like using my fine hand sharpened sharp flat edge knives for cutting anything to do with bones, even lighter salmon bones will dull good quality fine knives quickly. So for the main cutting off of the fillets I use a very long high quality strong Henkle serrated knife to cut through the bones then my finer flat edged knives for the finer work of cleaning up the fillets. I use all the scraps for Hali, crab, prawn bait and/or for making fish stock with for chowders, soups, bisque's etc.. So no waste at all. The gill fin collar meat and the belly fat straps make excellent Hali bait that stays on the hook a long time.

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I use the method shown here in this video except I remove the guts first cause if you accidentally puncture an organ while removing the fillets you can quickly ruin the meat.

This old geezer makes Gordon Ramsey look like the ignorant twit he really is. Did you notice Ramsey placed his final product skin side down because the flesh actually looked like it was filleted by Ray Charles.

 

[bigdogg1]

i gently score the top end of the ribs and then go against the grain taking off only about four or five ribs at a time

Do you mean that you score the 3-4 larger ribs at the 'front' of the filter then go to to the back ribs and start working forward?

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

If you want to protect your left hand from cuts and also make holding a slimy fish a lot easier get yourself one of these:
https://www.amazon.ca/Rapala-BPFGL-Fillet-Glove-Large/dp/B001NXC7RW/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=fillet+glove&qid=1566498791&s=gateway&sr=8-6&th=1&psc=1
There's cheaper softer ones on the market but they don't hold the fish as well as the Rapala one's I've found. The softer ones tend to get soaked with slime quickly.

The Zwilling Henckle 13.5" serrated knife model I use to cut through fish bones is the Twin Master 32102-350 made in Spain. Haven't had to have it sharpened in over 20 years. Got mine through a food processing supply store in Vancouver. Knife stores may be able to order them in though. Pretty much like a very long, stiff bread knife.

The knife I use for doing finer rib bone removal without taking meat with them is a Wusthoff Grand Prix 4557 Super flexible and strong. Holds an edge well.



The guy in the video also cuts the head off by hitting down on the back side of the knife with his other hand. That's a very poor way of cutting through anything solid. A common thing that happens when doing that is the knife flips on its side and can cut right through the wrist of the hand holding it.

 

[RiverBoy]

Do you mean that you score the 3-4 larger ribs at the 'front' of the filter then go to to the back ribs and start working forward?

no i make a slight score along the entire top of the ribs. just under the top edge of the ribs, not into the meat. those first few ribs i stick my knife under them and remove them first. then i remove the remainder a few at a time, careful not to jab the knife into the fillet.

 

[Humpbubble]

Ramsey would get kicked off the table for such a prolonged butchering. that was terrible.
i like a sturdy ham slicer and not too sharp or its easy to cut into the backbone. one eve stroke (pull) down both sides of the fish ( head on, guts in) 15 seconds tops including rib cage removal.

that said, them fillets look awesome Chasin' Dreams!

if its for me, i spend a lot of time scraping all that smelly gunk and scales off. not fond of fishy fish. best tip i can give.

 

[Salmonholic]

no i make a slight score along the entire top of the ribs. just under the top edge of the ribs, not into the meat. those first few ribs i stick my knife under them and remove them first. then i remove the remainder a few at a time, careful not to jab the knife into the fillet.

Did you notice the slime on that salmon he filleted ? I find that can taint the meat . I always bleed my fish right away. Before I gut the fish I use a stiff scrub brush and scrub the slime off . You wouldn’t believe how much slime comes off . I believe this gives you a much better product. As some cleaning tables are slippery as heck I use a small burlap sack under the fish. Not sliding around anymore.

 

[littlechucky]

Saw a guy at the cleaning table using a stiff wire brush to remove slime and scales.

I borrowed it from him and it worked like a hot damn.

Used my knife to get the last of it off, but the wire brush made quick work of it and saved some time for sure.

 

[Chasin' Dreams]

Ya the slime can definitely taint the meat. I'm the only one in our family that likes crispy cooked salmon skin on my pieces so for the rest of the family I remove the skin from all pre cut portions I vac pack. Very easy to do with a sharp flat knife. After removing the skin you can also remove the grey meat that is usually under the spine bone. That section usually has a stronger fish taste to it and some people have said if there is in any mercury/heavy metals in the meat it will settle in this spot. So prior to cooking I always remove that unless I'm leaving skin on.