A fillet is the most common cut of fish – offering great versatility and variety in preparation. Preparing fillets yourself assures better freshness and flavor.
1. To remove the backbone, hold the fish firmly by its mouth using your gloved hand – its back facing up and tail facing toward you. Cut from head to tail along the entire length of fish in long strokes, on both sides of the top dorsal fin. (To keep your fillets neater in appearance, avoid a back and forth sawing motion.) Remove the fin and the attached bones.
2. Remove the fish head with the fillet knife – cutting in a semi-circular motion from the backbone toward the throat. It may be necessary to turn the fish over and cut through that side as well.
3. To separate skin from flesh, lay the fish on its side and grip the tail. Hold the knife parallel to the board and cut through the side of the fish at the tail end – with the edge of the blade facing forward and angled down toward the board. Using a gentle sawing motion, cut from the tail toward the head. Turn fish over and repeat.
4. To separate flesh from bone, hold the tail portion and run your knife from tail to head right above the center rib bones. (This will produce one fillet.) Turn fish over and repeat.
Check both fillets for bones by running your finger over the fillet. Remove any bones with pliers or tweezers.
If fillets are large, cut into portions. Rinse under cold running water, pat dry and you're ready to cook.
Baking
