How to Fillet a Fish

How to Fillet a Fish

How to Fillet a Fish. Now you’ve been on a Reefari Charter and you’ve got a heap of fish to fillet, What to do.

Follow our step by step guide and you’ll be an expert in no time. Firstly though, its important to look after your catch to maintain its excellent eating qualities. It pays to bleed your fish and ice down as soon as possible after being caught. Even better, an ice slurry with some Salt water is hard to beat. Properly iced down fish can keep for several days.

You’ve done the hard yards, caught that beaut coral trout, it certainly pays to look after it.

The following is an easy way to quickly fillet fish and skin most Scaled fish and with a little practice you’ll be able to do all sizes from extra large to pan size in no time. You’ll end up with minimal wastage and a great fish fillet with no bones ready to be cooked.

You’ll need a good sized cutting board and a good sharp filleting knife. Make sure you’re knife is sharp, sharper the better to make life easy. Forcing a blunt knife is when accidents happen. See your local tackle shop for assistance and over time a selection of different sized skinning and filleting knives are recommended.

1. Start a cut from the tail and work up the fish following the backbone. Depending on the size of the fish, you can cut through the rib bones or cut above them with a larger size fish. Knives with Serrated edge near the handle are great for cutting through these rib bones.

2. Slice the knife diagonally across the fish behind the Pectoral fin and your fillet should come away. If you didn’t cut through the Rib bones, carefully cut away the flesh above the Ribs, leaving the stomach cavity intact.

Turn over and repeat for the other side...

3. With the fish fillet flat on cutting board, skin down, cut out rib bones if left.

4. To skin your fish fillet, once again a very sharp knife is needed. With the knife at a 45 degree angle start at the tail and work your way along the fillet removing the flesh from the skin until all removed.

5. With a nice fillet, now feel the pin bones that are left and remove, leaving a great fillet free from bones. If an extra large fillet, slice into more manageable pieces at an angle of thickness 1 -2 cm.

6. Depending on the fish, a large coral trout say, don’t forget the wings, Cut these out, scale and clean away any blood, etc. Some of the best chewing you’ll come across, Trust Me!!

Now you’ve got a great fillet, check out our easy recipes to enjoy all that hard work.
Source:reefari