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fishsmith · 08-13-2012, 11:00 AM

Seeing Sandman's elec fillet knife post got me thinking about filleting.

One of my first jobs was a mate, and as such I filleted alot fish, most were bluefish as that was the only game in town off boston in the mid 80's, mackeral were cut like a trout so not much to learn there.

Here are my tips, take them for what they're worth....

1. sharp knife, (obvious, but I'm guilty of using the closest knive vs. the sharpest after a long day). Keep the stone near the fillet station.

2. Leave the fish on ice overnight if you can, this simply makes the fish easier to clean. (not for tuna).

3. John Bunar taught me this and it's been a huge help. Don't remove the first 1/2 of the fillet when cleaning fish, this way, when you filp the fish over to do the other side, it is still balanced, with the side taken off, the second fillet is not as easy to cut.

4. when skinning the fish, at the tail side, go up a 1/4" or so and cut to the skin, (but not through) this gives you something to pinch/hold on the fillet and pull the fillet/skin toward the knife to skin the fish. The knife is held to the skin.

5. keep your cleaning station clean, slime makes life much more difficult.

6. this should have of been first, but bleed the fish you plan to keep asap, a deep slice right where the gills meet will usually get to the heart. This cut is commonly known as the 'Columbian Bowtie'

anyone else have tips?????

08-13-2012, 11:00 AM	#1
fishsmith DDG-51 iTrader: (0) Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 3,550	Fillet Tips Seeing Sandman's elec fillet knife post got me thinking about filleting. One of my first jobs was a mate, and as such I filleted alot fish, most were bluefish as that was the only game in town off boston in the mid 80's, mackeral were cut like a trout so not much to learn there. Here are my tips, take them for what they're worth.... 1. sharp knife, (obvious, but I'm guilty of using the closest knive vs. the sharpest after a long day). Keep the stone near the fillet station. 2. Leave the fish on ice overnight if you can, this simply makes the fish easier to clean. (not for tuna). 3. John Bunar taught me this and it's been a huge help. Don't remove the first 1/2 of the fillet when cleaning fish, this way, when you filp the fish over to do the other side, it is still balanced, with the side taken off, the second fillet is not as easy to cut. 4. when skinning the fish, at the tail side, go up a 1/4" or so and cut to the skin, (but not through) this gives you something to pinch/hold on the fillet and pull the fillet/skin toward the knife to skin the fish. The knife is held to the skin. 5. keep your cleaning station clean, slime makes life much more difficult. 6. this should have of been first, but bleed the fish you plan to keep asap, a deep slice right where the gills meet will usually get to the heart. This cut is commonly known as the 'Columbian Bowtie' anyone else have tips?????