Use these tips to start filleting fish like a pro!
Pair a slippery fish with a sharp blade, and you have a possible recipe for disaster. Filleting a fish is something that every home chef can master, but it takes practice and a careful hand. Check out these safety tips for filleting a fish.
Tools For The Job
For the safest approach for filleting fish, you should start by wearing a filleting glove on the hand you’ll use to secure the fish while you cut. It’s a similar type to what meat processors wear and will help with grip while also preventing cuts. A cutting board is more sanitary and easier to clean than other surfaces. Finally, the most important tool for the job is the type of knife you use. You should be using a filleting knife that has a flexible blade, a hard material grip, and a blade that’s between 8 and 10 inches long.
Direction
Be careful to never cut with the blade toward your hand and body. Although some people might consider it to be a more comfortable position depending on what hand you use and slicing techniques that you’ve just become accustomed to, remember that it’s much safer to filet with the blade pointing away from yourself.
Cutting Technique
Use the cutting direction from head to tail. Get a grip on the fish’s head using your gloved hand. You’ll need to know where the dorsal spines are so that you can cut above the top of the gill plate, down and back behind the pectoral fin. For your next cut, insert the knife about an inch deep perpendicular to your first cut. Slice toward the rear of the fish and on top of the rib cage. Next, push the knife all the way through the fish and use the backbone as your guide as you push through to the fish’s tail. Lift the portion that you’ve cut away from the bone and use the curved part of your blade to cut toward the belly of the first. Repeat these steps on the other side to achieve the perfect, boneless filet.
YOUR SEAFOOD DESTINATION THIS SUMMER
Costas Inn has been a Baltimore tradition since 1971. You may recognize our restaurant, which was recently featured on the Food Network with Michael Symon on Burgers, Brew, and ‘Que! We were also voted the 2015 #1 Baltimore Seafood Restaurant by USA Today, as well as #1 Crab Restaurant 2014 in the Baltimore Business Journal. You may have also spotted Costas Inn during one of our 9 appearances on the Today Show or heard one of our many interviews on WJZ TV Channel 13 with Ron Matz and Marty Bass.
You can enjoy our famous crab cakes in-house or order them online for anytime eating. We also provide some of the best seafood catering in the Baltimore area! You can also get your fill from Costas even when you’re not in our dining room: follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and YouTube!
