Got yourself a nice round fish that you would like to fillet? Do not be afraid! Although it might seem like a hassle, you can follow these simple steps to prepare lovely fillets from any round fish. Check out this video from BBC Good Food if you would like some visual help.
- Cut into the back of the head, at an angle that follows the gills on both sides, then cut under the fin on the underside. Remove the head from the body.
- Make a shallow incision on the back of the fish, to one side of the dorsal fin.
- Run the tip of the knife from head to tail, along the bones. You can check your cut by running your fingers in the incision.
- Midway along, the fish, put the knife down and through to the underside of the fish and run the knife along the whole fillet, to the tail.
- Remove the fillet by stoking the knife under the fillet from the midpoint to the head, then remove it from the fish.
- Repeat on the other side of the fish for the second fillet.
- Trim the skin around the fillets to make them neater.
- To remove the bones at the centre of the fillets, use tweezers to pull them out or use a knife to cute along either side of them and pull the whole strip of bones out.
If you lack time (or motivation!) to prepare your own fillets, check out our shop, where we have a good selection of filleted fish such as salmon, cod, monkfish, seabass, haddock or trout. And if you are looking for inspiration, we have a few recipes that might help you!
