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e skill that can always be used when it comes to life is processing your own food! Whether it be for survival, for fun, or just wanting to get back in touch with nature and knowing that you went out and harvested something, and are now in the process of taking it from the field to table, filleting a fish so you do not bite down into those pesky bones is a great skill! In today's blog we will specifically be looking at how to fillet a fish, whether it be salmon, trout, or panfish using the gutless Method!
The first step in this process is to get outdoors and catch something! If you do not like to fish, or do not have the time to go harvest, buying from a local market, or seafood shop can be a plan b!
Step 1: Have a sharp knife. Having a dull knife can almost ensure poor quality in the meat, or severe cuts!( I have cut myself many times from not keeping my tools sharp!
Step 2: Orienting the fish depending on you hand dominance. I tend to fillet better when the fish has its head pointing to the left side that way I am cutting down and to the right.
Step 3: Take you knife and place it right behind the gill plate, and make an angled incision downward. This will be the first cut that is made. When dealing with smaller fish it may be easier compared to filleting something that has more size to it.
Step 4: Once this cut is made, take the tip of your knife and start a small cut down the upper shoulder of the fish. You will cut down the backbone using the spine of the fish as a guide. You want to keep that flexible fillet knife on the upper part of the backbone. As you cut down you will feel that bone and try to keep the knife flat to avoid cutting through!
Step 5: Once you get about three inches from the tail where the body narrows down you will poke the tip of your knife all the way through and continue to cut down till you separate the bottom of the fillet from the carcass of the fish.
Step 6: Go back to the top and lightly use the tip of your knife to follow that same pattern, all while peeling the meat from the spine and backbone.
Step 7: As you do this you will end up peeling all the way down until you reach the rib bones and the gut area. Once you reach this you want to be very careful to ensure you do not puncture any of the stomach contents.
Step 8: Once the gut area is reached with very little pressure let your knife do all the work, and follow the rib bones all the way down to the belly area of the fish. Once that is achieved you can make your cut to separate the fillet from the bottom belly area. This is when you can remove the fillet from the fish and do a little clean up work! Cutting the fins off and pulling any bones that are left behind!
Step 9: Flip the fish over and do steps 1-8 on the opposite side! Sometimes leaving the fillet on and doing the other side is helpful since it gives extra support while you make your cuts so you do not end up cutting through the bones!
Overall this is a very useful skill to have! If you do not like lots of blood, hearts, and guts this is the method to use! Bleeding fish when you catch them will also reduce the amount of blood that ends up in the meat! The first time you fillet a fish it will not be perfect! Heck I have been fishing for 15 years and still butcher my fillets every once in a while, but practice makes perfect! Following these steps can help you get better at this skill and finish with a presentable fillet that will cook up great!
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