How to fillet and prepare your catch of fish.

How to Fillet a Round-Bodied Fish, cod or pollock

1. With fish facing away from you, use a sharp,
thin-bladed knife to cut along the back of the fish,
from tail to head. Make a second cut just behind the
gills, down to the backbone.

2. Holding the knife at a slight angle, cut along the bone
to free the back side of the fillet.

3. Peel back the free meat, then cut fillet away from the
rib cage. Turn fish over and repeat above steps for second fillet.

How to Fillet a Flat Fish

With the eyed (dark) side of the flatfish up, use a flexible boning knife to make a cut along the spine from the gills to the tail.

Slide the blade between backbone and flesh,
lifting the fillet away from the bone. Remove the
second fillet in the same manner.

Turn the fish over: repeat step 2.

To skin, grasp fillet by the tail end, skin side
down. Holding the knife at a slight angle, cut
the meat free.

How to Steak a Round-Bodied Fish, conger eel or salmon

Remove fins from cleaned, scaled fish by running knife point along each side of fin base, then pulling this free.
To remove head, make diagonal cut behind the gills and
sever backbone with heavy knife or cleaver.

Still using a heavy knife, slice fish into steaks about
2-4cm thick, starting about 11cm from the head end. (Reserve unsteaked head and tail portions for
another use.).