FILLETING
- handy tips & hints

See also Reader Questions & Answers.

See the Competitions page to find out what you can win, simple by sending your tip or hint in!

<< BACK TO TIPS MAIN PAGE

Tips added to Fish File pages
Look for this "Readers Tips" logo on each Fish File page to see the tips sent in from readers for that particular fish. Send in your own tip and be in the running for some great monthly prizes!

Quick way to clean squid
From: David
If you are fortunate to own a pressure water cleaner, line up your squid on the lawn and blast away. The outer skin just peels off. Leaving you only to gut it and turn it inside out for a quick clean.
(19 July 2004)

Avoiding ammonia in gummy sharks
From: Pete Coleman
The way a mate and I found to avoid the smell and taste of ammonia in gummies is to do what Andy Mostert from 'Fishtales' Bait and Tackle in Pakenham suggested and that is, remove the head completly, gut and clean the the cavity, then straight in an ice slurrey mix of sea water and ice. It was frozen within about 3 to 4 hours after this, in newspaper just like the old chippie
shops. We cooked it on the barbie plate a month later with just butter and the oil from the burgers before, and it was magnificent.
(2 May 2003)

Tips for better tasting salmon
From: Alan McFayden (see Alan's regular report here.)
When you catch a salmon it is important to bleed the fish immediately and if possible place it head first in the sand to get rid of as much blood as you can. The best table fish are up to the 1kg mark and after this they tend to have a slightly earthy flavour but other ways other than the traditional method of cooking can improve the flavour. You might try removing the backbone and rib cage and gut by cutting around them with a sharp knife starting from the top of the fish. If done properly it will be in tact with no bones. The idea then is to fill the cavity with stuffing and then sew the fish up. Wrap in tin foil, place on a rack over water and put it in an oven around 240 degrees for about 35-40 minutes. When cooked all you have to do is remove the foil and cotton. You should have a boneless meal after discarding the tail and there is plenty of tender meat around the head for those interested.
(11 March 2003)

Keep a heavy duty knife as well
From: Harry
When filleting or cleaning different fish, you'll probably have to cut through some fairly heavy bone at some stage. To do this safely and effectively, never use your good filleting knife on bone. They have fairly pliable steel blades and can flex, causing them to slip off the bone and into the person doing the job. It will also blunten the edge requiring more frequent sharpening plus it will needlessly wreck your good blade over time. When cutting through bone use a heavy duty blade with a good sharp edge, and never cut towards yourself. Remember, most serious accidents with knives are caused by blunt knives and poor handling.
(10 December 2002)

Trout filleting tip
From: Luke Sammut
When gutting a trout, cut from the gills down to the back bone and you should have the beautiful white flesh of the trout. Luke, age 12.
(10 July 2002)

Filleting Flathead
From: Henry
Cut In below gills, turn knife and cut back along the backbone, stopping the cut about 5-10mm before the tail is reached. Scrape about 3cm of flesh from the skin (back towards the head) then place knife flat on flesh with pressure and, holding the fish by the skin, tear skin away from flesh in a single smooth motion. Repeat for other side of fish. Because the bones are attached to the skin they will tear away from flesh leaving a boneless and skinless fillet. This method is the quickest and easyest way to clean small flathead.
(4 April 2002)

Filleting Garfish #3
From: Karen O'Riley
A handy tip my mum taught me when filleting garfish was to gut them, remove the head, lay them on their back and run a rolling pin firmly over the garfish, then she would just lift the bones out in one piece. Like anything, this takes a bit of practice, but you end up with a lovely butterfly fillet of garfish, and no bones.
Tight lines, Karen O'Riley.
(18 January 2002)

Filleting Garfish #2
From: Dion Everts
I worked in a fresh fish shop for a number of years and the way we filleted them was by what's called the "butterfly method".
      What you do is gut the fish and take its head off. then using a short and very sharp boning knife (a short filleting knife will do), turn the fish belly up, open the abdominal cavity with your non-preferred hand and cut along the fish's backbone and ribs one side at a time, being careful not to cut all the way through. The idea is that removing the backbone and the ribs from the inside, you get one nice large fillet per fish! We didn't worry about the tiny lateral bones because they are usually so small.
      With practice, this is an excellent way to get a nice fillet from a gar, but it's a bit tricky the first few times, so don't give up if your first few attempts turn to mush.
      If you have any questions about this method or filleting any other fish, e-mail me. Cheers, Dion.
(1 November 2001)

Use a fork to help fillet and you will never look back
From: Alan Mc Fayden
When filleting fish such as whiting try holding the fillet with a fork instead of your fingers to remove the rib cage. You will find that you will make a mess of the first few but when you get the hang of it you will not fillet a fish without a fork, an ordinary table fork will do. You will find that you can use this method to fillet gar fish. There will not be a bone in the fillet and you can feed the fish to babies, that's how confident I am. There will be those out there who will laugh but I am serious and as time goes on you will wonder why you did not think of this yourself. Why not try it and let me know what you think. Regards, Alan Mc Fayden.
(30 August 2001)

Filleting garfish!
From: Alan Mc Fayden
Recently I went out with fishing mate Keith Jones off San Remo after garfish. We came back with a nice catch of rather big fish and while Keith started to hose down the boat as he usually does and I attended to filleting the garfish. Yes, I mean filletting them. As I was doing this a number of people gathered around and expressed considerable interest as they had never seen this being done before. What I have worked out is that you take the first fillet off starting with the back of the fish facing away and then take the other fillet off. What I do then is to use an ordinary kitchen fork to take the place of fingers and with a sharp pliable knife just slide it under the rib cage and slip out the bones with virtually no waste at all. Don't worry if you make a mess of the first few because with practice things will improve and you will never have gars like it again apart from boning them out which is another practice which I could go through if anyone wants me to. Filleting gars is much better and quicker than using the old bottle method.And a tip for your next fishing trip, take a rubbish bag with you and collect as much rubbish that you can fit into it. If we all do a little bit, our favourite fishing spots will be preserved. Try to leave the place cleaner than when you arrived.
Good Fishing to you all.


<< BACK TO TIPS MAIN PAGE