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How To Bone a Fish

 

Deboning a fish can be done either before or after cooking your fish. It is usually a lot easier to bone a cooked fish but it's not as pleasnat as eating a fillet that has been deboned before cooking.

 

In order to debone a fish, first clean and rinse the fish thoroughly. That is, the fish needs to be gutted and rinsed in cold running tap water. Then place the fish on its side on a clean cutting surface. Using a sharp knife, cut straight down into the fish, just behind the gills until the blade touches the backbone. Then rotate the knife so that the blade is laying flat against the backbone, parallel to the cutting surface. The sharp edge should be toward the tail. Using a gentle back-and-forth sawing motion, cut along the backbone all the way down the fish to the tail, under the fillet. Repeat the same for the other side after turning the fish over. Now the backbone has been removed and the ribs and pin bones need to be removed next. Just cut the rib cage bones away from the fillet by slicing between them and the meat of the fillet. Remove the tiny pin bones by pulling them out with a pair of needle-nose pliers or tweezers. If they are not visible, feel for the tips of the bones with your fingers.

 

Always be sure to use care when dealing with sharp knives. Dull knives should not be used, as the blade will have a tendancy to tear the fillet and not cleanly slice through it. Using a serrated or electric knife on fish will also shread the meat.

 

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