Interactive Chart
The Cut Map
Where every cut sits on the animal. Pick a species, then hover a primal or a cut name to light it up on the chart — and hover the chart to find the cuts in each primal.
Fish · 5 primals
Head
3- Fish Spine & Collar (Kama) BreakdownThe pectoral collar of a large fish — the collagen-rich, fat-marbled section behind the gills — separated cleanly from the shoulder for grilling whole.
- Kokotxas (Cod Cheek / Chin)The collagen-rich chin-throat of cod or hake, revered in Basque cooking for the natural gelatin that creates the iconic pil-pil emulsion.
- Octopus Cleaning & Head-to-Mantle SeparationTurning the head sac inside out, purging ink and organs, removing the beak and eyes, then portioning tentacles for cooking.
Collar
3- Fish Collar Separation (Coastal East African)The pectoral collar cut from coastal East African fish — removed as a prized fatty portion for grilling over charcoal, valued for its high fat content and collagen-rich cartilage.
- Hiki-zukuri (Pulled Tuna Slice)A long, single pulling stroke through tuna loin that yields thick, rectangular sashimi slices with a clean, unbroken face.
- Salmon Breakdown — Collar, Loin, Belly & Tail PortioningThe full fabrication of a whole salmon into collar, belly strip, loin portions, and tail, each destined for its ideal preparation.
Loin
31- Butterfly Fillet (Herring / Sardine Method)Small oily fish opened flat along the belly and spine-freed while both halves remain hinged at the back — a single piece that grills, cures, or pickles beautifully.
- Corte en Láminas (Tiradito Thin Slice)A Peruvian Nikkei knife technique — a single low-angle drawing stroke that yields paper-thin, wide fish slices for tiradito, contrasting with the diced cube of ceviche and revealing Japanese sashimi lineage.
- Daimyo Oroshi (Single-Stroke Fillet for Small Fish)The Japanese high-speed filleting method for small round fish — a single decisive stroke runs from head to tail along the spine to free each fillet, sacrificing a small amount of yield for dramatic efficiency.
- Darnes (Cross-Cut Fish Steak)A bone-in, skin-on cross-section steak cut perpendicularly through a whole round fish, yielding a medallion-shaped portion with central spine and riblets intact.
- Fish Fillet vs. Darne vs. PavéThe three classical French categories for fish portion cuts: fillet (boneless, flat), darne (bone-in round-fish steak), and pavé (thick, square, boneless block) — each with distinct geometry, cooking behavior, and service context.
- Fish Loin for Tiradito / Sashimi-Style SlicingA low-angle, 3–5 mm loin slice of corvina or cobia used in Peruvian Nikkei tiradito — thinner and more deliberate than ceviche's cube.
- Fish SuprêmeA thick, boneless, skin-on portion cut on the bias from a large fish fillet, producing a wedge of even depth that cooks uniformly and presents elegantly.
- Flat Fish Filleting — Four-Fillet Method (Sole & Flounder)The four-fillet breakdown unique to flatfish anatomy, running two cuts per side along the lateral line to yield four thin, delicate fillets from a single fish.
- Gomai Oroshi (Five-Piece Fish Breakdown)The Japanese standard for breaking down flatfish into five pieces — four fillets (two per face) plus the central spine — adapted from sanmai oroshi to exploit the unique four-lobe musculature of hirame, karei, and turbot.
- Goujons (Finger-Cut Fish Strips)Diagonal finger-width strips cut from flat-fish fillets, breaded and deep-fried to a crisp golden shell around tender, moist flesh.
- Ito-zukuri (Thread Cut for Delicate Fish)Ultra-fine thread-like strips of squid, young yellowtail, or other translucent fish that dissolve on the tongue and catch dipping sauce in their filaments.
- Kaku-zukuri (Block-Cut Sashimi)Uniform cubes of firm fish — tuna, yellowtail, or salmon — cut for sashimi that delivers a satisfying, chewy bite and bold visual presence.
- Kakushi-bocho (Hidden Score Cuts)Shallow incisions made on the unseen side of fish or vegetables so heat penetrates evenly and the food folds or curls without cracking the skin.
- Kazari-giri (Decorative Vegetable Cuts)Japanese ornamental knife craft that transforms vegetables and fruit into seasonal motifs — pine needles, cranes, plum blossoms — serving as edible sculptural garnishes in kaiseki and formal banquet presentations.
- Ken (Fine Daikon Julienne for Sashimi)Ultra-fine daikon threads produced by first shaving a long continuous sheet via katsura-muki, then stacking and julienning to a hair-thin cross-section — served as the crisp, palate-cleansing bed beneath sashimi.
- Monkfish Skinning & Loin PortioningStripping monkfish's multiple skin and membrane layers to reveal two firm, meaty loins that cook like a lean tenderloin.
- Paupiette / Fish en PaupietteA thin fish fillet rolled around a stuffing and poached or braised in a flavoured court-bouillon or beurre blanc sauce.
- Prawn / Shrimp — Devein & Butterfly CutThe foundational shellfish prep: removing the dark digestive tract and optionally splitting the prawn ventrally so it opens flat for even cooking, visual impact, and classic dim sum wrappers.
- Red Mullet (Sultan Ibrahim) Bone-Out TechniquePrecision filleting and pin-boning of small, fragile red mullet for skin-on presentation in Levantine, Greek, and Mediterranean cooking.
- Round Fish Filleting (Flat Fillet & Pin-Bone Removal)The standard two-fillet technique for round-bodied fish, yielding a boneless side of flesh from each flank by running a knife along the spine and lateral line, then removing pin bones.
- Salmon Gravlax Slice (Garnish Manger Context)The long, translucent 2–3 mm bias-angled slice drawn from a cured salmon side — the definitive garde manger cut for cold platters, canapés, and Scandinavian first courses.
- Salt Cod — Soaking & Pre-PortioningThe essential multi-day soaking and anatomy-aware portioning that transforms a plank of preserved salt cod into recipe-ready flesh.
- Sanmai Oroshi (Three-Piece Fish Breakdown)The foundational Japanese fish-filleting method that breaks a round fish into three pieces — two boneless fillets and the central backbone — using precise knife work along the spine.
- Sashimi Knife Cuts — Hira-zukuri, Usu-zukuri & Sogi-zukuriThe three foundational Japanese sashimi slicing styles — the rectangular block-pull (hira), the paper-thin diagonal (usu), and the oblique slab (sogi) — each matched to specific fish textures and service presentations.
- Squid Score & Ring CutCrosshatch scoring on the inner face of cleaned squid tubes so they curl and bloom during cooking, or straight crosswise ring cuts for calamari fry.
- Tataki-zukuri (Rough-Chopped Cut)A controlled rough chop that reduces fish to irregular, coarsely textured pieces — the foundation for namerō, okizuke, and bonito tataki sauces.
- Tronçon (Bone-In Flat Fish Steak)A cross-cut steak taken through a whole flat fish — turbot, brill, or sole — retaining spine, lateral bones, skin, and the four muscle pads in a single thick portion.
- Usu-zukuri (Paper-Thin Slice — Fugu)Translucent slices so thin the blue-and-white porcelain plate beneath shows through — the defining cut for fugu and the technical apex of Japanese fish butchery.
- Whole Fish — Backbone Removal for Grilling (Spatchcock Fish)A whole fish deboned through the belly or back while the two sides remain joined at the skin, laid flat for even, fast grilling over charcoal or in a plancha.
- Whole Fish Breakdown — Tilapia & Catfish (West African)The West African method of scaling, gutting, scoring, and portioning tilapia and catfish for pepper soup, stews, and grilled preparations.
- Whole Fish Scoring for Steaming / FryingShallow diagonal or cross-hatch cuts made through the skin and into the flesh of a whole fish to ensure uniform heat penetration and allow aromatics to reach deep into the meat.
Belly
3- Buri (Yellowtail) Primal BreakdownThe Japanese breakdown of yellowtail (buri/hamachi) into collar, fatty belly, and loin — with cuts and names that change as the fish matures through the season.
- Maguro (Tuna) Primal Sections — Otoro, Chutoro & AkamiThe three primal fat zones of bluefin tuna — ultra-fatty belly, mid-fatty belly, and lean loin — each with a distinct colour, flavour, and sashimi value.
- Whole Fish Butterfly Cut for Pescado a la TallaA whole fish split open through the belly and flattened like a book, head intact, for high-heat grilling over coals.