Knife Skills

Fillet

Cut clean boneless sides from a fish along the backbone

Filleting glides a flexible knife along a fish's backbone to lift off clean, boneless sides. It's an essential skill for cooking whole fresh fish. Keep the blade flat against the bones and use long, smooth strokes, then run your fingers to find and pull any stray pin bones.

Filleting lifts clean, boneless sides off a whole fish, gliding a flexible knife along the backbone and over the rib bones. It's the essential skill for cooking fresh whole fish — and a satisfying one, turning a whole fish into neat portions while leaving a clean frame for stock. The keys are a flexible filleting knife that can flex against the bones, long smooth strokes rather than sawing, and keeping the blade flat to the skeleton so you leave as little flesh behind as possible. A final run of the fingertips finds the stray pin bones, which you pull out with tweezers.

Difficulty: Advanced

Types & varieties

Round-fish fillet

Two fillets lifted off either side of a round fish like trout, bass, or salmon.

Flatfish fillet (quarter-cut)

Four fillets from a flatfish like sole or plaice, two per side.

Skin-on vs. skinned

Filleting with the skin left on, or removing it with a flat blade against the board.

How to do it

1
Scale and prep
Scale and gut the fish if needed, rinse, and pat it dry so it doesn't slip.
2
Cut behind the head
Slice down behind the gill and pectoral fin until you reach the backbone.
3
Run along the backbone
Turn the blade flat and draw it along the spine from head to tail, keeping it riding on the bones.
4
Lift the fillet
Use long, smooth strokes over the rib bones to release the whole side in one piece.
5
Flip and repeat
Turn the fish over and fillet the second side the same way.
6
Remove pin bones
Run a fingertip down the fillet to feel the pin bones and pull each one out with tweezers.

Keeping the blade on the bone

The whole art of filleting is leaving as little flesh on the frame as possible, and that comes from keeping the flexible blade flat and pressed against the skeleton. Long, smooth strokes let the knife glide over the ribs rather than cutting into them; sawing or lifting the blade leaves ragged fillets and wasted meat. A flexible knife is essential because it bends to follow the curve of the bones.

Safety and freshness

A sharp, flexible blade and slippery fish demand care.

Keep your guiding hand flat on the fish and clear of the blade's path.
Dry the fish and use a stable, non-slip board so it doesn't slide.
Use a sharp knife — a dull one slips off the bones and is more dangerous.
Fillet very fresh fish, keep it cold, and use sushi-grade or frozen fish for any raw preparation.

Common uses

Boneless fish fillets for pan-frying and grillingPortioning whole fresh fishFillets for crudo or ceviche (with safe fish)Skinless fillets for delicate cookingFish frames for stock and fumetPreparing fish for en papillote