filleting

A round fish (red mullet is shown here) is typically cut into two fillets
after it has been gutted. It is best to use a filleting knife, because the
blade is long and more flexible than that of a regular kitchen knife.

1 Depending on the fish and

whether you are going to leave
on the skin, scale the fish (p104).
Using a filleting knife, cut into the
head end, just behind the gills,
cutting with the knife at an angle
just until you reach the backbone.
2 Starting near the gills, cut
the fish down the length of
the back, cutting along the top
3 Working again from head
to tail, continue cutting over
the bone, keeping the knife flat
side of the backbone. and folding the fillet back as you
cut. When the fillet has been
freed, remove it.

top technique
Sometimes the skin causes the fillet
to curl in the heat of the pan or
grill. To prevent this, before cooking,
score 4–6 shallow lines across the
skin not quite to the sides of the fillet,
using the point of a filleting or paring
knife. Scoring also helps to transfer
the heat quickly because the skin can
otherwise act as a barrier.

4 Turn the fish over and repeat the process to

remove the second fillet, this time cutting
from the tail to the head.

ROUND FISH 107