The perfect slice: How to fillet a fish like a pro

Lifestyle

Related Photos

Cut fillets and dredge in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper. To watch the video online, scan the QR code at left to take you to the Website. Courtesy photos
David Gauvin, chef at Addison Gilbert Hospital, says to fillet the fish you cut along the backbone; "just go right down the center, trying to feel for the backbone and running the blade down the top of the backbone," he said. Courtesy photos
Top the sauteed fish with Romesco Sauce and serve. Courtesy photos

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July 11, 2012

The perfect slice: How to fillet a fish like a pro

By Vicitoria Brown Special to the Times The Gloucester Daily Times Wed Jul 11, 2012, 01:00 AM EDT

"We went out to the fish market early this morning and picked up some whole fish and we're going to show you how to fillet them" says David Gauvin, longtime chef at Addison Gilbert Hospital and board member of the Epicurean Club of Boston.

Gauvin shows us how to fillet two kinds of fish, a flounder and a haddock. The technique differs between the two because the flounder is a flat fish and the haddock is a round fish. A flat fish is characterized by a flat, oval shaped body. They start life swimming like other fish, but overtime they start to swim horizontally and their eyes move position to the side of their body which faces upwards when swimming, either right or left.

"There's basically four different fillets on the flounder, there's two on the front and two on the underside" Gauvin explains.

Using a boning knife, he cuts a line down the center of the flounder to get to the backbone. The fillets are on either side of the backbone and to remove them he runs the knife down the bones, under the flesh, away from the backbone; "I just start running the knife down where I feel the bones, running right along the top of the bones and the fillets are coming right off."

A round fish is round in cross section. Its backbone runs along its upper body with a fillet on each side. To remove the two fillets from the haddock, Gauvin starts by removing the fins, then starting at the head he cuts along the backbone; "just go right down the centre, trying to feel for the backbone and running the blade down the top of the backbone" he explains. He then makes an incision perpendicular to this next to the head and removes the fillet by running the knife down the bones all the way along. To remove the skin from the fillets, the process is the same for both fish. With a fillet knife Gauvin makes a little incision at one end of the fillet through the flesh, stopping when he hits the skin.

"Now I'm going to pull back on the skin and run the knife flat on the board and the fillets should come nicely detached from the skin" he explains.

One of the benefits of filleting your own fish is that you can make sure the fish you are buying are really fresh.

Gauvin gives some pointers for choosing a fresh fish. Firstly, the eyes should be clear, not cloudy; secondly, the gills should look fresh and pink; and thirdly, the flesh of the fish should be nice and firm and bounce back when pressed.

"If you press the fish and it doesn't bounce back you probably want to shy away from that one" says Gauvin. Once you have the knack, it is really quick and easy to fillet your own fish. It is a good skill to have because it not only gives you more choice, but also a sense of satisfaction.

Sauteed Flounder with Romesco Sauce

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1/4 cup almonds, toasted

1/4 cup red peppers, pan roasted (Chipolte in this case)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Tomatoes, oven roasted with skins removed

Garlic, oven roasted

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the fish:

1 cup flour

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

For the sauce:

1. In a food processor, combine the almonds, chipolte peppers and red wine vinegar. (To help remove skins from the peppers, place in a bowl with warm water, cover with plastic wrap for about 20 minutes and peel.)

2. Pulse several times until well blended. Scrape sides of bowl to be sure larger pieces become blended as well.

3. Add tomatoes and garlic. Pulse once or twice and slowly add oil until well blended. It should be the consistency of a thick tomato sauce. Add salt and pepper and finish blending.

For the fish:

1. Dredge fish fillets in a flour mixed with salt and pepper for seasoning.

2. Pan fry in hot pan with olive oil. After about 1 to 2 minutes, turn fish over to cook the other side. You will know the fish is done when it is white all the way through the flesh.

Serve the cooked fish with the Romesco Sauce.

• • •

Recipe courtesy of Chef David Gauvin, Unidine, Addison Gilbert Hospital, 2012.