Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Filleting and deboning
• Method 2 of 3: Deboning a trout with scissors
• Method 3 of 3: De-boning after cooking
• Tips
• Warnings

There is nothing more delicious than fresh fish, but how do you prepare the catch of the day for grilling? Filleting a medium-sized fish like a trout is quite easy, and can be done before or after cooking. The important thing to remember is that the skeletal structure of a fish is simple, and delicate movements can remove all or most of the bones with a few small cuts.

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Method 1 of 3: Filleting and deboning

1. Remove the head from the trout. Filleting is done when you only want to serve the finest meat of the fish, instead of preparing the fish whole. Start by cutting the head of the trout at the groove of the gills. Hold the blade of your knife at an angle so that you're cutting towards the head, rather than the body, to save as much meat as possible.
   • Always use a filleting knife or other sharp knife when preparing fish. This results in much neater and more economical cutting work.
2. Cut the first fillet along the top of the spine. Lay the trout on its side with the belly facing you. First, make a small cut at the top of the spine at the opening where you removed the head. Insert your filleting knife into this slot and run the knife down the length of the fish to the tail, staying just above the spine. Finish by cutting the section at the bottom of the tail. You now have a clean, fleshy fillet.
   • If you stay close enough to the spine, you should be able to hear an audible click as you cut through the ribs.
3. Turn the trout over and cut the second fillet. Flip the trout and repeat the filleting process on the other side. Begin the cut at the head and smoothly cut the top edge of the spine until the entire fillet has been cut away.
4. Remove the bones. Lay each fillet skin side skin down and get rid of any bones you can find. Scrape the meat with your knife or bend each fillet to expose deep bones. Nothing spoils a dinner of fresh fish like a mouthful of stinging bones!
   • It's okay if you can't remove every last bone, even professional chefs sometimes miss a few.
5. Cut the skin off. Now that the trout has been filleted and deboned, all you have to do is make one more cut to remove the skin. Grasp the fillet by the tail end and cut diagonally into the meat with your fillet knife until you reach the outer skin layer. Run the knife edge along the bottom of the fillet while gently pulling the skin in the opposite direction. The skin should come off like this. Repeat this with the second fillet and you are ready to grill, bake or fry the fish!
   • Again, although there is no need to remove the skin before preparing the fish, it is usually done during filleting and makes it easier to eat.

Method 2 of 3: Deboning a trout with scissors

1. Cut away the trout's external anatomy. If you plan to serve the trout whole, you can cut the fish with scissors. Start by snipping away the fins, tail, and any loose flaps of skin that can get in the way during clipping. If the head has not already been removed, use a sharp knife to cut into the top part of the gills just below the head of the trout - there are natural grooves here that act as an opening to the gills and are the perfect spot to cut off the head.
   • There is no need to remove the skin before cooking.
   • When you remove the head, press down on the blade and use a quick chopping motion on the back of the blade to cut the spine without making a mess.
2. Cut along the length of the abdomen. Make a small cut in the top portion of the trout's belly where you removed the head. Slowly cut along the length of the abdomen. Use long, smooth strokes with the scissors to cut cleanly and avoid making a mess. Keep cutting until you've covered the entire length from the belly, up to the tail.
   • Raw fish sometimes contains small parasites and harmful bacteria. Don't forget to wash the scissors after use.
3. Loosen the spine. Open the body of the trout at the cut just made. Place the trout meat side down against the cutting board. Run a narrow, blunt surface (such as the handle of the knife or your finger) along the back of the trout where the spine sits. Apply moderate pressure and make a few quick movements. This will help loosen the spine so that it is easier to remove.
   • Work carefully so as not to apply so much pressure that you damage the meat. The idea is to detach the spine and rib cage from the body of the fish.
4. Remove the spine and rib cage. Flip the trout over again, skin side down. Grab the spine by the tail and pull it up and away from the flesh to remove it completely. Pull slowly and gradually, being careful not to tear or break any flesh. When done properly, the rib cage should be effortlessly removed with the spine.
   • You can also go along the edges of the spine with your filleting knife if it is difficult to get the entire spine out completely.
   • Don't worry if the rib cage doesn't come out as smooth as you'd like. You will have to get the leftover bones out anyway.
5. Remove the remaining bones. Now that the spine and rib cage are gone, you have a nice piece of fish that has been cut and cut open in the middle. This is also called "butterflying". Hold the trout skin down and run the blade of the knife at an angle along the length of the fish. This will loosen the small, delicate rib bones (also called "pin bones") that remain in the meat so that they can be removed by hand or with tweezers.
   • Most of the remaining head bones are found in the dark flesh around the center of the trout.
   • Remove as much of the head bones as you can to avoid unpleasant surprises while eating.

Method 3 of 3: De-boning after cooking

1. Boil the trout. In this method, you start by cooking the trout completely before removing the bones. The heat from the cooking process will loosen the connective tissue around the spine, making it easy to simply peel it away. Cooking the fish before deboning ensures that more of the fish's natural flavor is retained. The bones can then be disposed of quickly and effortlessly.
   • Whichever method you prefer, it's fine for cooking a whole fish, as long as the heat isn't so intense that it falls apart (be careful when frying, for example).
2. Make a small cut at the base of the tail. When you have cooked the fish whole, lift the tail up and find the spot just below it where the fillet starts - otherwise start with the already cut tail section of the trout. Make a cut here with a knife, or by inserting a fork. This creates a path to pull the bones away from the flesh.
   • You should be able to find the best place to remove the spine by following the cut used to eviscerate to where it ends at the tail section.
3. Lift the tail section as you pull the meat down. Use the knife or fork to anchor the trout and lift the tail or tail flap up and away from the meat. With this you should be able to remove the bones in a single movement.
4. Flip the fish over and strip the other side. Still holding the tail, turn the piece of fish over. Cut into the flesh on the other side and peel away the tail to get the spine out. You now have all the meat to enjoy, without the bones.
   • While it shouldn't be difficult to remove the spine and rib cage intact after cooking, you should be careful while eating to make sure there are no stray bones left.

Tips

• If the trout is too small to fillet properly, try to "flatten" it to increase the surface of the cut and cook the fish more evenly.
• While it is common to serve medium sized fish as whole trout to preserve the flavor, the trout can be trimmed, skinned and filleted before cooking to suit fussy or picky eaters.

Warnings

• Fish must be refrigerated once caught or bought.
• When eviscerating fish, special care should be taken to remove any parasites and clots that may be in the intestinal tract. You don't want these getting into your food.
• Always prepare fish and shellfish on a sterile surface to avoid bacterial contamination.
• Be extremely careful when handling sharp utensils such as filleting knives.