How to use a boning knife

Content

Steps
Method 1 of 3: Removing the bone
Method 2 of 3: Removing skin from meat
Method 3 of 3: Removing the Skin from the Fish
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

Boning knives are thin, sharp, flexible knives that are used to remove bones and skin from meat and fish. The special curved blade of the knife allows it to be guided around any joint or bone, separating clean meat, while its flexibility makes it possible to make very thin cuts.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Removing the bone

The main use of the boning knife is to remove pieces of meat and fish from the bone. The same knife can be used for different types and cuts of meat.

1 Find the bone in the piece of meat.
2 Make an incision through the meat to the bone, whether the bone is in the center of the incision or surrounded by meat.
3 Slide the knife between bone and muscle tissue or fat in meat.
4 Hold the knife at a slight angle to the bone so that it slides along and around the bone.
5 Rotate the knife slightly so that it passes under the bone; the curved blade should help it pass around large bones and joints.
6 Saw the knife lightly from side to side in a sawing motion until the meat is completely free of bone.

Method 2 of 3: Removing skin from meat

Boning knives are also used to remove skin from meat such as pork or lamb, which have a tough skin. Removing this skin before cooking meat eliminates the presence of hard parts in the finished dish.

1 Place the piece of meat on a cutting board, skin side up.
2 Using the tip of a knife, make a small cut in the meat at the beginning of the skin. The cut should go to the side and under the skin, lift it up a little.
3 Grasp the skin with the fingers of your free hand.
4 Pull the hide up by inserting the boning knife under the hide.
5 Sawing back and forth, applying light pressure, cut with the knife while removing the skin.
6 Move from front to back on the meat until all of the skin is removed.

Method 3 of 3: Removing the Skin from the Fish

A boning knife is also used to remove the skin from fish fillets such as salmon or trout. The flexibility of the boning knife helps to peel off thin skin while retaining most of the fish.

1 Place the fish, skin side down, on a cutting board.
2 Press the fish firmly against the cutting board with your free hand, use a knife to gently peel the skin from the fish from the edge.
3 Lift up the end of the fish that has been peeled off so you can continue peeling off the skin.
4 Working with the knife from one edge to the other, cut with the tip of the knife, holding it firmly across the cutting board. By using the flexible knife as a lever, you can very carefully separate the skin from the fish.
5 Continue pressing the tip of the knife from side to side, making cuts from one end of the fish to the other, peel off the skin.

Tips

Select a boning knife of sufficient length to allow the cuts to be made to the bone or to completely overlap the cut in the fish.
Boning knives come in a variety of sizes, the most common with a length of 20 to 22.5 centimeters.