How to carve salmon

Video: How To CARVE FISH For Beginners - Salmon - Quick Tips to help YOU $$ Carve Better $$

Content

Part 2 of 4: Making fillets
Part 3 of 4: Removing the pits
Part 4 of 4: Shutting Down
Tips
Warnings
What do you need

1 Rinse the salmon in cold running water. Make sure the fish are well washed on all sides.

2 Cut open the abdomen. Place the fish on a large cutting board on its belly. Clamp the tail with one hand, with the other hand insert the fillet knife into the anus located at the bottom of the fish near the tail. Slide the blade of the knife from the anus to the head along the belly right up to the gills.

Make sure the carving knife you are using is sharp enough. Your movements should not be sawing; the cut should be straight.
Be careful not to cut too deep in the posterior opening or abdomen, as the internal organs of the fish may contain bacteria that can contaminate the fish. If your initial cut is not too deep, you can always deepen it later.
If you nevertheless ripped open the internal organs, immediately rinse the fish from the liquid. Make sure that the liquid from the internal organs does not penetrate deeply inside.

3 Make an incision from the back to the abdomen. Start at the spine above the pectoral fin. Press down on the knife until you feel the spine, then make a downward incision that extends behind the pectoral fin and ends at the abdomen.

Do not make an incision too deep, as it is desirable to avoid damage to the internal organs.
Lift the carcass gently to make sure it is detached from the head. You should be able to lift the flat part of the carcass off the side of the fish. If it is still attached to the head, use a knife to cut it off.

4 Flip the fish over and cut from belly to back. Similarly, start making the incision under the pectoral fin. Since you are now reaching from the other side, extend the cut in front of the fin and complete it at the spine. Lift the flat piece of carcass to make sure it is no longer attached to the head.

5 Place the salmon on the belly and cut off the head. To make a cut directly behind the head, you need to use a more powerful and sharper knife than a fillet knife.

But the intestines are still attached to the anus. Cut them exactly off with a knife.
As a result, the head, viscera and pectoral fins should be detached in one piece. Throw them away.
It is more convenient to use a serrated knife to cut the spine.

6 Remove the kidneys. The long, dark colored organ along the spine of the salmon is the kidney. Using a fillet knife, carefully cut off the kidneys and remove them from the fish.

7 Remove the remaining fins. Use a large knife (preferably serrated) to saw off the dorsal and caudal fins. Then discard the fins.

Part 2 of 4: Making fillets

1 Remove the pulp from one side of the fish. While the salmon is on one side, you must insert the fillet knife into the part where the head was, just above the spine. Use a careful sawing motion to separate the carcass from the spine.
- Don't cut too far from the spine as you want to keep as much of the pulp on your fillet as possible.
- Cut straight to the tail. Then make a perpendicular cut across the tail and lift the fillet away from the fish.
2 Prepare the second fillet. Flip the salmon over and insert the knife blade where the head used to be, just above the spine. In the same way, saw off the spine through the bones and separate the meat from the ridge. When the blade reaches the tail, separate the fillet from the fish and set it aside.

Part 3 of 4: Removing the pits

1 Remove the ribs. Place the fillets, skin side down, on a cutting board. Insert the fillet knife under the first few ribs. Carefully slide the knife blade under the ribs, thus deflecting them towards the thicker part of the fish and towards the tail, freeing the flat part of the fish from the bones. Continue until you have removed the ribs, then discard them.
- Don't cut too deep under the ribs as you don't want to lose too much meat. Cut as close to the ribs as possible so that only a thin layer of meat attached directly to the ribs will be lost.
- Repeat with the second fillet in the same way.
2 Remove the ilium. Remove the remaining small bones from the tail of the fillet using needle-nose pliers.

Part 4 of 4: Shutting Down

1 If desired, trim the fat off the belly of the fillet. Some people find the taste of this meat to be too harsh. Just cut and discard.
2 Rinse the fillets under cold running water. You can add salt to remove surface contamination.
3 Store fillets in the refrigerator. To avoid spoilage, do not leave meat in the refrigerator for long periods. You can also store fillets in the freezer in freezer bags for up to six months.
4 Prepare salmon fillets as desired for cooking. The spine and head can be used to make fish soup or risotto.
5 Throw away the leftovers. Place the fish trimmings, entrails and carcass in a resealable plastic bag and discard in the trash.