Filet Fish
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Easy Steps To The Perfect Filet
June 1, 2011
Reporter: Patrick McMurtry
Videographer: Brad Rice
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There's nothing quite like the feel of a nice fish on your line. The fight is good, and when you're reeling it in, you can't help but think about cooking up a mess of bluegill, crappy or trout. But first you have to get them ready to cook. Jerry Duffield, a biologist with The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources, knows a thing or two about doing just that.
"There's a couple of things we need to know, there's a line down every fish, it's called a lateral line, those are hollow tubes that run from the line out to the skin. At one point, we need to cut through there. Some people think they are bones, they're not, they're hollow tubes." says Duffield.
The anatomy of a fish comes into play when you're getting ready to cut up some fillets. Jerry gives a demonstration that works on nearly every kind of fish you'll want to eat.
"We go back behind the fin, we make the cut through all the wall back to the backbone, I can feel the back bone with my knife. I'm going to turn it, go down the back. I'm gonna turn my knife and go all the way through, I'm going to keep my knife along the backbone. At this point, I'm going to flip the fillet up, I'm going to cut down making sure I get to the rib cage, save the meat. I'm going to take the tip of the knife, turn the tip and cut through the lateral line tubes-you'll hear them click. I just run my knife along the ribcage." says Duffield.
Then all you have to do is carefully get your blade between the meat and the skin and trim the skin off. Get your oil nice and hot, throw a little cornmeal on it and you'll be eating some great fish in a matter of minutes.
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