--- slug: how_to_fillet_a_fish category_path: home_kitchen/kitchen_dining/cutlery_knife_accessories/deba_knives title: "How to Fillet a Fish" lead: "Scale and gut the fish, then cut down behind the gills to the backbone and run a sharp, flexible knife flat along the spine from head to tail, keeping the blade riding on the bones to lift off a clean fillet. Turn the fish over and repeat — this is the three-piece method (sanmai-oroshi) — then feel for and pull out any pin bones." recommendation: name: "Cut behind the gills, then glide the blade along the backbone head-to-tail on each side, keeping it on the bones" reason: "Filleting is separating the flesh from the frame in long, controlled strokes, and a sharp knife plus keeping the blade against the bones is what gives clean fillets with little waste. Prepare the fish first: scale it, remove the guts, and rinse and dry it. Lay it on a board and make an angled cut just behind the gill and pectoral fin down to the backbone, but not through it. Now turn the knife to lie almost flat and, using long smooth strokes, cut along the top of the backbone from head toward the tail, letting the blade ride along the rib bones so you feel and hear them; this releases the top fillet in one piece. Flip the fish over and do the same on the other side — head, spine, tail — which leaves you the two fillets and the skeleton, the classic Japanese sanmai-oroshi (three pieces). Then run your fingertip over each fillet to find the fine pin bones and pull them out with tweezers or fish pliers in the direction they lean. Leave the skin on or, to remove it, lay the fillet skin-down, grip the tail, and slide the knife between flesh and skin at a shallow angle. A flexible fillet knife suits soft round fish, while a firm deba is the traditional choice for breaking down whole fish; keep whichever you use very sharp." published: 2026-07-09 updated: 2026-07-09 ---