With a Sharp Knife
Your Fish Can Be Efficiently Dispatched
I was lucky. Before my first time cleaning a salmon, I had the luxury of watching several seasoned chefs do it first. The only problem was that they made it look so easy that I thought it must be easy too. And at first it wasn’t too bad. Turning a whole fish into two separate filets was easy. The spine was a natural barrier, and solid enough that it acted as a perfect guide. My confidence grew. I began pulling out the pin bones like a seasoned pro, a smirk on my face showing just how cocky I was.
I put the fillet skin side down. Then, I placed my chef’s knife at the tail end just like the other chefs. I laid it down flat, just as I thought they had done it, and I started sawing away at the fish.
…and I butchered it. Not in a good way. I had a terrible time keeping my knife between the skin and flesh. I kept trying to adjust, and halfway through the process, I cut through the skin and was left with a half mangled, half skin-on piece of fish. For the next ten minutes I fought with that fish. I fought harder with that fish than whomever had caught it for sure! Finally, after turning red in the face, I had something I could slice into fillets and take to the line, but I was embarrassed walking from the prep area and onto the line.
The sous chef (I was a meager line cook at the time) picked up one of my pieces and said, “We can use this as some kind of appetizer special.” My fish skill was so bad they wouldn’t use it for an entree.
I couldn’t understand it. My knife was ultra sharp, and plenty long enough to make it the width of the fish. However, what I didn’t realize (and nobody told me) was one key element to skinning any fish, particularly a “largish” fish like a salmon (as compared to a trout etc…).
The angle of the knife!
I was trying to skin the fish with my knife flat against the skin, and that, my friends, is a recipe for disaster. The knife, absolutely, has to angle ever so gently blade downward where the skin will act as a barrier. Oh, if I had only known!
My next salmon was better, but, really, it took a couple more tries before I understood the amount of force necessary. Too much force means you cut through the skin. Not enough? You’ll get nowhere.
This leads me to key number two: Don’t Saw! Skinning a salmon with a good, sharp knife should cut like butter. Place one hand on the skin to hold it in place, and slide your knife down the fish. Make it work in one single motion and you’ll have a perfectly skinned fish.
I taught this technique to a group of kids at a culinary program recently, and I’m so glad I could impart those two little keys. With that knowledge, they were able to make successful filets straight out of the gate!
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