HOW TO FILLET A LEMON SOLE
(TO MAKE 4 FILLETS)
1 2 3
4 5
CJJACKSON,SEAFISHAMBASSADORANDPRINCIPALOFTHESEAFOOD
SCHOOLATBILLINGSGATE(SEAFOODTR AINING.ORG) DELIVERS KEY
SKILLSINPREPPINGFISHANDSHELLFISH
“Thisiscalledquartercrossfilleting,whichmeansyou
removefoursmallfillets.Alternativelyyoucanremove
twolargerfillets(crosscutfillets– seeleft) for serving
in our recipe for sole meunière on p118.”
KEYEQUIPMENT
- Longflexiblefilletingknife
- Clean chopping board
1
Putthefishontheboard,
dark-sideup.Cutdownthecentre
ofthefishandaroundthehead.
2
Runthebladeatananglein
longsweepingstrokes,close
tothebone,sothetipslidesunder
the flesh and releases the fillet
fromthebones.Cutalltheway
totheedge/frillofthefish.
3 & 4
Oncereleasedtothefrill,
pullthefilletaway.Repeat
ontheotherhalf,thenturnthefish
overandremovethefilletsinthe
sameway.Trimthefilletsneatly.
5
Toskina fillet,putit skin-side
downontheboard.Startingat
thethinnestpart,keeptheknife
blade fairly flat and close to the skin
andsawtowardstheotherendas
youpulltheskintowardsyou(salton
yourfingerswillhelpyoukeephold).
6
Whenyou’rehalfwaythrough,
flipthefilletawayfromyouand
keep pulling and cutting to the end.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND ILLUSTRATIONS: DAVID CHARBIT, ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
BUILD YOUR SEAFOOD SKILLS
COOK’SNOTEVisitseafoodtraining.org
fordetailsofupcomingcourses,
includinga classonGoodFriday
focusing on the morning catch
TOMAKE
2 FILLETS
Removethe
fish’shead,
thenslipthe
tipofthe
knife
betweenthe
filletandthe
backbone.
Anglethe
bladetocut
downtothe
edge/frill,
working
yourway
alongone
sideofthe
fish.Once
thefilletis
releasedat
theedge,
usethetipof
theknifeto
releasethe
fleshtothe
backbone.
Liftthefillet
and,witha
sweeping
action,run
theknife
closetothe
bonesto
releasethe
otherside.
Removethe
fillet,trim
it,thenturn
thefishover
and repeat.
6
128 deliciousmagazine.co.uk