The extraction of two clean fillets from a whole round fish — running the knife along the backbone, over the rib cage, and off the pin bones — with maximum yield and no tearing. The technique requires a flexible filleting knife maintained flat against bone at all times, and the discipline to let the bone guide the blade rather than pushing through flesh.
- **The knife does not force; it follows.** The backbone and rib cage are the guide rails. The blade travels along the bone surface — if it meets resistance from bone, it is deviating into the flesh. Reposition. - **Score along the dorsal fin first:** A single cut along the length of the dorsal fin, running through skin and flesh to the backbone, defines the path of the primary filleting cut. - **Angle at the head:** At the head end, angle the knife behind the pectoral fin and cut down to the backbone. This defines the leading edge of the fillet. - **The pin bones:** All round fish have a line of pin bones running parallel to the lateral line in the belly section of the fillet. These must be removed with needle-nose pliers or tweezers (pulling toward the head end, in the direction of the bone's grain) after the fillet is separated. Decisive moment: The transition of the knife over the rib cage — where the ribs arc outward from the spine. The blade must follow this arc, staying in contact with the tops of the ribs, without cutting down through them. Feel the ribs under the blade. Follow the arc. Sensory tests: **Sound:** The knife travelling over the rib cage makes a faint scraping sound — like drawing a fingernail across a fine comb. This confirms bone contact. Silence means the knife has lifted into flesh. **Sight:** The skeleton after filleting should be nearly clean — transparent ribs with minimal flesh remaining. Significant flesh on the skeleton is waste and evidence of poor bone-following technique.
Jacques Pépin's Complete Techniques