Really Easy! How to Cut Up Flounder (Method 1)
- Start by taking the scales off.
- The scales on flounder are small, so you can remove them easily using a steel wool scrubber like the one pictured.
- (You can also scrape them off with a kitchen knife.)
- Stroke the surface of the fish gently with the stainless steel scrubber.
- It's easier if you rinse the scales off occasionally with water.
- The flounder on the left in this photo has been de-scaled.
- I could remove them cleanly.
- (There are scales on the under side too, so be sure to remove them there also.)
- So let's start breaking down the fish.
- There's a white line down the middle of the fish, so cut through the fish along that line, cutting deep enough that the knife hits the back bone.
- Make a V-shaped cut along the gills as shown in the photo.
- Next, make a cut right along the edge of the front and rear back fins.
- Your knife will hit the bone right away, so you just need to make a shallow cut.
- Do the same on the other side.
- Go around the perimeter of the whole fish as shown here.
- From here on, it's easy.
- There's just a little more work to do, so hang in there!
- Insert your knife alone the center cut.
- The knife will hit the back bone, so keep cutting into the flesh as you move the knife down.
- It looks like this.
- The flesh will come off the bone gradually.
- By the way, with this method you won't damage the intestines at all.
- If you cut all the way through from the center cut towards the cuts you made around the perimeter, the flesh will come off nicely like this.
- One quarter of the fish is now filleted.
- Cut the other side in the same way to take the other half fillet off.
- Turn the fish over, and cut the fillets off the other side in the same way.
- You'll be able to fillet the fish cleanly like this.
- The '5-piece cut' is now done and you have 5 fillets plus the backbone with the head attached.
- From here, peel the skin off to use the fillets as sashimi, or score the skin if you're using it in a meuniere.
- Oh!
- And finally, how to take off the fin muscle.
- When you remove the skin, the fin muscle will come off like this easily.
- Please try it out.
flounder
Taken from cookpad.com/us/recipes/169575-really-easy-how-to-cut-up-flounder-method-1 (may not work)