Scaling
Fish are scaled upwards, from the tail to the head. If
you are using a knife, be sure it's not too sharp or it will tear the skin.
Scale fish as swiftly as possible, under running water, being careful
to see that all foods in the vicinity are covered - fish scales fly off in
all directions and are difficult to retrieve.
Cleaning
Unless you wish to retain the head of the fish, remove it with
a diagonal stroke of the knife, slanting from the back of the head to the
underside of the fish. The insides of the fish may be removed then,
either from the cavity or by slitting the belly open. Remove the tail
and fins. The fish should then be washed inside an out and patted
dry.
Alternatively, some cooks and recipes prefer to retain the head (
predominately of round fish ). In this case, the gills must be cut
away and all traces of blood removed. In recipes where stuffings are
required, it is useful to have the stomach of the fish unslit. The
fish should then be cleaned through a slit made in the neck, using a long-handled
pickle fork or spoon.
Filleting
Flat Fish
Lay the cleaned fish on a board. With a sharp knife and starting
at the head, cut the fish down to the bone, and draw the knife right down
the length of the backbone to the tail. Then, with the blade flattened,
work the fillet away from the backbone, taking care that your blade is kept
close to the bone. Turn your fish and repeat.
Round Fish
Starting at the head, cut deeply down to the bone and draw the knife
down the backbone to the tail.
Work the fillet away from the bone on one side and when free cut the fillet
from the head. Cut the bone through at the tail, and work the bone
free of the flesh of the other fillet. detach the fillet from the
head.
Herring, mackerel, haddock and some other round fish can be filleted
in another way :
Press the cleaned fish, open side down onto a board and with a rolling pin
or bottle, strike it smartly on the back all along the line of the backbone.
Turn the fish over and it will be found comparatively simple to remove
the main bone, together with many of the smaller bones, in one operation.
Skinning
For flat fish make a light incision across the skin where it
joins the tail and ease the skin away from the flesh for about 2.5cm / 1
inch. Using salt, a cloth or kitchen paper to give you a firm grip,
pull the skin up and off towards the head. Turn the fish over and repeat
the process. With round fish it will, of course, be necessary to split
the skin along the length of the spine.
To skin an eel, the eel should first be suspended on a strong hook
by a string tied firmly round the head beneath the gills. With a sharp
knife, cut the skin all around beneath the string and pry the skin loose
from the flesh for about 6mm / 1/4 inch all round.
The loose skin should then be gripped on either side of the eel and
pulled sharply downwards and drawn off.