So I brought my first catch home at the weekend and after a bit of a go I filleted them.....sort of. I'm after a few hints though. Here is what I did;

1 - Gutted the fish (head off, cut belly, innards out)
2 - Using fillet knife, cut along spine from head (or where it was) to tail.
3 - Flipped fish and repeat
4 - Carefully cut down the ribs and removed.
5 - Trimmed crappy bits from fillet.

On the other side of the fillet, from the ribs, there were some small bones left. I'm sure I have seen on TV these being remove with pointy-nose-pliers, but I'm struggling to find a video that shows this happening online.

How do you guys get these out?

Also, I left the skin on and didnt bother descaling, I just rinsed it well under the tap. I dont plan on eating the skin, its just easier to pop it off when cooked. Should I have still descaled? They seem to get everywhere.....

Also I just whacked them straight in the freezer. Can you just cook them from frozen? I cooked one from frozen already and it was ok, just wondered. Can't see why it would be an issue but you know......

Finally any other hints / resources welcome!!!

Thanks!

nb - my cat thought it was bloody lovely ha ha!

I remove pin bones with tweezers, if you run your finger down you can feel where they are then just pull them out. I don't bother descaling, I just wash it and leave the skin on but i don't eat it. I've always defrosted first.

__________________
Started: 19/09/2010 | First fish: 11/12/2010 | Biggest fish: 8lb Brownie

I don't bother with gutting the fish or cutting the head off. Lay the fish out, back towards you, make a cut across the body of the fish just behind the gills and run the knife down the body feeling for the backbone.
Now lift the partly removed fillet and run the knife along the "rib cage" separating the flsh from the bones.
Finally cut through the body wall just above the pectoral fins and you have a fillet without the hassle of gutting.
Turn the fish over and repeat.
To remove the pin bones I use a pair of artery forceps- feel for the bones at the surface of the fillet and simply pull them out, one by one.
If you ever get the chance to fish Avington, get Dorgie to fillet your fish for you- truely a master of the art.
Hope this is of some help
Paul

Super tips thanks!!!!!!

I google it a little and I think you can cook it from frozen, its just maybe not as nice. I've bought salmon fillets that were frozen before now and you just popped them in the oven, im guessing its just the same but im not sure.

Thanks!

---------- Post added at 09:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:11 PM ----------

googled.....I googled it ha ha!

Hi', Chops. With trout, I use my old mate's method. Take the cleaned fish, with the point of the kitchen scissors, working from the spine to the belly, prise out the larger, lower ribs a few at a time, first one side, then the other. Next, lie the fish on its back, work fingers and thumbs down the main ribs and put press ure on the flesh each side of the spine. 'Nibble' the fingers and thumbs along the spine towards the tail, working the flesh off the smaller, upper ribs. Cut along each side of the stump of the anal fin, part the backbone from the cacass. You will lose a little flesh in the process, but you should be able to produce a couple of fillets, without bones, by cutting along the the inner edge of each flank. Not so long ago, I saw the guy on the TV Survival programme using almost the exact same technique. Slicing off the fillets leaves you with a bone removal job, worse still with a salmon. There are about 28 ribs, or more, I think. cheers, Jada.

I agree/use with the method above as described by Pan with one additional gem which I picked up by watching an expert in the gutting room at Grafham last year. After you have cut down your first fillet don't cut it completely off. This is because if you do remove one side it is much harder to get a clean fillet off the other when you are dealing with a "semi-collapsed" fish body. Once you have successfully cut off the second fillet simply flip it back over and trim off your nearly complete first fillet. I hope that makes sense! And yes, there are 28 bones to find in each fillet so make sure you are carefully checking with your fingers when you are washing them under the tap, to ensure that there are no wee surprises left.

By the way, you will make many new friends when you start handing these tasty babies out!

Cheers.

L.

Two ways of doing it. Cook the fish then remove the bone. Or the traditional way. Slice down the back following the bone on both sides. The little bones you talk about are called pin bones easily removed with tweezers. The problem most people have when filleting fish, is they dont use a sharp enough knife.
If you want to freeze your fish, it's best leavging it on the bone. Head & tail it. When you want to cook it, put it in water, then in the microwave for 6-8 mins depending on the size. Serve with any sauce you like.

__________________
All that glitters, will catch anglers.

Of the literally hundreds upon hundreds of trout that I've eaten over the years, I've never once filleted a trout!
I usually gut the fish when I get home and then stand them in cold water overnight. This aids removal of the whole bone structure which is a bit tricky to manipulate with one's fingers but gets rid of the nasty bones and at the same time and doesn't tear away the flesh like it does if you try to remove the backbone etc when the fish is too fresh!

To me, there is simply nothing that beats the flavour of small river brown trout between 9" and 10" inches long.
I caught a 3lb'er recently and it was very nice to eat but just lacked the flavour of the smaller fish which I used to catch and eat from streams when I lived in the North East.

Tony

I find tweezers are not robust enough to reliably remove pin bones, specially from 2lb plus fish. Also if you "borrow" a pair from your beloved's make up table, she'll never let you forget it. A pair of snipe nosed electricians' pliers is better, and you can get specialist pin bone pliers on Amazon. While they aren't cheap, they are the best because they have a little internal spring to assist opening and closing.

I find it's far easier to pin bone fillets that have been frozen and then defrosted, just prior to cooking or smoking them.

The trout I eat myself are always skinned as well before cooking, I don't find the skin of any fish particularly nice to eat.

__________________
"In wine there is wisdom. In beer there is strength. In water there is bacteria." - German proverb
JH based near Southampton

Yep, the methods descibed pretty muchg cover most things....

Leaving the guts is is up to you. I only take them out if I am poaching or bbq'ing the fish. Always leave the head on, it gives you something to hold, the leaving the 1st fillet just on before removing the 2nd is a exellent way of doing the job.

Remove the pin bones with some bespoke fish tweezers, you can get these from any kitchen/cheffy shop or you can use an old pair of line snips that have had the edge filed down so you grip the bones rather than cut them....

As far as the frozen thing, I only cook fresh or defrosted fish, the fish would be in my opinion ruined if cooked from frozen..Maybe try cooking the trout on the bone as they taste better or when you cook your Trout or Salmon only cook the fish until it is just cooked, you should find it far more succulent and tender.