Photos and Description by a Lifetime Fisherman
Back to Parts One and Two
Part Three:
The First Cut
The First Cut
Making the First Cut, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
Take a look at the
exposed flesh of the salmon and locate the white spot that indicates
the beginning of the spine. Set your knife against the vertibrae,
with the angle of the blade sloping slightly downward. Push down
and in, forcing the knife toward your gloved hand as you make three or
four smooth back-and-forth strokes with the knife. You should be
able to feel little bumps as your knife slides along the backbone.
This is key: You MUST keep an even downward pressure on the spine to keep from "ribboning," resulting in a ripple effect on the fillet. On the other hand, you can't put too much pressure on the blade or it will go straight through the spine and into the fillet on the other side. A nice, even pressure works well here. Think of it as holding the fish down with your blade as you push it along.
Backbone Cut, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
Continue slicing along the backbone until you reach the tail.
Top Cut, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
See how easy it is to cut off some fingers? Be careful! Even a cut-resistant glove is not cut-proof!
Top Fillet, Yentna River, Alaska, 2006
If you look closely, you can see the white line of the spine all along the top fillet. This is good--it means you kept close to the backbone and didn't waste any meat! Now it's time to start the second cut...
Second Cut, Yentna River, Alaska
Same deal as last time. Make sure the top of the fish is facing you and slide your bread knife in just above the white dot of the backbone, so that the blade is resting on the spine. This is the harder of the two cuts due to the angle, so if you butcher it, don't worry. You can't expect it to look perfect the first time.
Harder Angle, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
Notice the angle of the blade. You want to keep this angle all the way through, to save as much meat as possible from the backbone. It also makes it look prettier :)
Finishing Second Cut, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
Here's where you've got to watch out for speeding things up and making jagged fillets. The tail is a difficult angle to begin with, so if you're not careful, you can cut straight through the spine or your knife blade can prematurely leave the backbone, leaving a hunk of meat still attached to the tail of the fish. This is what you should have after you've finished the second cut:
On To Part Four
This is key: You MUST keep an even downward pressure on the spine to keep from "ribboning," resulting in a ripple effect on the fillet. On the other hand, you can't put too much pressure on the blade or it will go straight through the spine and into the fillet on the other side. A nice, even pressure works well here. Think of it as holding the fish down with your blade as you push it along.
Backbone Cut, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
Continue slicing along the backbone until you reach the tail.
Top Cut, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
See how easy it is to cut off some fingers? Be careful! Even a cut-resistant glove is not cut-proof!
Top Fillet, Yentna River, Alaska, 2006
If you look closely, you can see the white line of the spine all along the top fillet. This is good--it means you kept close to the backbone and didn't waste any meat! Now it's time to start the second cut...
Second Cut, Yentna River, Alaska
Same deal as last time. Make sure the top of the fish is facing you and slide your bread knife in just above the white dot of the backbone, so that the blade is resting on the spine. This is the harder of the two cuts due to the angle, so if you butcher it, don't worry. You can't expect it to look perfect the first time.
Harder Angle, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
Notice the angle of the blade. You want to keep this angle all the way through, to save as much meat as possible from the backbone. It also makes it look prettier :)
Finishing Second Cut, Yentna River, Alaska 2006
Here's where you've got to watch out for speeding things up and making jagged fillets. The tail is a difficult angle to begin with, so if you're not careful, you can cut straight through the spine or your knife blade can prematurely leave the backbone, leaving a hunk of meat still attached to the tail of the fish. This is what you should have after you've finished the second cut:
On To Part Four
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All Content Copyright
2006 Sara King
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