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Fish skins are slimy barriers betwixt yous and an edible meal. Although the skin is safe to swallow on most types of fish, some people don't like the taste of it. Fortunately, it is easy to remove with a thin, sharp knife. You tin take the skin off of a fillet by cutting underneath the meat. For whole fish, remove the head and fins first so y'all are left with a squeamish slice of meat. Throw abroad the extra parts if y'all don't programme on using them, then cook and bask your favorite fish pare-free.

Things You Should Know

  • Utilise a sharp and thin blade like a salmon or filet knife, but a chef's or boning will work in a pinch
  • When skinning a fish fillet, make a cutting at the tail end, then cut parallel to the cut board to divide the skin from the fish.
  • If y'all're skinning a whole fish, first cutting off the head with a knife and trim off the fins using kitchen shears.

  1. 1

    Set the fillet on a cut board with the skin side down. Brand certain the cutting lath is clean and stable. You're going to be moving a slippery fish over information technology, so your pocketknife could slip and pierce the meat if you lot're non prepared for information technology. And so, plough the fillet so the smaller, tail stop faces your dominant hand. Starting on that end is easier.[1]

    • Effort placing a safe mat or damp towel underneath the cutting lath to prevent it from moving.

  2. 2

    Select a sharp, thin blade to separate the skin and meat. Many chefs cull a salmon knife or a long fillet knife. These blades are long enough to skin even large pieces of fish with a single cutting. The fillet knife is multipurpose, and then information technology'due south also handy for dividing up a fillet after skinning information technology. Some smaller alternatives include a chef'southward knife or a boning pocketknife.[2]

    • Make sure the knife yous choose is very precipitous. Getting a clean cut with a irksome knife is difficult. A dull knife will end up mangling a cute fillet.

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  3. 3

    Make a cut through the flesh at the tail end of the fillet. Slice close to the tail to retain as much meat as possible. Begin the cut by slicing direct downwardly toward the skin. Try to get as close to the skin as yous can. Don't cutting through the peel or else it volition begin tearing and sticking to the fish.[3]

    • When you're first starting out, making a unmarried vertical cut is piece of cake and ensures you don't pierce the peel.
    • With practice, you lot tin rotate the blade during this cut to transition to the next stride. It allows you to skin the fillet with a single, efficient cut.

  4. 4

    Plough the pocketknife so it'south parallel to the cut board. In one case you get shut to the peel, begin turning the knife toward the far terminate of the fillet. Position information technology above the pare, level with your cutting board. By doing this, y'all tin can cut across the unabridged fillet without ever breaking the skin. If you lot need to reposition the knife, pull it out, so lift up the loose flap of pare.

    • If you're handy with a knife, turn the pocketknife when yous're about ¾ of the way through the vertical cut from the last pace. Cut diagonally down at a 45-degree angle toward the skin, then level out the knife in one fluid motion.

  5. five

    Elevator the cut end of the fillet to check the knife'southward positioning. Apply your free mitt to enhance the fillet. When you tilt it forward far plenty, the cut flap of skin should separate from the fillet. Make sure the knife is equally close to the skin every bit you tin get without breaking it. It as well needs to be underneath the flesh to avoid leaving any meat behind.[4]

    • If y'all lose rails of the knife's positioning while cutting, lift the fillet over again. The separated peel will fall forward, and so y'all will be able to see how well you're doing and arrange accordingly.
    • Go on the knife between the skin and flesh. If you need to, reposition the knife to get a cleaner cut.

  6. half-dozen

    Move the knife toward the fillet'due south opposite end to skin it. Grip the cease of the fillet from the cutting you fabricated earlier. To go on skinning the fish, movement your knife back and forth in a sawing move. Follow along as close to the skin to save as much meat on the fillet as you tin. If your pocketknife is sharp, it will glide through the fillet with ease.[5]

    • Basically, you lot don't need to move the knife very much to cut a fillet. Fish meat is fragile and doesn't take much force to cut through.
    • Check your progress when necessary by flipping up the fillet until the severed peel falls off of it.

  7. seven

    Remove the fillet and inspect it for leftover skin. After cutting along the entire fillet, flip the fish over and peel away the skin. If it doesn't come off right away, observe out where it is still fastened. Slide the tip of a small pocketknife, such as a fillet pocketknife, underneath the skin to remove information technology. You lot may besides discover leftover bits of skin you missed during your showtime pass that tin can be removed now.[6]

    • The key to skinning a fish is making a single, consequent cut with smooth knifework. It gets easier with exercise.
    • The leftover bits happen when you pierce the pare. Minor patches of skin can be tough to remove without butchering the meat, so y'all're oft meliorate off leaving them alone.

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  1. 1

    Lay the fish flat on a cutting board with the fin facing toward you. Gear up it apartment on a clean, stable surface. Before cutting into the fish, check to meet if one side is darker than the other. Lay the darker skin face down. Then, turn the fish so information technology's superlative edge faces yous.[7]

    • Some fish that take night and light sides include flounder and fluke. The darker side is thicker, so skin it terminal.
    • To stabilize a slippery cutting board, put a rubber mat or damp towel underneath information technology.

  2. 2

    Piece through the fish's head to remove information technology. Cutting through the head close to where it meets the fish's body. If you take a sharp pair of shears, trim information technology off similar it'southward a piece of paper. Otherwise, cut diagonally down from the opening of the gills halfway toward the caput. Flip the fish over and repeat the cut on the other side to free the caput.[8]

    • Removing the caput is much easier on flatfish like sole and halibut. It's simple to trim off with scissors or with a vertical cut.
    • For other fish, such equally trout and grouper, cutting through the gills with a knife will help you clean the fish. Yous could and then slice horizontally from the cut to the tail to divide the fish into fillets.

  3. three

    Cutting the fins from the body using kitchen shears. You tin can use a knife every bit well, merely a good pair of precipitous shears makes removing the fins much easier. Trim along the fins, taking care not to cut into the fish'due south skin. When you lot're done with one side, turn the fish around and trim the opposite side if it has a second ready of fins there.[ix]

    • Removing the fins is easier with flatfish. For circular fish, consider cut the fish into fillets or cooking it whole with the skin on.

  4. iv

    Score the terminate of the tail without cut all the way through it. Reposition the fish so the tail faces toward yous or your dominant hand. Using a abrupt pocketknife, such as a fillet knife, cutting vertically downward toward the skin. Be careful not to break through the peel. This cut will requite you lot an opening to begin skinning the fish.[ten]

    • If you lot cut through the tail, make a second cut nearly the start 1. You may lose a trivial bit of meat, but information technology volition assist you remove the skin in one piece.

  5. v

    Pare the pare off past pulling it toward the head. Pin the tail down with your fingers. Using your stronger manus, lift the loose flap of tail pare off the meat. And so, brainstorm peeling information technology off. It'southward tough, merely information technology will come off in one slice when you pull it with a firm amount of force per unit area.[11]

    • If the skin breaks at all, apply the tip of a fillet knife to separate information technology from the meat. And then, continue peeling it off.

  6. 6

    Flip the fish over and peel the other side. Cut the tail on this side, then lift the pare upwardly to brainstorm peeling it. Make sure y'all get equally much of the pare as possible. When you're done, finish upward any cleaning required, then fillet the fish or use it whole in a recipe. Try baking or grilling the whole fish after stuffing it with herbs, garlic, and other ingredients, for case.[12]

    • Another choice is to cut your own fillets by slicing open up the fish's spine and belly. If you didn't peel the fish before removing the fillets, do it afterward with a thin bract.
    • You could too melt the fish with the skin on, and so cut it off later. It'due south easiest when you crisp the peel on the stove or grill.

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  • If you're buying fish from a fishmonger ask them to skin it for you. Some sellers cut and clean fish at no extra cost, which can be good if you don't like doing it yourself.

  • You practice not need to remove a fish's scales unless yous're planning on eating the skin. Scale a fish past scraping the skin with the blunt edge of a knife.[13]

  • The skin and head are typically edible, so consider saving them for other recipes. They become well in stocks or stews, for instance.[14]

  • Keep in heed that some types of fish, such as salmon, have small pin bones that need to be removed before eating the meat. Either buy boneless fillets or elevator the bones out with tweezers.[15]

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  • Exist wary of precipitous knives. Although they are necessary for removing fish skin, they tin can also cut your ain peel, peculiarly when you're using a slippery cutting board.

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Things You'll Need

  • Fish or fillet
  • Fillet knife or another sharp, sparse blade
  • Cut board
  • Cutting board mat or damp towel

References

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