Are you thinking about cooking some fresh, whole fish but aren’t sure where to start? Well, the first step to cooking fresh fish – after catching it, of course – is learning how to clean it!
How to Clean, Scale and Gut a Fish
Though the exact preparations will vary slightly depending on your final goals, the basic process for cleaning fish is straightforward and involves scaling and gutting. But, before we get into how to clean a fish, let’s talk about the equipment needed to get the job done – your knives.
The Best Knives for Cutting Fish
As with any kitchen task, cleaning and breaking down fish into different cuts calls for using the best knife for the job. In this case, the best knife will depend on the precise task at hand.
The Chef's Knife
If you’re working with a whole fish and the recipe calls for removing the head and tail, then reach for western-style chef’s knife.
This workhorse of a knife has the heft needed for cutting through bones – not to mention it plays double-duty by offering its spine as a scaling tool! It's also great for slicing fish fillets into sticks for fish tacos and fried fish sticks.
Knife Knowledge 101: Why Every Kitchen Needs a Chef’s Knife
The Paring Knife
When it comes to gutting a fish, you’ll want to keep a small, sharp knife on hand to ensure you avoid nicking any internal organs.
With a blade measuring between 2 ½ and 4 inches long, the paring knife is the perfect tool for this task, along with any other kitchen tasks that involve detailed, in-hand work like deveining shrimp.
Knife Knowledge 101: 5 Big Uses for the Itty Bitty Paring Knife
The Boning Knife
For skinning, filleting and deboning tasks, you’ll want to reach for either a fillet knife or a boning knife, depending on its design.
Though boning knives are usually reserved for removing skin and breaking meat down into different cuts, some are designed to tackle both meat and fish prep, like this beauty from F.N. Sharp.
Knife Knowledge 101: The Boning Knife vs. The Fillet Knife
The Santoku Knife
When a recipe calls for slicing fish into steaks, supremes or thin slices, reach for the Santoku knife.
This Japanese-style chef knife is known for its Granton edge, which refers to the dimples along the flat of the blade. These create air pockets between the ingredient and the blade to help prevent sticking, which is great for working with delicate ingredients.
Speaking of delicate ingredients, since fish can easily tear apart when working with a dull knife, you'll want to make sure your knives are sharp enough for the job. If you need it, this F.N. Sharp guide has some tips for testing the sharpness of your knives.
Now let's get to cleaning that fish!
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When to Clean a Fish for Cooking
When working with a fresh, whole fish, you’ll want to make sure you clean and gut it as soon as you possibly can as it can spoil within a couple of hours. Don’t just catch fish and throw them on ice or in the fridge until ready to cook, either!
You’ll want to either keep them alive in water for the duration of your fishing trip, freeze them right away (just rinse and pat dry first), or clean and gut them before cooking or placing them in the fridge for later. Check out this article from Tiny Kitchen Divas ahead of your fishing trip for all the tips you need for killing, cleaning and refrigerating or freezing your freshly caught fish.
When it comes to filleting fish, experts might opt for only scaling the fish before jumping right into the filleting. But for beginners, it’s really best to clean and gut your fish first to avoid rupturing any organs. If you rupture the liver, you’ll most likely end up with a smelly, not-so-tasty fish. You’ll also really want to know your fish, too – some species have digestive enzymes that can lead to food poisoning.
More on Fish Prep: The F.N. Sharp Guide to Filleting Fish
How to Scale a Fish
When preparing fresh fish for cooking, you’ll want to inspect it first. Make sure it has clear eyes, bright scales and no fishy smell. The fresher the fish, the firmer the flesh and the easier it will be to prepare.
If you’re not planning on skinning the fish, begin by removing the scales with a scaling tool or the spine of a knife. A chef’s knife works great for this task – just don't use the sharp edge as the scales will quickly dull your knife. This can be a very messy task, so keep scales contained by taking the operation outdoors, or removing the scales with the fish submerged in water.
When scaling your fish, start by firmly holding the tail with your non-dominant hand and, using the spine of your knife, begin scraping the length of the fish from tail to head until scales are removed on all sides. Once all scales are removed, wash the fish thoroughly and pat dry.
How to Gut a Fish
In order to properly gut a fish, you’ll want to open up the body cavity and remove its innards without nicking any of the internal organs as they can contaminate the flesh.
Start by inserting the tip of a paring knife into the fish’s vent, located on the belly near the tail. Then, make a shallow cut through the belly from the vent to the head to open the body cavity. Remove and discard the internal organs, as well as the gill assembly, then thoroughly rinse the body cavity and blot with a paper towel to remove excess moisture.
Your fish is now scaled, cleaned and ready to be cooked or broken down further, depending on the intended final result.
How to Skin and Debone a Fish
For recipes that call for skinning and deboning fish for certain cuts, like fillets, you’ll want to use your fillet or boning knife.
To begin skinning, place the fillet skin side down on your cutting board. Starting at the tail end, make a small, shallow cut that allows you to work the knife downward until it’s horizontal between the skin and the flesh of the fish.
Then, firmly grasp the skin with your non-dominant hand and use it to pull the fillet towards you as you work the knife in the opposite direction between the flesh and skin. With this method, you're really letting the blade of the knife do most of the work for you, so long as it's sharp enough for the job, of course!
As you work, you can flip the fillet up to make sure you're not removing too much flesh. If you spot a problem, simply re-adjust your knife before continuing.
After your fillet is skinned, you can easily remove the pin bones by scraping the spine of your knife down the length of the fillet. This will make the tops of the bones stand up so you can easily find and remove them using tweezers.
And that's it – your fish is now cleaned, scaled, skinned, deboned and ready for cooking!
How to Use the Different Parts of a Fish for Cooking
You might be surprised to learn that fish can actually be broken down into at least 15 different cuts. But, what’s even more surprising is that nearly every part of a fish can be cooked and eaten!
From the head to the tail – and even scales and fins – there’s more to enjoying fish than just its meaty insides. According to this article, chefs across the U.S. are creating delicious dishes out of the frequently discarded parts of fish.
Check out this F.N. Sharp guide for more on the different fish cuts used for cooking, plus a long list of recipe ideas, from fish tacos to bacon-wrapped trout!
