Skinning Whole Fish

The decision to skin or not is based on the flavor of the oils next to the skin and on whether the skin itself is tough or soft, thick or thin. For poaching, pan-frying, deep-frying and steaming, fish skin is often removed. For broiling and baking it may be left on, as it helps to keep the fish intact.

The skin of most fish must be cut away with a knife. However, the skin of monkfish, catfish, eel and some flatfish (here, sole is shown) can be stripped off the fish before it is filleted, either from the tail end (flatfish), or from the neck end.