Filleting

Since filleting can be a little tricky, you’re usually better off buying your salmon already filleted. But one way of making sure your salmon is fresh is to buy a whole one—the whole ones at the fish market are likely to be the freshest—and fillet it yourself. Of course you can always ask them to do this at the fish market but you might have to put up with a certain amount of indignation.

There are two ways to fillet a salmon. The classic method, used for most round fish, is to cut along the base of the head and then slide the knife along the back, flush with the backbone. I find this the more difficult of the two methods because it’s easy to lose your place and cut into flesh. But if you’ve done it before or you’re used to filleting fish, go ahead and do what you know best. Whichever method you do use, remember to slide the knife in only one direction—don’t move it back and forth. Try to make long slices instead of little jagged ones—or the fillet will look ragged. The second method involves boning the salmon, starting through the stomach. Both the methods described below assume you are right-handed.