Removing Pin Bones from Fillets and Steaks

If you slide your fingers along the flesh side of a fillet or along the side of a salmon steak (except those cut near the tail) you’ll feel tiny bones, called pin bones, sticking out. These are easiest to remove with needle-nose pliers, but a pair of tweezers (they sell special kinds of flat-ended tweezers at kitchen supply stores for this job) or even a thumbnail and forefinger will do the trick. Pin bones are easiest to remove from fillets that have had their skin removed so if you’re skinning your fillets, do that first. To remove the pin bones from fillets, try to pull them straight out—they point at an angle toward where the head was—instead of pulling them backwards, which tears the flesh. Pin bones only run along the two-thirds of the fillet nearest the head. To remove pin bones from steaks, feel for them with your fingers and pull them out in the same way.