1. Remove the Head & Collar

Grab hold of one of the fish’s fins by the head and pull up, using it to lift the flesh up to make cutting easier.  Cut down into the fish with the blade angled towards the head.  Stop when your blade hits the backbone.

Flip the fish and make another similar cut down to the backbone.  Cut through the backbone and remove the head & collar meat.

2. Cut Above the Backbone to Remove the First Fillet

Turn the fish so that the gutted belly is towards you.  Place your knife at the head end, just above the backbone.  Angle the blade of the knife slightly up (away from the backbone).  Run the knife through the body of the fish from head end to the tail.  You should be able to remove one whole fillet (belly fat & bones still attached).  Set it aside.

3. Cut Below the Backbone to Remove the Second Fillet

This cut’s a little trickier.  Return your knife to the head end of the fish, this time just below the backbone.  Angle the blade of the knife slightly up (towards the backbone), but not so much that you cut into the backbone.  Run the knife through the body of the fish from head to tail.  You should be able to remove the backbone & tail.

4. Cut the Belly Fat/Bones From Each Fillet

Take one fillet at a time.  Hold your knife at an angle fairly close to the curve of the fish’s belly meat, make a flat cut across the belly, just under the bones and fat to lift them off & remove them.  Make one final cut straight down at the bottom of the fillet to remove the bottom skin & fat.  Repeat with the other fillet.

If you want to take the skin off of your fillets, see how to remove fish skin for tips.

You’ll want to use a different technique for flatfish (like halibut).

____________
Browse More:
Seafood Tips & Techniques
Seafood Recipes

Pictured: Pan Roasted Whole rockfish (aka red snapper)

Roasting is a easy way to prepare small or medium whole fish in a provocative and tasty manner suitable for platter presentation.

Ingredients:
One small whole fish (rainbow trout, bass, red snapper, bronzino, or other small fish)
½ lemon for the pan
Cooking oil
Fresh thyme or additional lemon (optional)

Whole Fish Roasting Directions:

1.  If the fish isn’t gutted, slit the belly.  Then remove the innards and rinse thoroughly.

2. Rinse off the fish and season the cavity with salt and pepper. You can also stuff the fish’s cavity with thyme and lemon if you want. 

3.  Using a small knife punch a hole in the fish’s tail.  

4.  Run a skewer through the tail and into the body just behind the gills so that the tail is parallel to the head. 

5.  Season the fish liberally with salt. 

6.  Heat up a large cast iron skillet on the stove and add olive oil.  Once the oil is hot, stand the fish up in the skillet, searing the bottom. 

7.  Squeeze the half lemon’s juice over the fish, then drop the lemon in the pan, and move it to a 450 degree oven.

8.  When the exposed flesh is opaque, the fish is ready (about 15 minutes later, depending on the size of the fish).  Move to the serving platter, then remove the skewer. 

9.  Garnish with either the roasted lemon or fresh lemon slices and fresh dill or fennel.

Sauce, such as tomato anchovy vinaigrette, can be served on the platter in a ramekin.

___________

Browse More:
Whole Fish Recipes
Seafood Recipes
Culinary Techniques

It’s a beautiful day outside, and you’re grilling for guests.  Looking for something to add to the Kobe Burgers and specialty sausage on the grill?  Why not grill a whole fish? 

How to Grill a Whole Fish

1.  Wash the fish off, pat it dry, and season it on the outside with salt and in the cavity with salt and pepper (pepper on the outside will burn).

2.  Drizzle the fish with olive oil.

3.  Put the fish on a hot, very well oiled grill.  Once the fish is on the grill, turn the heat down to medium. 

4.  After a few minutes, when the flesh inside the cavity on the grill-side begins to look opaque, flip the fish as carefully as possible. 

Note: If you’re grilling a Pink salmon, some of the skin will likely tear off onto the grill due to the salmon’s tenderness.  Don’t worry about it, the fish will still taste incredible!

(Grilled whole Pink Salmon sauced with a tomato anchovy vinaigrette shown with sides of rose matta rice and steamed asparagus.)

___________

Browse More:
Whole Fish Recipes
Culinary Techniques
Seafood Recipes

Ingredients
1 4-5 lb. fresh whole fish, cleaned and scaled, such as rainbow trout, striped bass or small salmon.
4 lbs. Kosher salt
2 egg whites
2 large sprigs fresh lemon thyme or regular thyme
1 lemon

Technique:
• preheat oven to 475 degrees Fº
• rinse and pat dry your fish
• insert thyme and slices of lemon into the cavity of the fish (season cavity only)
• in a large mixing bowl, mix salt and egg whites until well incorporated
• on a large sheet pan, spread half of the salt mixture and lay the fish across ensuring the salt will encompass the entire fish
• pour the remaining salt on top of the fish and pack down
• put the fish in the oven: turn down the temperature to 400 degrees Fº
• the general rule is to cook the fish for 10 minutes for every inch of thickness the fish is at it’s thickest point

Presentation:
Let the fish cool for 2 minutes and then crack the coffin with a wooden spoon. Peel away the salt and remove the fish from the coffin. Place on a serving dish and dress with a flavorful E.V.O.O.

recipe, cooking and styling by Chris Tanghe

___________

Browse More:
Whole Fish Recipes
Seafood Recipes
Seafood Tips & Techniques
Sea Salt Recipes

When choosing your fish bones, it is recommended that you not use bones from oily or fatty fish (for example, salmon, as wonderful as it is, is not well suited to fish stock).  Leaner white fish are a better choice, and fish stock is a great way to use leftover bones from whole fish (we suggest rockfish/red snapper or rainbow trout).

Crustacean shells can be used instead of/in addition to fish bones, which is a great way to get even more flavor from our whole Dungeness crabs or Alaskan Spot prawns.

How to Make Traditional Fish Stock:

1. Assemble your ingredients:
For fish stock you will need vegetables, usually a blend of carrots, onions, and celery (aka mirepoix), a bouquet garnis or sachet, and a large quantity of fish bones or lobster, crab, shrimp, or crawfish shells. The proportion used by many commercial kitchens is one pound of mirepoix and five quarts of water for every five pounds of bones.

2. Prepare your ingredients:
Wash & peel your vegetables. Chop them into pieces that are of roughly equivalent size.

3. Fill the pot with cold water, bones and bring to a simmer:
Skim often at this stage. Once the water has reached a simmer, back off on the heat in order to keep it there, and add your bouquet garnis/sachet and vegetables.

4. Simmer 30 to 45 minutes:
Unlike most bone stocks, there really isn’t much benefit in cooking longer, and in fact overcooking can damage this stock’s flavor. Be sure to skim as often as you can without losing your sanity.

5. Strain and drop your stock:
Strain your stock through the finest strainer you’ve got (with cheesecloth added if necessary) and quickly reduce the temperature (“drop”) by holding the stock in a container that is itself sitting in a container filled with ice water.  Dropping your stock is particularly important with bone-based stocks for safety reasons. For further explanation of stock dropping, refer to the cardinal rules of stock making.

6. Store until ready to use
Stocks store in the fridge for about 2-3 days refrigerated (assuming you dropped them correctly) and will freeze wonderfully for several months.

There is one important variation to traditional fish stock called fish fumet, which is more strongly flavored due to the addition of white wine and other seasonings.   Check out our Fish Fumet Recipe.

___________

Browse More:
Culinary Techniques
Seafood Recipes
Bones Recipes

Pan Roasted Trout with Herb Salad and Persillade

In this simple, yet incredibly delicious dish, buttery trout is paired with a zesty persillade sauce and a fresh herb salad.

Drink Pairings: New York State Riesling or Sake

Ingredients: (Makes 2 servings) 
1 butterflied Rainbow Trout
2 tbsp Celery Leaves
1 ½ bunches of Fresh Parsley
Leaves of 1 sprig Fresh Thyme
1 tbsp Thai Basil, cut in a chiffonade
1 splash of Champagne Vinegar
1 clove of Garlic, rough chopped
Zest of 1 Lemon + 1 tsp for salad
1 tsp fresh squeezed Lemon Juice, plus extra for dressing trout
Olive Oil for cooking + 1 tsp for salad

 Directions:
1.  Make the Persillade: In a blender, combine the zest, lemon juice, parsley, vinegar and garlic with just enough oil to bring the mixture together.

2.  Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

3.  Lay the trout skin-down in a hot cast iron skillet with oil over medium heat.  Cook until the skin has crisped and browned.

4.  Move the skillet to the oven and cook until the trout flesh has turned opaque (about 3-4 minutes).

5.  In a bowl toss together the Thai basil, thyme leaves, celery leaves, teaspoon each of lemon juice, olive oil & lemon zest.  Add salt to taste.

6.  Decorate the plate with about 2 tbsp of the persillade, then lay the cooked trout on top.  Drizzle a little of the extra lemon juice over the top of the trout.

7.  Add the herb salad to the plate, and drizzle your best extra virgin olive oil over the salad and fish to finish.  Serve.

___________

Browse More:
Seafood Recipes
Whole Fish Recipes & Techniques
Fresh Herb Recipes

Fresh sardines are high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids and (because their bones are edible) calcium.  Unfortunately, despite their health benefits and popularity elsewhere in the world, most Americans are afraid of their fishiness.  Fresh sardines are often less fishy than the ones you find in the can, and grilling them, then adding a tasty vinaigrette makes them positively tasty.

Drink Pairings: Manzanilla Sherry or Tocai from Friuli

Ingredients: 
2 Fresh Sardines per serving
½ cup Champagne Vinegar
½ Shallot, minced
12 Wild Ramps, cleaned (how to clean ramps) (if ramps are not available, use scallions as a substitute)
1 cup of Olive Oil, plus enough to coat

Directions: 
1.  Cut some of the green tops off the ramps, but leave the rest attached.  Place in a bowl and lightly coat with olive oil, salt and pepper.

2.  Grill just until the green tops are lightly charred.

3.  Roughly chop the ramps.

4.  Toss the chopped ramps with the shallot and vinegar.  Let sit to macerate for a few minutes.

5.  Drizzle in the cup of olive oil while whisking constantly, until a smooth emulsion is formed.

6.  Heat, clean and oil your grill.

7.  Gut the sardines, but leave the heads on.  Coat them with salt, pepper, and olive oil.

8.  Grill the sardines: Put them on the grill and don’t touch them until they’ve developed a strong sear, then give them a 45 degree turn and continue to grill.  After about 2 ½ minutes total, flip them and repeat with the other side.

9.  Serve the sardines whole, topped with the charred ramp vinaigrette.

___________

Browse More:
Seafood Recipes
Ramps Recipes

Fish fumet is variation on fish stock that is more strongly flavored, and traditionally used as a poaching liquid for seafood dishes.  At its most basic, it’s simply fish stock with the addition of white wine, however the below version contains ginger, citrus peels, and leeks, which all add additional flavor.  Because it’s a stock, be sure to follow the Cardinal Rules of Stock Making (although if you’re using the finished fumet right away rather than storing it for later, you don’t have to follow rule 6, just use it hot).

Fish Fumet Ingredients

2 pounds fish bones, ideally from white fish (salmon’s oil content will cloud your stock)
1 large carrot
Two large ribs of celery
2 large leeks
1 tbsp ginger
½ orange’s peel
2-3 large strips of lemon peel
1 bay leaf
Water
2/3rds of a bottle of sweet Riesling (spätlese or higher)

Fish Fumet Directions

1.  Wash, peel, and rough chop the carrot.  Wash and chop the celery ribs.

2.  Remove the tops and bottoms of the leeks.  Cut leeks into three inch sections.

3.  Cut into each section halfway in with a knife 2 or 3 times.  This opens the inner leaves up so you can get any in-grown dirt out.  Wash thoroughly under running water.  Rough slice on a bias.

4.  Wash the orange.  Peel the orange zest off in large strips using a vegetable peeler.  Do the same with lemon.

5.  Peel the ginger and slice it into thick disks.

5.  Add olive oil to a stock pot, throw in all the vegetables at once.  Sweat the vegetables (no color) until translucent.

6.  Add the wine to the pot, and bring it to a simmer.  Add the fish bones, bay leaf, ginger, and citrus zest.  Add enough water to almost cover the ingredients.

7.  Bring the water to a simmer.  Be sure to skim the surface periodically to remove the particles that float up.

8.  Simmer the fumet for ½ hour-1 hour (longer is better).

9.  Strain with your finest strainer (if this is too small, use a colander or large strainer to strain out large pieces, then run through the smaller strainer to finish).  If you still see particles and would like clearer fumet, strain again through cheesecloth.

10.  Use immediately or save for later.

If saving your fumet for later, try to cool it down as quickly as possible by surrounding the pot with ice water before putting it in the fridge.  It will last for two or three days.

If you would rather freeze your fumet, it will last for several months in the freezer (be sure to label it with the date you made it!).

Fish fumet is extremely versatile and can be used to poach white fish like halibut fillets or black cod fillets, shellfish like manila clams or Mediterranean mussels, or even pink salmon fillets.

___________

Browse More:
Culinary Techniques
Bones Recipes
Seafood Recipes

Fish fumet freezes well, so you can make it well ahead of time and throw it in your freezer for later use.  Because fish fumet is a stock, we recommend reading The Cardinal Rules of Stock Making if you haven’t made stock before.

Ingredients:
5 lbs Fish Bones (white fish preferably) - buy from your fishmonger or save leftovers (frozen) from filleting whole fish
½ cup Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (~8 caps), reconstituted
1 cup Leek, finely sliced
1 cup Fennel bulb, sliced
1 cup Shallots, finely sliced
1 tbsp Tellicherry Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaves
1 cup of crisp, dry White Wine (sauvignon blanc or un-oaked chardonnay)
Oil

Ingredients:

1. Trim the skin and any fins off of your fish bones.

2. Soak the bones in cold water overnight (12 hours), changing water as needed, to extract any blood and other impurities. This will result in a clearer finished fumet.

3. Drain the water from the bones and slice them into two inch sections.

4. In a large pot, heat some of the oil and sweat the vegetables.

5. Add the white wine and let simmer for 5 minutes (until you can’t smell any alcohol).

6. When you can only smell vegetables, add the bones and cover the pot to let them steam for a few minutes (until the flesh is opaque).

7. Top the bones with 2 ½ quarts of cold water.  Add the peppercorns and bay leaves.  Bring the water to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes, skimming occasionally.

8. Turn off the heat, and let the fumet settle.

9. Use a ladle to save the clearer top layer of the fumet from the pot while leaving all the bits, bones, and other undesirables in the bottom.  Pour this reserved clear fumet through a fine mesh strainer or chinois (ideally lined with cheesecloth).  The goal is to leave as many impurities behind as possible.

10.  Use your fish fumet immediately in another recipe, fortify it (shellfish fortified fish fumet recipe), or rapidly chill it for storage in your refrigerator or freezer.

Browse More:
Culinary Techniques
Bones Recipes
Seafood Recipes