How to Fillet Salmon

So you want to learn how to fillet salmon. Good for you. It is not only one of the most exciting fish you will ever catch, but it is a dandy fish to eat.

First off, make sure of is that you have a good filleting knife. Using one that is sharp and about 8 inches long will do the trick. Remember to keep it sharp. There is nothing worse than learning how to fillet salmon with a dull knife.

This description will be as if the fish is lying on a table in front of you with its head to the right and its belly facing you. If you prefer having the head at the other end of the table, no problem. Do what is comfortable for you.

OK, locate that gill plate. You are going to make the first cut just behind it in the soft section of tissue. Cut straight down making sure you are perpendicular to the backbone. Make sure you get all the way to the backbone, but be careful not to cut through it. The back bone serves as a guide when cleaning salmon.

Now take your filleting knife and turn it 90 degrees so the cutting edge is facing toward the tail of the salmon. Make sure your knife is parallel to the backbone because we are going to cut along it.

Angle your blade slightly down to the backbone as you begin cutting toward the tail. Don’t angle it too sharp or you will dig into the back bone. By angling your knife it will keep your cut tight to the salmon’s backbone. We want to make sure we don’t leave any fish on the skeleton. This is a key when learning how to fillet salmon.

You should feel the knife cutting through the rib cage, which isn’t always easy. It is why having a sharp knife can’t be stressed enough. Try to hold up the belly meat as you make your way along the backbone. This will make cutting the fish easier and will result in a nice looking salmon fillet when you are done.

As you move toward the anal fin make sure you continue to stay as tight to the backbone as you can. It can take a bit of practice so take your time.

As you approach the tail with your knife, angle your knife up slightly and bring the blade up through the skin. Remove the fillet completely and set it to the side.

See, learning how to fillet salmon isn’t so bad after all.

OK, turn that salmon over. It is time to do the same thing to the other side. Starting at the gill plate you are going to cut the second fillet tight to the back bone again using the same process. Remember to angle that knife along the backbone to maximize the amount of meat you are taking from the fish.

Also remember to try to hold up the belly meat as you make your way toward the tail.

Now that you have both fillets removed, you have to get the ribs off of each. Starting toward the rear of the fillet take your knife and cut just under the rib cage. Start where the backbone used to be. It is best to angle your knife up slightly as you slowly cut and remove the rib cage from the salmon fillet. This is again to salvage as much meat as possible.

As you lift and cut the ribs off, it is ok to leave a bit of the belly lining. You can come back and trim that off later. Once you have the ribs removed trim off the ventral fins and that belly lining we mentioned above.

Lastly you are going to remove the pin bones from the salmon. There is no magic to this and some anglers opt to leave them in the fillet. It is up to you. They take a little bit of time to remove, but they make your meal much more enjoyable when they are gone.

When you learn how to fillet salmon, you might as well learn how to get the pin bones out. It really does make a difference when you go to eat them.

Grab a hold of the fillet from underneath in a manner that will cause the pin bones to protrude toward you. Now grab a pair of needle nose pliers and remove each pin bone one by one. It doesn't take as long as you might think.

Another terrific device for removing the pin bones from salmon is by using a pair of needle drivers. These really clamp onto the pin bone of a salmon and never seem to slip. Give it a wiggle and the bone should come right out. Do this for the length of both fillets.

That’s it. You’re done. You have learned how to fillet salmon.

Now clean that salmon fillet and get it ready for cooking. It isn’t going to taste any better than it will right now.

Thanks for reading.

Good fishing.