First step: cleaning the fish
Once you have purchased fish, you’ll have to clean it by removing the fins and entrails as soon as possible – to prevent them from giving the fish an unpleasant flavor. Only gut the fish from the gills if you intend to stuff the fish with other ingredients. Otherwise, proceed by making a cut with a sharp knife (or with a pair of sharp scissors) along the ventral (or belly) line – from the anal cavity to the gills. Spread the fish out well with your hands and remove entrails. With a teaspoon, scrape the inside of the fish well to remove any lumps of coagulated blood. You can also do this by rubbing the inside of the fish with coarse salt. To remove the gills, cut at the base of the gills – where they are anchored to the skin by cartilage – with a knife. Finally, wash the fish carefully under cold running water and dry it, dabbing it with a paper towel.
Second step (optional): de-skinning the fish
This procedure is not always necessary: It depends on the type of recipe you’ll be using. If you decide to bake, sauté or grill the fish, removing the scales is not necessary. In fact, cooked this way, the skin will be crunchy and easier to remove – plus it will make the meat even more tender as a result. However, if you’re making a soup, finding scales in the dish would not be pleasant. To remove the skin, just hold the fish by the tail and vigorously scratch it with a large knife (or with a fish scaler) towards the head. Rinse and dry with a cloth.
Fillets or sliced?
Presenting a large whole fish on the table can be pretty impressive, but the size isn’t really important when you can choose different cuts – to indulge in a few more varied and elegant recipes. Some examples? For salmon, you can cut the central part to roast in the oven, laid over diced sautéed fennel, wrapped in blanched leeks and covered with pink peppercorns. Fish fillets can also be used to make escalopes, thin slices or small bites for tartare – seasoned with avocado cream, an emulsion of lime juice and oil, and a little tuna roe. Or you could use the fish with fresh pasta or as a mousse to spread over soft canapés.
The right way to fillet a fish
If you want to cook the fish as fillets, all you need is a cutting board, a long knife and pliers to remove the bones. First detach the head of the fish with two slanted cuts behind the gills. Starting from the head, you’ll cut along the entire back of the fish, cutting down to the central fishbone using a knife. Then lay the fish on its side on the cutting board and continue to cut into the fish until you reach the tail, thus detaching the first fillet. Next place the fish on the cutting board with the skin facing upwards, and gently cut from the fishbone to the flesh: This will be your second fillet. If you want to skin them, all you have to do is cut between the skin and the flesh using a flat knife, starting from the head side. To remove the extra little bones, run your fingers over the midline of the fish and remove any lateral bones with tweezers.
A particular fish: the turbot
Adored by those who love a more delicate flavor, turbot has a consistently white flesh and an easily recognizable shape. Two of the most prized varieties of the turbot on the Italian market are the ‘rombo chiodato’ – so-called due to the presence of bones in the upper part of the fish – and the smoother (less bony) variety. It is one of the fish with the highest percentage of waste: For this reason, it is also among the most expensive.
How to clean it
For fillets, an incision must be made on the upper side of the fish, along the midline and on the outer edge. Use a knife to gently lift the fillet, first on one side and then on the other. At this point, turn the fish and repeat the same procedure. From the resulting four fillets, remove the side spines and the skin (if necessary) – making sure you always cut between the flesh and the skin. If you’re using an oven, a grill or if you’re boiling the fish, don’t remove the upper skin.
How to use the leftover parts of the fish
Once you have your fillets, you don’t have to throw the bones and leftover parts away just yet! Use them to make a fish stock – for endless recipes like risotto, soup or even delicious jelly cubes to serve as an aperitif!
Make it like this: With a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil in a saucepan, mince the chopped onion and then add the fish scraps (washed and free of any leftover blood). Add half a cup white wine and cook for 20 minutes, skimming the surface from time to time if necessary. Then filter with a narrow mesh strainer – or better still, with gauze – to obtain a clearer broth. Avoid salting the broth because you’ll be using it for other recipes that also require salt.