NDR: Cleaning Fish

[Carl]

So why is it that the first fillet on panfish comes off like a fishmonger with 50 years experience was holding the knife but the second side come off like some cave man cut it off with a dull rock?
Asking for a friend who had to fillet 56 saltwater panfish this morning.

 

[greg setter]

A geo-magnetic event likely caused this making the knife appear to be cutting at one angle while actually cutting at another. It is related to the shift in magnetic north and is not related to your skill as a cutter of fish, nor is it related to your age.

 

[Clinton John]

I wish I had answers for you but I don't.

 

[Huntindave McCann]

So why is it that the first fillet on panfish comes off like a fishmonger with 50 years experience was holding the knife but the second side come off like some cave man cut it off with a dull rock?
Asking for a friend who had to fillet 56 saltwater panfish this morning.

I attribute the phenomenon, to the loss of half the fish structure when filleting the second side. I have adapted my process to compensate for this as needed. (A) being right handed one side is always more ergonomic for me. This happens to be the left hand side of the fish. (B) Starting on the left side of the carcass, I make a cut behind the head. Followed by a cut along the spine, only as deep as the rib bones. Once I clear the rib cage, I plunge the knife deeper into the carcass and out just behind the vent. Slicing along the spine until I reach the tail. (C) I do NOT cut thru at the tail, instead, leaving the partially cut fillet, still attached to the carcass, (ribs, along the belly and at the tail).

(D) I then flip the fish over and repeat these steps on the second fillet, except this time I cut thru at the tail and the belly area, fully freeing the fillet from the carcass. (E) Flipping back to the first side, I complete the process and free that side from the carcass.

It is my experience that leaving the first fillet, intact and partially attached, helps me control my cuts on the second side. Works for me. I'm not real fast but I'm pretty thorough and don't leave much meat behind.

 

[Clinton John]

Well maybe I can add some thoughts.

When I fillet my fish, I cut till I get close enough to the tail, that it's just enough skin to hold it on the body. Then I place the knife on the fillet section and instead of using my knife hand to "cut" the fillet free from the skin. I pull the fish through the knife.

That way my knife hand only has to hold the knife in a single spot/angle.

I flip and repeat on the second side.

Very seldom do I ever mess up a fillet.

Between me and Dad we clean probably close to 2k pounds of bass,white perch, white bass, sand bass, bream, flat head and blue cats a year. We wear out a couple of knifes a year.

Hope this helps.