How to Fillet a Perch: Everything you need to know to fillet your first perch

There are a number of techniques to fillet perch, this article will cover a technique that produces boneless pieces of fish you can use for various recipes.

If you love freshly prepared fish, you’ll need to learn how to fillet. Fortunately, it is a simple process you can achieve on your first ever try. Obviously, you won’t be perfect from the start. However, the more fish you fillet, the easier it will get. In the next sections, you’ll find all the important tips, including a step-by-step process of how to fillet a perch.

*Note* fish have unique requirements depending on the type, so the guide below may be relevant to other species, however, it will primarily be applicable to filleting perch.

Before You Start Filleting

Perch are relatively simple fish to fillet and filleting only involves a couple of tools. Also, it is important to keep your fish cool if you intend on filleting them in a couple of hours. To keep your fish cool, keep your fish on ice, in a water cooler. Transport your fish in the ice cooler. The goal is to keep it fresh and moist.

Tools needed to fillet a perch

Scaling tool
Fillet knife
Paper towel (or newspaper)
A pair of gloves

Descaling your perch (only necessary when planning on eating the skin.)

1. Clean the perch in cold water.

2. Place it on the paper towel,

3. Hold the head down and use your scaling tool to make short racking motions from the tail to the head. Always start with the tail as you work your way to the head. Do this for both sides and around the fins, gills, and back of the head to remove all scales.

4. Carefully detach the guts, organs, and other contents of the abdominal cavity. You can use a knife instead of scaling. However, a scaling tool will work better and is safer, especially if it is your first time.

Types of Perch fillets

Once all the scales are gone, rinse the perch thoroughly using warm water to remove any residue before you begin filleting. Note that the paper towel is mainly to prevent spills from reaching your counter. There are different ways to cut a fish fillet. The most popular cuts include:

Cutlet – Involves slicing from behind the perch’s head, round its belly, and thinning out towards the tail.
J Cut – Involves cutting the ‘J’ shape from the fillet to remove the pin bones.
Single – Refers to a more complicated cut resulting in two unique fillets.

How to Fillet a Perch: Step by Step

After scaling and rinsing your perch, you can start filleting using the following steps:

Grab your pair of gloves and place the perch on the paper towel. Make sure it is thick enough to hold any fluid from the fish.
Use a fillet knife to make an incision behind the gills. Push the knife in until you hit the top of the backbone. The cut should be halfway through the fish widthwise. Cut downwards to the perch’s belly.
Place the fillet knife where you ended at the belly and use the tip to cut along the perch’s backbone. Run the knife inwards, angling slightly downwards to get all the flesh.
Place the knife where you left, underneath the gills, and push it gently until it comes out on the other side widthwise. Next, cut along the belly towards the anus, angling slightly downwards as you move from the belly to the anus.
Place the knife between the backbone and spine, and run it along downwards towards the tail of the perch. The blade should be flat underneath the flesh and resting against the perch’s spine. Use the spine to guide the blade as you move towards the tail to get as much flesh as possible. However, don’t cut into the spine to avoid getting more bones in the flesh.
Remove the fillet from the bone by placing the knife behind the head (where you made the first incision in the first step). Next, lift the flesh gently and maneuver the blade to remove all meat around the rib cage. Make sure you don’t cut into the rib cage. Separate the flesh from the body once you reach the belly.
Place the cut fillet on a flat surface with the skin facing down and make an incision into the flesh until you reach the skin. Next, turn the blade to a horizontal position and run it down the fillet’s full length to remove the skin. Remember to cut away from your body when sliding the knife.
Debone the cut fillet. Perch and many other fishes have strips of bones running along the width of the flesh. You can use your fingers to locate the bones along the middle of the fillet. Once you find one, move back to the beginning of the bone and make small incisions on both sides. Next, lift it slightly and use the knife to cut along the bone. Discard it.
Take the remaining perch and flip it, then repeat the process to fillet the other side. Once done, rinse the fillets and store them in a thick freezer bag covered with water. You can also go straight into cooking the perch fillets.

Filleting a perch can be messy and the bones and fins also pose a risk. As such, you should always use a paper towel or newspaper and be careful not to get prick. Filleting is also much easier when you have been doing it for a while. If it is your first time, just take things slowly to avoid any accidents.

Key Takeaways

Filleting can seem like a lot of work. However, experienced chefs can fillet a perch within a couple of minutes. It is essential to be patient and gentle when filleting your first perch. The speed will come with experience. Here are some helpful perch filleting tips:

Clean the perch – Always clean the perch thoroughly before you start scaling, after scaling, after removing the abdominal cavity content, and after filleting.
Use fresh perch – Filleting is much easier when working with freshly caught perch. If you have frozen perch, you can thaw them using running cold water before you start filleting.
Use the right tools – Any knife will do just fine if you have experience filleting perch. However, if it’s your first, it is advisable to use the right apparatus. A sharp knife is essential, and so is a scaling tool. You might need a chopping board or any hard surface to separate the fillet from the skin.
Transporting and storing – Perch and other fish can get bad pretty quick, so you’ll need to keep them refrigerated or in an ice cooler box until you are ready to fillet. Also, if you aren’t ready to prepare the fillets immediately, keep them fresh in the freezer. We recommend filleting first and storing, but you can always store fresh fish provided you remove the gut, organs, and other content. Make sure the fish is clean before storing.

Summary

The filleting process is quite similar for most types of fish. However, fillet cuts vary, and fish size may also call for additional steps to separate the meat from the bone effectively. The above method will work whether you have just made your first catch of the day or it’s the first time filleting a perch. It is a simple process you can complete in the kitchen or on the boat as long as you have the required tools. Make sure you use a sharp knife with a smooth edge. A serrated knife will still work, but it isn’t nearly as effective.

Sources

https://www.wikihow.com/Fillet-a-Perch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perch