The blog of cooking-ez.com

Remove bones from fish


Remove bones from fish
Let's talk about fish: It's not a scoop, it's much more pleasant to eat fish from which all the bones have been carefully removed, even if it's a rather painful and time-consuming job, the result is worthy of your efforts.

Here are some important points to keep in mind.
8,229 14 5
Grade this page:

Last modified on: October 16th 2021

Keywords for this post:FishBonesClawFleshFilletFish steak
Remove bones from fish

the tool

No secret, you absolutely need a pair of fishbone pliers, it's really the essential tool with enough strength to be able to catch and remove a fishbone, usually very well hung.
You can use a pair of universal or fine-nosed tweezers, but it's not very practical (don't even think about recycling an old pair of tweezers, you won't get anywhere).
If you have to buy one, go for a stainless steel one, like the one on the picture above.

Finding the fish bones

This is not so easy, as they are usually almost invisible.
The best way is to put the fillet or the fish in front of you (on a plate if possible) and to pass your finger along the flesh, if the bones are not visible, on the other hand they can be felt.

Removing them

That's the trick, it's not obvious but there is a kind of "direction", fish bones are generally oriented from the head to the tail, from the central bone and slightly curved, schematically, like this:

arêtes de poisson


Add to this that there is a tip and a point, the tip being significantly larger than the point.
If you magnify it a lot, a fish bone looks like this:

arête zoom

When you have a fillet in front of you, it's the inside of the fish that you see, the fishmonger has cut the flesh along the central bone, and then all the other bones are cut off as well.
So they are in the flesh like this:

arêtes dans la chair

To remove them without too much difficulty, you have to go in the right direction with the pliers, grabbing the big end, and pull in the opposite direction.

arêtes sens de retrait

In other words, in the direction indicated by the green arrow, but especially not in the direction of the red arrows.
Well, it wouldn't be dramatic either, but 1) it will be harder and 2) you might tear off some flesh with the edge, which would be a shame.

So you have to do that for all the bones, until you run your finger over them and you don't feel any point, then move on to the next fillet.
Yes, yes, it's long and painful, but what a pleasure afterwards at the table...

To sum up: To remove the bones from a fillet or a fish steak, you need a good pair of bone grippers, and pull them in the opposite direction of their location.

Back to top of page

Lasts posts
Wipe meats and fish before cooking
Wipe meats and fish before cooking
When you want to cook meat or fish, there's a very simple yet very important step to take before you even start: It's to dry, or wipe, each side of the meat or fish, sometimes called "dabbing" or "sponging". But why? And how? Let me explain.
1,5135 April 14th 2024
Toss the salad
Toss the salad
When you've finished preparing a salad, green or otherwise, it's usually time to add the dressing and toss. It's often said to "toss the salad", which means to season and mix. Is it easy? Not so easy...
2,8525 March 8th 2024
Half milk, half cream
Half milk, half cream
In a multitude of recipes, savoury or sweet, milk is used as the main ingredient, or at least as the main liquid ingredient. Milk is used instead of water, for example, because milk contains a proportion of fat, which adds roundness and softness to the recipe. This mellowness is very pleasant on...
2,692 February 27th 2024
Cutting soft cheeses
Cutting soft cheeses
As you may have already noticed, when you have to use a "soft" cheese in a recipe - their exact name is "soft cheese" - such as Camembert, Munster or Mont d'or, it's not easy to make anything other than thick slices.
2,8115 February 20th 2024
It's spinning too fast!
It's spinning too fast!
When you need to grate or slice vegetables, you generally use an electric machine that does all the work: a food processor, a mixer with a "slicer" extension or similar. Are these machines really suitable? Generally speaking, yes of course, but there's one criterion that often poses a problem,...
5,7775 November 12th 2023
Other pages you may also like
Markers in cooking
Markers in cooking
When it comes to cooking, there is only one real rule, and that is that there are no rules! By that I mean that everything is possible, everything can be combined, everything or almost everything can go with everything, but you have to like it, you have to find it good. I have friends who...
7,0905 July 3rd 2021
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
What is the difference between bakery and patisserie?
This is a question that you may well have asked yourself and which I will attempt to answer. In France the two trades of "boulangerie" (bakery) and "pâtisserie" (patisserie and confectionery) have always been quite distinct, but where exactly do the boundaries lie? .
119K 14.1 February 7th 2017
For well opened (puffed) cakes
For well opened (puffed) cakes
It's always nice to have a well puffed up cake after baking, not only will it taste good but it looks great too. Let's see how to get this beautiful shape almost every time.
27K4.2 January 23th 2019
The right weight of pastry for a pie
The right weight of pastry for a pie
Let's try to solve a thorny problem: How much dough will I need when I make my next pie? You're planning to make a pie, you're going to use your favourite mould or circle, but how much pastry will you need to fill it completely with a well spread pastry, without being too thin, or on the contrary...
58K4.3 March 20th 2020
The 3 secrets of Parisian flan
The 3 secrets of Parisian flan
A flan Parisien, or boulanger, is a simple yet delicious cake. A cream, a mixture of milk, eggs and sugar, is poured into a raw pastry base and baked in the oven until the pastry and cream are cooked. This is the simplest version of the recipe, probably the original one, but nowadays the cream...
7,5584.7 July 21th 2023
Post your comment or question
Posted by:
I am not a leaving thing
Follow this page
If you are interested in this page, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the page is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
I am not a leaving thing
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.

Back to top of page