This video is to demonstrate how to fillet flat fish.
This is a flounder.
Flounder are bottom-dwelling fish.
Since they swim along the bottom of the ocean floor, like this, only this top side gets
any light.
So it develops pigment while the underside stays white because it doesn't get any light.
Also, as a defense, when the flounder are born, they have eyes on both sides of their
head.
All flat fish do.
And then as they mature, both eyes migrate to the top of the head, if you can see them.
This, again, is so they can see danger above them.
So flat fish are a little different than round in that they have a ridge going down the center
here.
So what you want to do is feel for the ridge and then cut along that, down to the bone.
Then you use your flexible knife and cut along here.
And the reason you need a flexible knife is that way it can go along the bones and not
cut through them.
You want to try and keep your strokes nice and long, so you don't get choppy fillets.
And that's your first fillet.
And then go along the side here.
Here's the second fillet.
And then turn the flounder over and do the same thing on this side.
This side is always a little plumper than this white side.
Turn around.
Do the same thing.
The flounder bones are excellent bones for fish stock-- fumet.
Because they're a nice delicate-flavored fish, they give you a nice mild fish stock.
And then from here, we're going to take the skin off.
So first, you want to make sure you don't have any bones on there.
And then holding the tail end, gliding your knife along on the edge of your board, so
the skin comes off in one piece.
The skin side of all fish tends to have little nerve endings.
And when you go to cook the fish, it makes the fish curl up.
So if you take your knife very lightly and just run it over in a little crosshatch, barely
cutting into it, that'll keep it from curling up.
And as you can see, that one fillet is the biggest.
So the two top ones are the biggest, and then the two bottom sides are a little smaller.