Preparing & Cooking Fish

Scaling and gutting

1. ScaleHold the fish by the tail in a sink or inside a large plastic bag and scrape from tail to head with a scaler or the back of a knife. Rinse.
2. TrimCut off the fins with kitchen scissors. Cut out the gills if you are cooking the fish whole: they turn bitter.
3. GutSlit the belly from the vent to the head, pull out the innards, and scrape away the dark blood line along the backbone. Rinse and pat dry. Fishmongers will do all this for you.

Filleting a round fish

1. Cut behind the headLay the fish on its side and cut down behind the head and gills to the backbone.
2. Along the backCut along the back from head to tail, just above the backbone, keeping the knife flat against the bones.
3. Lift the filletWork the blade over the ribs in long strokes, lifting the fillet as you go, then free it at the tail. Turn the fish over and repeat.
4. TidyTrim off the belly flap and any fin bones. Keep the bones and head (gills removed) for stock.

Filleting knives →

Filleting a flat fish

1. Down the middleLay the fish dark side up and cut down the centre line from head to tail, to the bone.
2. Two fillets a sideSlide the knife between the flesh and the bones, working outwards from the centre in short, flat strokes, and lift off one fillet; repeat for the other side of the line.
3. Turn overTurn the fish and take two more fillets from the white side: four in all.

Pin-boning and skinning

1. Find the bonesRun a finger along the centre of the fillet, head to tail: you will feel a line of small pin bones.
2. PullPull each bone out with tweezers in the direction it points (towards the head) so the flesh does not tear.
3. SkinLay the fillet skin side down, tail towards you. Cut down to the skin at the tail, hold the skin firmly (a little salt on your fingers helps), and slide the knife along at a low angle, wiggling the skin rather than the knife.

Mussels and clams

1. CheckThrow away any with broken shells and any open ones that do not close when tapped on the worktop.
2. CleanScrub under cold running water, scrape off barnacles, and pull the hairy “beard” towards the hinge to remove it.
3. CookSteam in a covered pan with a little wine or water for 3 to 5 minutes, shaking the pan, until they open. Throw away any that stay closed.

Opening oysters

1. HoldFold a cloth over your hand (or wear a cut-resistant glove) and hold the oyster cup side down, hinge towards you.
2. Into the hingePush the tip of an oyster knife into the hinge and twist until it pops. Never use an ordinary kitchen knife.
3. ReleaseSlide the blade along the inside of the top shell to cut the muscle, lift it off, then loosen the oyster from the bottom shell. Keep the juice and pick out any bits of shell.

Dressing a cooked crab

1. Legs and clawsTwist off the legs and claws; crack them with the back of a heavy knife or crab crackers and pick out the white meat.
2. Open the bodyPush the body out of the shell from the tail end. Remove and throw away the grey, feathery gills (“dead man’s fingers”) and the stomach sac behind the mouth.
3. Brown and whiteScoop the brown meat from the shell; cut the body in half and pick out the white meat with a skewer. Serve the two meats separately in the cleaned shell.

Cleaning squid

1. Head and gutsPull the head and tentacles away from the body; the innards come with them.
2. Quill and skinPull the clear plastic-like quill out of the body, then peel off the purplish skin and the fins. Rinse inside.
3. TentaclesCut the tentacles off just in front of the eyes and squeeze out the hard beak. Slice the body into rings, or open it out and score it.