Unit 220 – Prepare fish for basic dishes
Different types of fish
White Flat Fish
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Lemon Sole
Plaice
Halibut
Turbot
Brill
Dover sole
Flounder
Dab
White Round Fish
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Cod
Haddock
Coley
Hake
Pollack
Whiting
John dory
Sea bass
Oily Fish
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Mackerel
Salmon
Sardines
Trout
Herring
Quality Points to look out for in fresh fish
 The eyes should be bright and full, not sunken.
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The gills are bright red in colour.
The flesh should be firm & spring back when pressed.
Scales, if any, should be plentiful.
There should be no unpleasant smell.
Filleting
Round fish
 First lay the cleaned, gutted and trimmed fish on the correct chopping
board.
 Working from head to tail: cut down the backbone following the
vertebrae over the rib cage. Lift the fillets as you cut them to have
control over the knife.
 Detach the fillet at the tail and head.
 Turn the fish over and repeat the process to get 2 fillets.
Step 1
Step 3
Step 2
Step 4
Flat fish
 Lay the fish flat on the appropriate chopping board.
 Cut down the natural centre line of the fish to the bone.
 Make the incision very close to the bone, finishing at the tail to minimise
loss of flesh.
 Work from the centre, cutting with smooth sweeping strokes to the left,
keeping the knife pressed against the bone.
 Detach the fillet from the bone, lifting the fillet away from the bone as
you cut.
 Repeat the same process for the second fillet.
 When the fillets have been removed completely, turn the fish over and
repeat on the underside to obtain 4 fillets.
The Different cuts of fish
Name of the cut
Darne
Goujon
Description of the
cut
A slice cut across
the bone from a
round fish
A long strip that is
cut from a large fillet
Photo of the cut
Supreme
A piece of the fillet
cut at an angle,
used on cod or
salmon
Troncon
A finger shaped cut
from a flat fish
across the width of
the fish body
Delice
A neatly folded and
trimmed flat fish
fillet
Paupiette
A flattened piece of
filleted fish which is
stuffed and rolled
Correct tools and Equipment used in fish preparation
 Blue Chopping Board
 Flexible filleting knife
 Fish bone tweezers
Unit 220
Prepare fish for basic dishes
K1./
Flatfish:
Halibut
Sole
Turbot
Lemon sole
Round fish:
Cod
Haddock
Hake
Whiting
Oily/fatty fish:
Salmon
Mackerel
Sardines
Pilchards
Kippers
Tuna
How to identify them?
Flatfish: The underside of a flatfish is white whilst the upper side with two
eyes maybe brightly colored.
Round fish: Has a backbone along its upper body with a fillet located on
both sides. Round fish have an eye located on each side of the head.
Oily fish: The flesh on an oily fish tends to be darker in the flesh as it
contains more fat in the flesh of the skin.
K2./ It is very important to check that the fish meets requirements and you
can do this by checking it is the correct:
 breed
 Recipe
 Weight
 Cut
 Quality
K3./ Quality points to look for in fresh fish:
 Eyes bright full and not sunken no slime or cloudiness.
 Gills bright red in color no bacterial slime.
 Flesh firm translucent and resilient so when pressed the impression
goes quickly, the fish must not be limp.
 Scales are flat moist and plentiful.
 Skin should be covered with fresh sea slime.
 Smell should be fresh and pleasant with no smell of ammonia.
 Fish should be purchased daily.
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K4./ If there is anything wrong with the fish record it down
straight away, inform your supervisor and get the fish sent back to the
to the producer immediately.
K5./ Fish filleting knife-To remove the fillet from the fish.
Tweezers: To remove pin bones from the fish.
K6./ It is important to use the correct tools when dealing with fish as
the flesh of the fish can be very delicate. The correct techniques must
be used with the correct tools that are sharpened properly to prevent
damage to the fish and injury to you.
K7./ Skinning: To skin a raw fillet you must place it on a blue fish
chopping board with the skin against the surface. Feel for any
remaining bones and cut them away or tweeze out. Starting at the
bottom by the tail, cut through the skin to get to the flesh and then
turn the knife so that it is flat and parallel to skin. The knife should be
between the skin and the flesh. Angle the knife very slightly down
towards the skin this will ensure very little flesh is left on the skin.
Hold the skin tightly with blue roll if needed to keep a grip on the fish
and guide the knife all the way down the fillet- using a gentle back
and forth sawing motion.
To skin a cooked fillet grab the skin at the tail end of the fillet with
tongues as soon as the fish is cooked and the skin should easily peel
away on most fish once cooked.
Filleting
 Remove pin bones
 Remove rib bones
 Remove spine
Cutting
 Darne
 Goujon
 Supreme
 Troncon
 Delice
 Paupiette
Trimming
Coating
Marinating
K8./ Reasons for coating and marinating fish: Even tender foods like
fish can benefit from a good marinade. Marinades keep the fish from
drying out and the oil in the marinade helps keep them from sticking.
K9./ Handling different textures of fish during preparation.
You must take more care when handling delicate fish such as Brill,
which has affine texture and a delicate flavour. It is advised to poach
steam or bake this fish to stop it from falling apart and from having no
taste at all.
There is no need for heavy spices or marinates when dealing with
delicate flavoured fish as you take away the natural taste and flavours
from the fish itself.
For the likes of Oily fish such as Tuna it is best to bake it in the oven
rather than fry as it is a fatty fish in comparison to other breeds of
fish and baking is healthier than frying.
K10./ When fish is prepared it is best to store the fish covered in the
fridge at the correct temp between 0-4 degrees Celsius. It must be
stored below dairy products and away from meat and ready to eat
foods. It is always better to have a completely separate fridge for fish
products as they are strong and can taint other dishes.
K11./ When preparing fish it is healthy to grill/bake the fish rather than
pan fry or batter and fry. Salmon is a healthy fish when grilled and
served with healthy ingredients rather than with a rich creamy sauce
which is high in calories. Fish is high in omega three especially oily
fish even though the fish has a high content of fat in comparison to a
flat/round fish everything in moderation is good for you.