How to Fillet a Sea Bass

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: November 1, 2021 References Tested

Sea bass is a rich and tasty fish that is popularly used in a variety of cuisines. However, as is the case with many other fish, those who might like to cook sea bass on their own are often intimidated by the prospect of having to fillet the fish themselves. Luckily, by doing the right prep work and filleting the fish using the right method, filleting a sea bass at home can be a quick and easy process.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Scaling the Sea Bass

1
Make sure your knife is sharp and not serrated. You’ll need to have a sharp and flexible knife in order to make the kind of cuts needed to fillet a fish. However, avoid using a serrated knife, as this will end up shredding the delicate meat of the sea bass.^{[1]
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- A long, thin knife will be best for filleting a sea bass. Use a filleting knife, if possible, as these are specifically designed to fillet fish.
- Sharpen your knife, if possible. For this process, your knife can’t be too sharp!
2
Lay the fish on a cutting board near the sink. You’ll want to contain your work area to a single cutting board, if possible, as filleting a fish can be quite messy. Place your cutting board near a sink so that you can easily wash the fish and dispose of excess body parts.^{[2]
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- For maximum safety, wear fish handling gloves whenever physically handling the sea bass. These can be bought at any outdoor sports store.
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3
Run your knife along the side of the fish to remove the scales. Hold the fish by the tail with one hand and, gripping the knife with the other hand, scrape down the fish with the blunt edge of the knife, starting from the tail and moving towards the head.^{[3]
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- If you bought your sea bass from a fishmonger, they may have already removed the scales from the fish. If that’s the case, skip this step.
- Go easy as you remove the scales; if you go too quickly, they may fly off the fish and make a mess.
- Make sure you remove all the scales on both sides of the fish.
4
Rinse the fish under cold running water. Once you’ve finished removing the scales, run the sea bass under cold running water to clean it. Then, pat it dry with a kitchen roll.^{[4]
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Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Gutting the Fish

1
Slice along the belly of the fish from the tail to the head. Pierce the belly of the fish with your knife near the tail. Then, run the knife from the tail to the head to open the stomach.^{[5]
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2
Remove the innards. Once you’ve sliced open the belly, use your knife to scoop out the contents of the stomach and dispose of them. Then, insert an index finger into a gill and pull strongly to remove it.^{[6]
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- Some sea bass recipes may call for gutting the fish without slicing open the belly. However, when filleting a sea bass, this is the preferred method.
- You might also remove the head and tail at this point. However, this is not strictly necessary in order to fillet the sea bass.
3
Rinse the fish under cold water to clean it. Once the sea bass has been gutted, run it under cold running water to clean it off. Rinse both the outside and the inside of the fish thoroughly.^{[7]
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Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Removing the Fillets

1
Cut away the skin of the back and detach the upper fillet. With the tail towards you, run your knife down the spine to the tail in a slicing motion. Work your knife between the spine and the flesh as you do this. Continue this slicing process until the upper fillet detaches.^{[8]
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- Sea bass have bulging rib cages that may make this process a tad more difficult than with other fish. If you run into difficulty from the fish’s rib cage, simply break the rib cage by sliding the knife down with a bit of force while simultaneously lifting the flesh with your other hand.
2
Repeat this process for the opposite side. Once you’ve detached the fillet from one side of the fish, flip it over and repeat the process to remove the fillet from the other side.^{[9]
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- Be careful when performing this process on the remaining side, as you won’t have the same kind of support that you did while removing the first fillet.
- Once you’ve cut away both fillets, lay them out on your cutting board and dispose of the remaining parts of the fish.
3
Use tweezers to remove any remaining bones from the fillets. Once both fillets are cut and laid out, use tweezers to remove the pin bones that are left over. Sea bass usually have 5 or 6 of these bones running along the middle of the fillet.^{[10]
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- Note that if your fish is particularly fresh, it may be harder than normal to remove these bones.
4
Rinse the fillets to make sure they’re clean. Once you’ve finished removing the bones, run your fillets under running water one last time to make sure they’re clean. After that, they’re ready to cook.^{[11]
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