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How to Butterfly a Fish

By Hank Shaw 15 Comments

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how to butterfly a fish for the pan
Photo by Hank Shaw

Butterflying, also known as splitting or kiting a fish, is a basic skill you will want to know, especially when dealing with smaller fish such as trout, bass or perch. It keeps the fish whole but largely debones it. The technique is ideal for either quick pan frying or for stuffing the fish, in this case a rainbow trout I caught last week.

To start, you need a large cutting board or other work surface, a very sharp fillet knife, a pair of kitchen shears… and a fish.

gutted rainbow trout
Photo by Hank Shaw

Make sure the fish is scaled and gutted first, and be sure to remove the gills.

Start by making sure your knife is sharp. I know I just mentioned this, but it is important. You will mangle your fish if your knife is not sharp. Armed with a sharp knife, remove the back fin first. You need to do this to let the fish lay flat when you are done; the back fin also has a set of bones in it you want to remove.

Do this by slicing gently on either side of the fin, all the way to the backbone. Tap the tip of your knife against the backbone when you do this. Gently pull out the fin.

Photo by Hank Shaw
Photo by Hank Shaw

Now remove the ribs. Start from the tail end of the fish, and put the tip of your knife against the backbone where the ribs begin. Slice the ribs free. Do this by slicing from the backbone towards the end of the ribs, gently pressing the knife upward against the ribs — this preserves most of the meat on the fish’s flanks. Do this on both sides.

Use the kitchen shears to snip off the ribs close to the backbone.

Photo by Hank Shaw
Photo by Hank Shaw

Now you need to remove the backbone itself. Start by freeing the ends of the backbone from the fish’s body. Use the kitchen shears to snip the backbone right behind the head and right in front of the tail.

Use the knife to free the backbone from the meat. Be careful not to slice all the way up to the top of the fish and through the skin. When you get close to the fish’s head you will feel resistance: These are the fish’s pin bones.

In trout, herring, sardines and mackerel, these pin bones are small and insignificant. Leave them, as you won’t even notice they are there once you cook the fish. In bass, bluegills, crappies, perch and rock cod, you will want to use needle-nosed pliers or pin bone tweezers to remove them. If you are butterflying any large fish (larger than 18 inches or so) you will need to remove pin bones.

Do this on both sides. You will be left with a fish lying flat and the backbone sticking up in the air.

Photo by Hank Shaw
Photo by Hank Shaw

To remove the backbone, use one hand to anchor the fish where it meets the backbone; I start at the tail end of the fish.  Use the other hand to gently pull it straight up. As it comes free, use your fingers to keep the fish flat and to preserve as much meat as you can. Gently work your way up towards the head and the backbone should come free.

You now have a fish perfect for stuffing. I like to sew stuffed fish shut, but toothpicks works just fine.

Photo by Hank Shaw
Photo by Hank Shaw

If you want to pan fry the fish instead, remove the rest of the backbone near the tail as well as the head so the fish lies perfectly flat. (That’s the photo at the top of this post.)

It takes a little practice, but once you get the hang of it, you can do this whole process in about 3 to 5 minutes. Enjoy!

More Salmon and Trout Recipes
More Recipes for Other Fish

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Filed Under: Cooking Basics, Featured, Fish, How-To (DIY stuff), Salmon and Trout Tagged With: Cooking Basics, cooking tips, fish recipes, trout

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Comments

  1. Hugh says

    March 20, 2016 at 11:25 pm

    For those who want the simplest, but not the most beautiful presentation, for trout and mackerel, these I have done frequently, scale, gut, and remove the gills, and wash the fish. Dry with some paper towels if frying, or if baking (my preference) , put fish on an aluminum foil lined baking sheet (makes clean up much easier) , and season the fish. I use just salt and some butter in the body cavity. I don’t see them up or skewer them closed. Bake the fish at 350 degrees for as long as needed (size of fish matters) so the meat is white and still moist. I then just peal back the top skin and remove the top filet cooked, then I remove the ribs and backbone, then plate the other filet! All the skins and heads get wrapped in the cooking foil and put in the freezer til trash day. It’s simple, but not sit down fancy with friends. Just good, skin and bone free eating! I really liked your blog though. It’s a better option for presentation and for cooking on a bar BQ grill! Thank you!

  2. Ken McBroom says

    January 30, 2017 at 6:53 am

    Hi Hank

    Just wondering if you have ever butterflied bluegill fillets? I catch some big bluegills and crappies but I’m afraid crappie might be too soft.

    Thanks
    Ken

  3. Sandra says

    April 2, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    VERY helpful, thanks!

  4. Stephen Fendos says

    January 18, 2019 at 1:06 pm

    I’ve been a trout fisherman for many, many years and you still offered some great points. Thank you.

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Trackbacks

  1. more fish stuff | dropitintheocean says:
    June 4, 2016 at 9:15 am

    […] https://honest-food.net/2013/04/03/how-to-butterfly-fish/ […]

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