Before cooking a whole fish, make sure the gills have been removed, the cavity is clean, and the fins have been snipped off.
To bone the fish after it has been cooked, place it on a plate or cutting board. On the top of the fish you’ll see a natural seam; run a sharp boning knife the length of the fish along this line.
Run the knife, parallel, and right along the fish's central bones. Start from the top of the fish, and move from the head to the tail. Make a single cut at the tail and then just behind the head. Lift this part of the fillet off the frame and transfer to a plate.
Slide the knife along the bones to lift the other side of this fillet off the bones, and transfer this to a plate. Remove the skin, if desired, with your finger or a spoon if you are doing this tableside.
Grab the tail and lift off the backbone and the head and discard. Remove any remaining rib bones from the bottom fillet.

Cut bottom fillet into individual portions and serve.

Instructor: Robert Bleifer