How to break down or process a salmon. Gut, gill, fillet, skin, de-bone.

Demonstrated first, then explained. Some basics of processing salmon and other fish. These are commercially caught wild Sockeye, I didn't get the opportunity to bleed them by cutting through the gills. Wild Sockeye are NATURALLY very red compared to other salmon. Yes, the frames can be scraped for salmon burgers etc. I use these framed for bait. Skins can also be cut to smaller pieces and deep fried and eaten like a potato chip.
SENELLI - Commercial knife used

[@santhoshthewizard]

I have a habit of watching filleting videos especially salmon . This is a masterpiece of all video which I watched till today.

[@Oisdead]

santhosh kumar so I'm not the only one that enjoys this

[@krazus2036]

It's satisfying to watch and you get to learn more about this almost extinct art. I like to fish and eat what I fish so I just watch these when I am bored or I can't fish myself

[@wileycoyotesr8623]

You are a very good teacher. I always try to watch newly made salmon videos. This one ranks right up with the best.

[@mko549]

Thank you for taking the time to make this and share your knowledge. Much appreciated.

[@kimradelia9583]

This was the best video I've seen yet, I like your teaching style.

[@KG-vi2mv]

That filleting knife is honestly the best... got one back in 2008 when I went to cooking school and still have it. Nice and flexible definitely my favourite knife.

[@sophiebarrow870]

Excellent tutorial, thanks so much for sharing! I looked through others and this was by far the clearest for view and explanation. Thanks for the help :)

[@corradoprizzi7559]

Invaluable advice. Thanks so much. Great tutorial .

[@kimrutherford167]

Great tutorial ty......Watched vid went to the kitchen and filleted my first salmon like a pro thanks to you. You made it simple and easy!!

[@ccacolumbus7476]

You are very professional .. handle the fish like a 5 star restaurant chef

[@SuperBardley]

Wow, really well done vid! I really appreciate seeing you take the filet from the skeleton right away, and then go about dealing with the ribs and axial fins as separate tasks -- I've been suffering through the rib step whilst the filet is still attached and that does not work well at all, duh.

[@justaskmom]

Awesome video. I'm tasked with filet-ing a Salmon my vet son got for his service. My knives were expensive but are less than sharp. I've watched 10 videos now. I'm still intimitaded even though I'm a 40 year experienced cook. I'm really dreading this!

[@benjaminguillot3458]

Verry good explanation! Helped a lot!

[@largefayeanne]

This is so informational. Thanks for sharing.

[@coopergudgel1023]

Thanks. I'm thinking about fishing, only doing all this as soon as I catch the fish. The info is much appreciated.

[@gregorsidler3962]

Thanks...... very nice job. Best video I have seen in a long time!

[@cordgoss]

seen other tutorials and this one was the best! thanks

[@deannastevens1217]

THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! I just gut and filleted 7 salmon. THIS METHOD IS AMAZING!!!!! I'm not great at it yet and I need sharper knives... Mine are awesome but not as awesome as yours!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU> It took forever to cut up the last batch of salmon. I used a different method for canning and it sucked. THANK YOU!!!!!

[@davidtaxis1183]

This is terrific; thanks. I don't have a filet knife, but should be able to do the job. The u-tube will be playing over and over till I get it!

[@discgolfer78]

thank you for teaching me how to do this. its much appreciated. have a great day

[@snekychanuwu9545]

Why am I watching this I’ve never even been fishing in my live

[@jvhuggard]

SPARTANwolf 96 same. But now I wanna

[@bobbrady7825]

Great instructional skill and video. Thanks!

[@ebonylilyofzion177]

This was very helpful. Thank you so much. I personally have always enjoyed eating the skin on the bottom of my fillets lol!!😍🥰

[@loyalty.2481]

He did not come to play! Wow. Great job!

[@hasdrubal121]

thanks I got a salmon today and followed your vid to process it.

[@2brite4uw32]

It’s so satisfying~!! I love it! ^^

[@malcolmoliver4530]

Great video. Very informative.

[@jacecobert9445]

very clean, nice video my man

[@vullom29]

This is a very good video. Good job and thank you

[@JayB-bq7hh]

Great info dudes !!! You should use the bones for stock , it makes a great soup !!!

[@23v0lv32]

Excellent video

[@thestrander1742]

late comment: OMG can people stop hating on the way he does it cause he does it like a freaking champion. seriously it was commercialy caught and iced he couldn't bleed it right away and if your just using the meat he didn't waste anything jeez people grow up

[@LillianLincoln]

AWESOME! Thank you for this!!!!

[@lizhauraki3478]

Chur ! Great demo. Gutted Salmon now on to filleting it.. tho a must do and thats to buy a proper fish filleting knife, make do with what I have atm. Thanks for the vid😁👍🏻

[@busbystandup1337]

So much better than the farm-raised, orange-dyed crap we allow stores and restaurants to sell us

[@slipknot5567]

Very helpful, Thanks man.

[@user-pl2rs6ss2y]

10/10 he even kept his table clean

[@GxWatts]

Look at that rich red color. that's a beauty.

[@deannastevens1217]

I am having to revisit this. I forgot some of it. It's amazing. and I had to do salmon today. Found my knives had been used by someone and weren't sharp. Needless tosay the fish won and are still on ice until tomorrow. :(

[@mo-reesespieces9066]

Thanks for taking the time to show this. I have watched several videos on filleting fish, and most of them do not gut the fish. Is there a reason you do? Some cut around the rib cage instead of though, I guess due to not gutting the fish. The pin bones, are they all the way through the middle of the meat from head to tail, or is there a small section to look out for? Again, thanks for showing this, I know it must take some time to do this. Peace, Reese

[@MarkDesvaux]

Thanks for the excellent video.

[@funnyvideos..375]

thanks for the great video I learned something

[@phyllisflorin5763]

This has been so helpful! I just got my first whole fish caught by a friend and I was clueless as how to cut it. Should have looked at this first! I hacked it up pretty badly, but it still was delicious!

[@harbeh]

the colour is amazing!

[@TheAnaFoFana]

He didn't bleed the fish, so yeah.

[@moarcowbell1]

Equius Zahhak some fish have a nice red color even after being bleed. Copper river fish have a rich red color regardless.

[@Dawseyandsons]

Equius Zahhak This was a commercially caught sockeye that was put on ice. I prefer to bleed the fish right away by cutting their gill but not all commercial fisherman do that. Sockeye are naturally much redder than other salmon.

[@Shanoize]

Amazing video! Thanks!

[@JonnysChannel]

Anybody watching this during lockdown? Got mad plans to go fishing this year😂🤷🏽‍♂️

[@stickAran]

watching the blood red color of the salmon file is like porn. Seriously, thats proper healthy fish meat.

[@mugensamurai]

Sure it's not because of all those snuff videos?

[@eatpumkin090]

After watching this guide I made my first attempt. My salmon was quite large so I figured a kitchen knife would be better. I was very wrong. Buy a fillet knife or you will end up with choppy looking fillets.

[@LaughableSynonyms]

Hi there, Good intsructional video, I was wondering if you know if its possibly to boil Salmon head, like I would with a Snapper or Trevally. Perhaps it would be too rich?

[@kylewattssurfing3266]

Grrrreatttttt videoooo and thankkkkksssss forrrrrr sharinggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@theburgernoder2441]

I come back to this video every 2 years. I don’t even fish.

[@b.b.5048]

Great vid, thanks

[@MyDiamondhead]

Awesome vid.....

[@carlgrooms2344]

beautiful job. what knife are you using? it it still your favorite for salmon?

[@davidong3468]

The fillet knife very good......what the brand of the knive???

[@garyritterstrings]

I use a much bigger and longer knife . I can make one slice to cut the rib cage out. Try it and save time.

[@TurkeyDart]

great job.

[@christ4edwoods207]

Your a BOSSSSSSSS, I sell fish and I learned something

[@williamearl4774]

Excellent!

[@chuckkerber4735]

Best video on filleting a salmon I've seen- what species? Which brand knife? Thanks!

[@Dawseyandsons]

Thanks for your feedback. Wild Sockeye Salmon and Sanelli fillet knife.

[@chuckkerber4735]

Great.

[@levigoldenberg8955]

do the salmon need to be descaled if you are going to leave the skin on?

[@thwack35]

Great video! Thanks for posting it. You said that you had plans for the bones. What do you like to do with them. I've been seeing that some people like to smoke them. Any suggestions? I'd appreciate it.

[@Dawseyandsons]

Chris Evan I stick them in the freezer and the use them for crab bait. Commercially many companies use a machine that has a comb/brush that has small fingers that scrapes the meat off turn use for salmon burgers. One could smoke them but I don't bother.

[@semmes5342]

perfection!

[@halo091000]

great video who needs a dad when u got this guy showing u what to do right here

[@Dawseyandsons]

In this case it was just to show how. Some people prefer smoking fish without it so it absorbs more smoke and if it’s going to the market a lot of buyers and chef chefs want it off. Some prefer it on top of course. Same goes for the brown layer between the skin and the meat. Some like it some don’t.

[@bingbang8341]

Very good.

[@AngelsTrumpett]

Holy shit that knife Is sharp!

[@obankafool7949]

Looks good

[@flamedrag18]

holy that's some nice red salmon.

[@brodiemcfadyean893]

I have the Leatherman signal best thing I ever bought for hiking

[@derekborba8963]

Why did you gut and remove the gills if you are filleting? Do you use for stock or something?? I couldn't get audio to work so my apologies if you touched on this already.

[@thestrander1742]

cause if you cut the fillet out and get guts all over the meat it spoils it but some people cook the heart and other stuff too (salmon heart is actually good )

[@krazus2036]

It's best to gut the fish carefully at the bottom making sure you don't cut any organs. You don't want the nasty chemicals from the organs on the meat or it will be un eatable.

[@Skumfly]

Super instruction video :-)

[@onemanwreckincrew]

great job thanks ! look at the deep red color ! ... nothing like the cheap salmon I just got that came from offshore farming ... Chile I think ... what is the best online venue to buy good wild salmon ? thanks ...

[@Dawseyandsons]

Don Quixote I'm not aware of any online wild Salmon brokers but I'm sure there are plenty. I live on the coast so they're are a lot of local opportunities. The salmon you get from Chile are farmed Atlantics. Farmed salmon are naturally a lighter fleshed color to begin with but most consumers prefer the darker colors so the farmers use feed with Astaxanthin added which colors the flesh a bit. These deep red sockeye salmon are not found everywhere and they are a in my opinion the best tasting of any type.

[@pascaljohns4242]

Cool. now i just need to catch one!

[@fastforwardl]

awesome! what fillet knife is that your using with the green handle , im gonna pick me one up !!

[@Dawseyandsons]

Sanelli

[@landmine950]

Thank You

[@davescopes249]

Something tells me that you have done that a few times before. Lol. The sharpness of that knife made me cringe 🔪🗡️. Thank you for sharing your video

[@mugensamurai]

Thanks!

[@Dizziewya]

Lol I was just wondering if the vegan lady saw this 😂😂

[@ashtheruler5253]

do you use any old pliers to de-bone the fillet or are there specific de-boning pliers for fish gutting?

[@Dawseyandsons]

Ash Theruler I do have special pliers that have a small bent nose that are also spring loaded for really fast work. But you can use any pliers that have a nice tight bite. My Leatherman multi-tool works quite well. Remember too that the pinbones pull out much easier after the fish is on ice and out or rigor for at least 2 days.

[@littlegoobie]

+Ash Theruler I do it the same way. I have a small spring loaded gerber multi tool that i keep just for this.. all stainless. way easier than those stupid tweezers. and like the guy said, the pin bones pull out esier if you wait a few days. ...or if you're going to freeze it, do it after you thaw it. There are commercial machines to pull pin bones without tearing up the meat as well as smaller hand held versions but they're very expensive at this point...several thousand dollars for the cheapest one.

[@lt.dragon2095]

I watched this before going camping so I know how to gut a fish if I go fishing

[@23v0lv32]

Oh my god you even pin bone fresh fillet. You savage ahaha

[@brysonhigh8777]

nice stradegy

[@uvid4us]

What's the best sharpener to use for fillet knives? Can I use a diamond steel without resorting to stones at all?

[@Dawseyandsons]

No, a diamond steel is only used to keep the edge sharp. Once the edge is sharp with stone or a belt sander or a file then a steel simply keeps the edge good for a long time if the quality of the knife metal is good.

[@uvid4us]

What do you use? Looks like your knife has been reshaped because that thin blade is not made by Sanelli. I also like thin blades. Debating whether to buy a real steel or a diamond steel? I've read you only need 400 grit for fillet knives. These polished edges don't go through fish skin, true?

[@uvid4us]

I mean't to say these polished edges everyone on the knife forums talks about really don't work for filleting.

[@Dawseyandsons]

The knife I was using is simply really old and worn. It has a medium flexibility so even when it was wider and new it flexed well. It was used commercially all day every day for many years. I have both, traditional steels and diamond steels. I still much prefer the traditional steels. Another option for polishing is to strop it with a leather belt and some light buffing compound. That will do a nice polish on the blade, after it has been sharpened. I use so many different type of sharpeners depending on the knife and the job I am doing. I fish hunt and farm and butcher and process all meats so I have several types. For my fillet knives I usually run it through a commercial grinding wheel knife sharpener. I only use this machine for fillet knives because I have so many old fillet knives that I don't care that the grinding wheel wears it down faster. On all of my butcher knives though, I do by hand on a stone. I like Arkansas Wet Stones and I also have some 4 sided diamond stones do in a pinch. For machetes and cleavers I use a file. But I still polish all of them with either a leather strop, a steel, or a rag wheel on a bench grinder with some buffing compound depending on what is in front of me at the time. The trick is once you have a good edge practice a lot with a steel and use it often. This will maintain an edge for a very long time if the knife is good quality. The stone grits that are coarse or fine varies depending on the type of stone. A Japanese water stone grit numbers are not the same as conventional grits we use. The numbers don't translate the same but they are much the same idea. They are very good also but I don't find them better or worse. Basically they all work well just need to find one you like.

[@uvid4us]

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. Been looking at Fdick brand steels lately too. So many models to choose from. Supposedly the best.

[@timmacdonald9584]

Nice video, but why do you gut and gill it before you fillet it? You are not using or saving gills or guts and even the blood line would stay on the backbone the way you are doing it? Just curious. A bit of extra work for no apparent benefit.....???

[@reddragonmirage]

thanks!

[@louismendes4743]

I am now hungry and slightly more knowledgeable, thanks.

[@kd741]

Yeah! Like it! Now, I got to do it!! Have any smoking tips?

[@sandmantech10]

Thanks I'm going out to get my self a fillet knife now any recommendations other than a sharp one ? : )

[@jandhjandw1990]

I've always preferred the more flexible blades and longer as opposed to shorter and like you said super sharp makes life a whole lot easier. I 'steel' the blade every few minutes of use to keep it sharp.

[@johnnyboy5976]

I like Dexter knives for a cheap fillet knife. I think you can get an 8 inch sani safe for like $20 bucks. My favorite is a custom blade but if you want a really nice knife Wusthof makes a great blade.

[@pugsilant7385]

and the skin tasts good!

[@dirtriderwr250r2]

pretty good...i smoke all the bones for my world famous dip

[@lizhauraki3478]

Hi. What's your recipe for 'world famous dip ?

[@Naatzx2]

@@lizhauraki3478 guess we'll never know

[@jchrg2336]

Now that's a fish that goes with a masoesa moksa-alesi

[@TheGamingGeneral]

U are not even afraid of the gutty lol my dad needs to wear gloves

[@krazus2036]

TheGamingGeneral2003 the rough callused hands of a man is the only glove you'll ever need. Wash your hands in the river with some soap and you should be fine.

[@Drifter212]

Because he's actually your "mom."

[@squirrelbee647]

It's really fresh fish 🐟

[@youtubedemonitizeme2609]

looks so good i wanna eat it

[@grocerybird9744]

What is the point in gilling it if your gonna cut the head off anyway

[@shuc1337]

Did you scale the fish beforehand?

[@Dawseyandsons]

No I didn't because I knew I was going to skin them. But any type of salmon is very easy to scale, even with the side of a spoon.

[@judygomez709]

I like to see them open them . but how do you do it without getting discussted

[@thestrander1742]

it's easy don't be a bratty little wimp

[@bradlybellant3975]

Do you have to gut them right as u catch them?

[@Dawseyandsons]

I always do but not everyone does. Many will simply cut the gill so it bleeds out the fish and then they put them on ice right away whole.

[@bradlybellant3975]

@@Dawseyandsons thank you absolutely unbelieveable you replied within a day on an 8 year old video already subbed liked and hit the bell

[@wettosixecho]

fill-it or fill-ay

[@MrOvyB]

What's the point of taking off the gills if the head is thrown away ? Just asking...

[@Dawseyandsons]

If you are removing the head there is no point. If you are going to keep it whole then it's a good idea. If the gills are left in the blood in them spoil faster than the rest of the fish so it starts to smell. So if the fish is being sold or cooked whole as some people like, taking out the gills will help it stay fresher longer.