Place the fillet, skin side down, on a cutting board along the edge nearest you, with the tail end on the side of your nondominant hand. Using the nails of your nondominant hand, firmly hold onto the skin on the bottom of the fillet. Insert a chef's knife at an angle between the skin and flesh. Pull and push the knife toward the head end, holding the tail end firmly with your other hand while you separate the flesh from the skin using the knife.

Removing Pin Bones

A row of small pin bones protrudes slightly through the flesh of all fish fillets from the head end and above where the belly cavity was. Run your fingers over the fillets to find the bones and pull them out with special fish pliers or clean needle-nosed pliers. If the bones are very soft, as in salmon, pull them out with your fingers.

Sometimes the bones are so securely fixed into the flesh that it is best to cut them out. Using a paring knife, slit the flesh on either side of the bones; pull out the bones and the small amount of attached flesh and discard them.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Fish, by Shirley King (Simon & Schuster, 2002).