Preparation

Our fish preparation guide explains the different cuts and portions we can prepare as part of your order.

Butterfly fillet

Smaller, whole fish can be prepared by removing the head and cutting through either the back or belly side of the fish. The two small fillets remain joined along one side, creating a butterfly fillet when opened.

Types of Fish:

• Herring
• Mackerel
• Rainbow Trout
• Sardines
• Sea Bass
• whiting

Canoed fillet

The fish is gutted and filleted through the back with the head left on. This leaves a ‘canoe’ style fillet, ideal for filling.

Types of Fish:

• Herring
• Mackerel
• Rainbow Trout

Fillet

Fillets are the most commonly used cut. The fish is taken off the bone to create a fillet which is then pin-boned. Fillets cut from larger fish can subsequently be cut into portions also known as supremes.

Types of Fish:

• Cod
• Brill
• Dabs
• Dover sole
• Gurnards
• Herring
• Lemon Sole
• Megrim Sole
• Monkfish
• Plaice
• Pollock
• Rainbow Trout
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Sea Bass
• Whiting

Goujons

Goujons are small strips cut from a fillet lengthways. These are usually prepared by coating and frying. Typically produced from white fish.

Types of Fish:

• Cod
• Lemon Sole
• Ling
• Plaice
• Pollock
• Whiting

Loins

Loins are cut from large fish. Typically, large loins will be cut into boneless suprêmes.

Types of Fish:

• Monkfish
• Swordfish
• Tuna

Pin boned

Once a fish is filleted it may still contain tiny bones (pin bones). These can be removed by machine or more traditionally by hand with pliers. Whether we use a machine or pin bone by hand we always QA the pin boned fish by rubbing a hand over the fillet to ensure no pin bones are left.

Types of Fish:

• Cod
• Haddock
• Mackerel
• Pollock
• Salmon
• Trout
• Whiting

Pocketed fish

Smaller size flat fish can be prepared this way. They are de-headed, trimmed and filleted without cutting into the top or bottom sides, leaving the tail on and creating a pocket that is ideal for filling.

Types of Fish:

• Dab
• Lemon Sole
• Megrim
• Plaice

Quarter-cut fillet

Created by taking two prepared fillets from a flatfish and cutting them lengthways to create four fillets.

Types of Fish:

• Dover Sole
• Lemon Sole
• Plaice

Steak, darnes and troncons

These are terms for cutting portions right through the bone from the whole of a round fish.

Types of Fish:

• Dover Sole
• Hake
• Salmon

Suprêmes

These are cuts from large fillets or loins of fish yielding a thick boneless portion.

Types of Fish:

• Cod
• Haddock
• Pollock
• Salmon
• Swordfish
• Tuna