Good idea, here...
Originally Posted by
FishCrazy
I also use an electric knife and will never go back to the old way. Here is how I do it though. I cut straight down to the backbone behind the gill and then turn the knife blade along the backbone and run it to the tail cutting right through the ribs but stop just shy of disconnecting the fillet on that side from the tail. Slip the knife out and flip the fish over and do the same on the other side, leaving it connected at the tail also. Then just flip that side off to expose the meat side of the fillet while its still connected to the fish and just run the blade down the fillet to remove it from the skin. Then fold the skin back up on the fish flip it over and take the fillet off the other side. I leave the fillet on the other side because it helps to hold the fished shape while running the second cut down the backbone. What you end up with is the fillet with the ribs in them which you lay with the inside facing up and with a sharp knife a "V" cut will extract that ribcage lickity split. It is amazing how fast you can fillet a crappie this way when you get the hang of it. I forget where I read about this but it has saved me a bunch of time and I would highly recommend you give it a try.
I tried this method from FishCrazy when using my electric knife last time -- specifically, leaving the filet on the one side and flipping it over before doing the filet on the second side and cutting the meat off of the skin.
It really did work better in making it easier to follow the backbone of the fish for the second filet. That meant less wasted meat with little to no extra time. Thanks for the idea!
- LOZcrappie (Scott)
I would not exchange my leisure hours for all the wealth in the world. --Comte de Mirabeau (1749-1791)