Skinning Flatty

[LizardLord]

i once had a bloke show me how to fillet and skin a flatty. i can remember how to cut all the meat off the bone but i can't remember how to get the skin off.

it had something to do with finding a little pocket of air and then just ripping all the skin off. does anyone have any better instructions???

also if i was to remove the skin in this way, is there an easy way to remove the bones. i watched the video someone left on this forum about cutting out the V shape to remove the bones but that seemed to only apply if you remove the skin by filleting off.

anyway i hope that made sense. please help :-/

[Sailfisher]

"i watched the video someone left on this forum about cutting out the V shape to remove the bones but that seemed to only apply if you remove the skin by filleting off."This is the only way I have done Flatheads.

[LizardLord]

so no one has heard of this method? i tried it on one of my smaller pieces recently. i fumbled around for a bit and did manage to get the skin off losing no meat at all. i wasn't gunna try it with my bigger pieces cos i didn't wanna screw them up, just wondering if anyone can give me a better instruction that to just rip the skin off

[Noelm]

best to skin just like any other species, that is hold the skin and lay the knife flat and draw the skin over the knfe, kind of hard to describe, but you do not really "cut" the skin off it is just seperated by the pulling action. a flathead is a little different in so much as the fillet is not completely flat and sometimes needs to be "skinned" twice on the same fillet.

[Col_s]

Lay the fillet skin side down, run a knife from the rib cage back to the tail so that it splits the fillet in two and then it will skin really easy.

Col

[snipe]

Once filleted, I run my knife all the way from the tail to the top, creating an incision that is about 3/4 of the way through the fillet. It then makes the fillet lie flat on the board, making it easier to skin - like a normal flat fillet.

[DR]

can't remember the correct way, but i always skin my flathead. take off the fillets the normal way, then i usually use tip of knife to lift the skin at the tail. then get a grip on the skin in one hand & flesh in the other, putting salt on hands makes gripping a bit easier, then peel like a banana..a lot easier than skinning with a knife, for me anyway..

[LizardLord]

thank DR. i'm pretty useless with a knife but your method sounds like it will work a treat....now to just catch some more flatties....:-/

[Noelm]

I sort of think that to scale and leave the skin on is best for Flathead, skin is nice when cooked all crispy.

[shubeej]

there was a segment on briz31 river to reef a little while ago on how to fillet,skin & debone flathead,unfortunatly i have not been able to try this method due to the inability to land one ,so i will try & explain how they did it .
1. run a fillet knife from in behind the head along backbone down to the tail leaving the fillet intact to the backbone by about 10m/m of skin.
2.holding the fish in your hand,head facing towards your body flip the fillet over your finger grab onto flesh & peel it away from the skin,this also apparently pulls the bones out as well as your peeling the skin back .
3.they did happen to mention that it does not work if you ice the fish or store it in a bucket of water
you would probably have to keep frames in case fisheries inspected your catch
good luck
shubeej

[Punkin]

Just peel the unscaled skin back from the top corner of the head end with a knife, enough to get finger and thunb in. And then peel it off like undies from a supermodel. Doesn't take the pinbones with it, but lightening fast and no knife work.