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How to Fillet a Flatfish (Sole, Flounder, Fluke)

From Hank Shaw, for About.com

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Getting Started

Getting your equipment ready

Getting your equipment ready

Hank Shaw

Filleting a flatfish is similar to filleting a roundfish, but there are just enough differences to warrant this step-by-step. Done right, you can leave a carcass with very little meat on it.

First set up your work station. You should have plenty of room to maneuver, a stout cutting board, a fillet knife or a boning knife with a very flexible blade, a bowl for the fillets, a bowl for the carcass, and a cleaver -- although the cleaver is optional.

The cleaver and the carcass bowl are in case you plan on saving it to make stock with later. This is something I highly recommend, as the bones and heads of all flatfish make superior stock.

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