Categories: Fish/sea 
      Yield: 1 servings 
  
  
  ~-------------SOLE FOOD-------------------------------------------- 
     The into steaks for grilling, or leave it whole for baking or poaching. 
  But if confronted by a thin Dover sole when craving fish and chips, or a 
  pudgy salmon when you want slivers of gravlax, it's good to know how to 
  fillet the fish yourself. While both flatfish and roundfish can be 
  filleted, they are approached differently. A flatfish is easy to spot; it 
  looks as if it has been run over by some underworld tractor. Flatfish swim 
  horizontally along the sea bottom, with both eyes facing upward. You can 
  obtain four nearly equal fillets from a flatfish, one from either side of 
  the backbone on both sides. To fillet a flatfish (sole, flounder, turbot, 
  Pacific halibut): Peel it by laying it flat on a counter with the dark side 
  up and the tail towards you. Slice off the tail, and insert the tip of a 
  knife until you have a grip on the skin. Holding the tail in place, pull 
  the skin back towards the head, over the head, and then down the light 
  colored side. Lay the fish on the counter with its eyes facing up. Cut down 
  the backbone along the center of the fish, then hold your knife at an angle 
  at the head end of one fillet. Lift the fillet with one hand, while 
  scraping gently with small strokes, using the bone structure to guide the 
  knife. Cut away the second fillet from the first side. Turn the fish over 
  and repeat the process. Roundfish, shaped like a tube, have a center 
  backbone, separating two thick fillets. A line of bones extends upward from 
  the spine, and a pair of bone creates an oval on the lower side of the 
  fish, enclosing the entrails. You can create four fillets, but usually one 
  is cut from each side. To fillet: Lay the fish on one side, with its tail 
  towards you. Slice along the backbone from head to tail, exposing the 
  backbone. Hold a knife parallel to the top ribs, cut down the length of the 
  fillet, using short strokes to detach it completely. Turn fish around, hold 
  it by the exposed backbone, and slice the other half of the fillet free. 
  Flip the fish over, and fillet the other side. To skin fillets, lay them 
  skin side down, and hold the tail end. Insert the knife at the shallow end 
  and scrape along the skin to separate the it from the fillets. Run your 
  fingers all along the top of the fillet and feel for pesky little bones. 
  They can easily be removed with tweezers, a gesture that will be greatly 
  appreciated by all who eat it.