How To Fillet A Sturgeon

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
FOR FILLETING STURGEON

Illustrated below are photos taken at the commercial processing facility
at Sterling Caviar LLC.

You can visit the Sterling Caviar website at www.sterlingcaviar.com.
You will find all kinds of interesting information about their
Sturgeon and the highly praised caviar they produce and sell
all around the world. You can even order caviar right from their
website.

If you operate a fishing lake in the Southern California area and are
interested in stocking Sturgeon in your lake and you have the proper
permits from the California Fish and Game, contact Imperial Catfish at
www.imperialcatfish.com for more information and pricing.

FIRST AND MOST IMPORTANT, be careful when using a sharp knife and
be sure to use protective gloves. If you have never cleaned a fish before
get help from some one who has plenty of experience. I'm sure they
would love to share in the bounty.

Kill the fish as soon as possible and bleed it out, otherwise the blood will
disperse thru this white meat and the flavor could become fishy. Cutting
the gills will do this. You may also cut a ring just in front of the tail which
will allow more of the blood to get pumped out of the meat. It is advisable
to hit the fish on the head to stun or kill it before you attempt bleeding
the fish. You don't want a fish jumping around with a cut gill or tail and
this is better for the fish in terms of humane slaughter.

Keep the fish cool or on ice if you continue to fish and begin the cleaning
process as soon as it is possible. Thoroughly rinse off your fish in clean
water before you begin cleaning your fish.

Cut the tail off as shown. You will need a knife that is sturdier than your
typical fillet knife.

Then cut the head off. Work the knife through the meat on both sides then
cut through the backbone.

Remove the top scutes by cutting away from your body.

Remove the lateral scutes on both sides.

Remove the remaining fins as shown and slit the belly open. Insert the knife
tip just enough to make the cut, try to avoid cutting into the gut.

Properly done, your bullet should look like this.

Remove the gut, scrape and clean the cavity and rinse with clean water.

At point you have 2 options. As you will find discussed later,
Sturgeon must be aged in the refrigerator for 48-hours.

Sturgeon are not like other fish where it is best to eat it as soon as possible.
When Sturgeon die they go into riggers and the fibers in the fillets tighten
and tense up. It takes 48-hours for the fibers to let go and loosen up so
that the fillet is tender and has the proper texture and flavor when it is
cooked. This is extremely important if you want to enjoy Sturgeon done
properly, it makes all the difference in the world.

    Option 1)   Commercial processors stop at this point and put the whole
                        gutted and rinsed bullet in a bag and into the refrigerator for
                        the 48-hour aging period. You may also use a large ice chest
                        but be sure you use plenty of ice and check on it periodically to
                        make sure your fish stay cold for the 48-hour period. After that,
                        the bullet can be easily filleted and then cooked or frozen.

    Option 2)    If you don't have the room in your refrigerator or have a large
                         ice chest to age the whole gutted and rinsed bullet, or several
                         of them if your a good fisherman for the 48-hour period, then
                         you can proceed as shown below.

                         When you try and fillet fresh, the muscles are still reactive and
                         the fillets made from fresh fish may twitch heavily on the cutting
                         board which makes it difficult to fillet as much meat as possible
                         from the fish but it can be done if you are careful, but it is not
                         the best way to do it.

Remove the backbone by cutting down one side first. Cut as close to the
bone as possible.

Then lay the body open and cut down the other side of the backbone.

When both sides of the backbone have been cut, slide the knife under the
backbone and lift it out.

Properly done, it should look like this after the backbone has been removed.

Next, remove the ribs from both sides. Cut as close to the ribs as possible.

Ribs and backbone removed.

Split the fillets down the middle where the backbone was removed.

Remove the skin by starting at the tail. Slide the knife with forward pressure
between the skin and the fillet while holding the skin in place with your other
hand.

It helps if you move the knife in a back and forth sawing motion while you
slide the knife down the fillet and hold the skin in place.

Once the skin is removed, you will find a blood line that must be cut away.
You will want to get rid of any red or darker colored flesh and any skin that
might remain.

If you followed the above process, you should have a pile of beautiful white
sturgeon fillets just like the ones they sell for as much as $18.00 per pound
to gourmet restaurants all across the country.

LAST AND MOST IMPORTANT STEP:

You must age your fillets in the refrigerator for 48 hours before cooking if
you have not already aged the whole cleaned and rinsed bullet as discussed
above, and proceeded with the filleting your fish in one step.

Again, Sturgeon are not like other fish where it is best to eat it as soon as
possible. When Sturgeon die they go into riggers and the fibers in the fillets
tighten and tense up. It takes 48 hours for the fibers to let go and loosen
up so that the fillet is tender and has the proper texture and flavor when it is
cooked. If you are going to freeze the rest of your fish for another day,
do it after it has properly aged it for 48 hours.

Many people recommend soaking the fillets in milk during the aging
process. The milk helps tenderize the fillets and makes the flavor very
mild and delicious. Others prefer to just use water, you might try both
to find your preference.

If you cook it to soon and don't wait the 48-hours the texture will be tough,
the flavor will be wrong and you will have cheated yourself out of what
could have been one of the best tasting pieces of fish you have ever enjoyed !!

Properly done, you will be able to toss a fillet on the barbeque, flip
it with your spatula and delicately cut it with your fork. Many say its
texture is similar to a perfectly cooked piece of swordfish and it's flavor
is even better with no fishy taste at all.

Click here to go to our sturgeon information page with lots of tips,
information and fantastic recipes.

Cut the tail off as shown. You will need a knife that is sturdier than your typical fillet knife.

Then cut the head off. Work the knife through the meat on both sides then cut through the backbone.

Remove the top scutes by cutting away from your body.

Remove the lateral scutes on both sides.

Remove the remaining fins as shown and slit the belly open. Insert the knife tip just enough to make the cut, try to avoid cutting into the gut.

Properly done, your bullet should look like this.

Remove the gut, scrape and clean the cavity and rinse with clean water.

Remove the backbone by cutting down one side first. Cut as close to the bone as possible.

Then lay the body open and cut down the other side of the backbone.

When both sides of the backbone have been cut, slide the knife under the backbone and lift it out.

Properly done, it should look like this after the backbone has been removed.

Next, remove the ribs from both sides. Cut as close to the ribs as possible.

Ribs and backbone removed.

Split the fillets down the middle where the backbone was removed.

Remove the skin by starting at the tail. Slide the knife with forward pressure between the skin and the fillet while holding the skin in place with your other hand.

It helps if you move the knife in a back and forth sawing motion while you slide the knife down the fillet and hold the skin in place.

Once the skin is removed, you will find a blood line that must be cut away. You will want to get rid of any red or darker colored flesh and any skin that might remain.

If you followed the above process, you should have a pile of beautiful white sturgeon fillets just like the ones they sell for as much as $18.00 per pound to gourmet restaurants all across the country.