Fish fillet knives: rules for selection and use

The knife can be considered one of the oldest tools mastered by man. Of course, for thousands of years it has turned from a universal cutting tool into a whole family of similar externally, but at the same time somewhat different in its functionality items. In this article we will pay attention to special sirloin knives for fish. The development of this type of tool began with the start of mass fishing and harvesting of fish.

Cutting fish for sale has always been a difficult task, and when this process acquired an industrial scale, a special professional tool was also needed.

A fish or sirloin fish knife looks rather unusual. It differs from other knives primarily in its shape. The tool is equipped with a slightly curved, long and narrow blade. The length of the blade varies, and involves the use for fish of different sizes of tools with different lengths of the cutting blade (from 14 to 30 cm). The most commonly used tools are with a blade length of 16-21 cm. Sharpening is very important, ideally it should be no more than 25 °, but 15 ° is often used.

To work with fish, you need a comfortable grip that does not slip out of your hand. Initially, it was made of wood, modern product options have handles made of special plastic or rubber.

Fish loin gradually from the workshops of fish processing enterprises, where it was called simply a fish knife, began to migrate to the kitchens of restaurants, and then to home. The development of restaurant business has led to the emergence of a special form of instruments for various operations carried out with fish.

For gutting large fish, a large knife was often needed, often with a serrated blade. Without such a knife, it will be very difficult to cut large salmon with its strong skin. It is convenient to cut the cod with a filet having indentations on the surface of the blade, which will prevent the meat from sticking to the cutting surface.

Since far from port cities it is very difficult to acquire fresh fish, since this perishable product goes on sale deeply frozen, a special slicer was required for slicing frozen fish.

Gently chop fish is a real art. Special knives have an elongated blade. Varieties of slicers will help to cut fish into layers, cubes or even straws.

Slightly different requirements are placed on a serving knife for fish served with the dish. It is used at a table for cutting cooked fish into portioned portions.

In the second half of the 20th century, electric fish knives appeared. The apparatus is equipped with a typical long, slightly curved blade, sometimes with serrations. Most often, the tool kit of such a device includes several interchangeable blades, allowing various operations with various fish. The convenient handle is equipped with an electric drive, which produces cutting movements.

Currently, the production of fish knives is established in many countries. However, traditionally the best manufacturers of this equipment for at least half a century are Finnish, German, French and Japanese companies.

But the review of manufacturers will not be extensive.

Famous Finnish companies Rapala and Marttiini offer a large selection of kitchen knives, including for cutting fillets. This is perhaps the most preferred product for the home, so to speak, the optimal combination of price and quality. Stainless steel and modern non-slip materials for handles are used.

As professional tools for restaurant kitchens, they are most often used by Japanese companies. Kasumi, Deta, Yanagida, Guito kits for milling. The products of these companies are distinguished not only by high quality workmanship, but also by the highest requirements for the quality of steel used. No less well-known and long-established products of a German company Wusthof. The price of the products of these companies is high, but their tools have been used for decades.

French companies Opinel and Laquiole famous for their folding knives. The advantages of the folding structure are obvious - there is no need to protect the sharpening of the blade from various influences, such a product is convenient to store, there is no need for a sheath. However, all this makes the knife more difficult to manufacture, and, accordingly, affects its cost. In addition, French companies use only high-quality materials for the manufacture of their products, which also does not make it cheaper.

Currently, Russian companies produce good products. "Russian Damask Steel" and "SV Blade". In addition to the production of typical choppers, they can make an individual order of a unique handmade product.

To work at floating fisheries, and indeed, for fishing, the so-called sker knife was invented. It differs radically from a kitchen fish knife. As a rule, it has a relatively short lanceolate blade, which with an ordinary chopper is related only by an unusually sharp sharpening. During Putin, such tools are intensively operated directly on the ship or on a floating base.For a shift with their help, sometimes it is necessary to process half a ton of fish. The operations performed by such a knife are rather rude;

• ripping open the abdomen of a fish;
• head separation (preferably in one motion);
• removal of viscera.

After such processing, the carcass is either frozen or further processed to make canned food. The tool combines sharpness and massiveness, it would seem, incompatible properties, but this is its main advantage. With rough cutting of the catch, the sailors simply have no time to change knives; for the implementation of various operations they have to use one maximally universal tool.

In the age of electricity and the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, more and more companies offer high-tech electronic products. Fish fillets were not ignored. The already mentioned Finnish company Rapala is actively exploring this market segment, offering power tools with a set of blades, facilitating a number of operations performed with fish in the kitchen.

Of course, if it is not about money, then, choosing a fish knife, it is better to immediately get the best quality product, for example, Japanese or German manufacturers. If you are not supposed to use the tool infrequently, the Finnish copy is quite suitable. If the knife is used extremely rarely, its manufacturer, in general, does not matter much.

The main thing is that the purchased equipment meets several requirements:

• narrow, long, slightly curved blade;
• the blade should be flexible, but at the same time quite durable in breaking;
• for cutting large fish on the blade can be notches;
• for cutting oily fish, there may be grooves on the blade;
• high-quality sharpening;
• ergonomic handle, preferably with focus for the thumb;
• modern materials of the handle which are not absorbing smells;
• sheath made of plastic or other material, designed to maintain knife sharpening and ensure safety even when the tool is not in use.

Sometimes you have to cut fish while fishing. For this, many use the usual folding tourist knife. However, in the camping set of anglers there may also be a special field version of the fish cutter, which is much more convenient and safer to use as intended. It is not difficult to choose it, and here, in addition to the above, you will have to follow a couple more requirements.

• Convenient sheath with a lock, from which the fish knife does not slip out by accident.
• Convenient non-slip handle. Wood as a material for its manufacture in this case should not be ignored. Some fishermen tighten the handles with a leather belt - this does not save at all from the stubborn odors, but allows for a reliable location of the knife in the hand.
• All other requirements are the same as for kitchen fillets.

Often in a set with a fish knife, and sometimes a separate fork for holding fish is sold separately. You should not ignore this accessory, an easy-to-use device can significantly facilitate the work with the carcass of the fish, holding it during all the cutting and cutting operations.

Often along with a fish knife, it is suggested a whetstone is also an indispensable accessory that should not be neglected. Often fillets become worthless only from improper sharpening.

A universal cutting knife does not exist, for thinning at a professional level you will have to purchase a set of several choppers.

Of course, you can cut fish with a camping tourist folding knife, but this is a camping trip, another thing is a restaurant or cafe. Just cutting the fish is already not enough, you need to cut it correctly.

One of the requirements for cutting fish is the mandatory use of a cutting board. Moreover, boards for cutting raw and, for example, smoked fish should be different.

The fillet knife itself has a very narrow specialization, consisting in the separation of narrow and thin layers of meat from bones and skin. Therefore, if you have to work with fish a lot, it is better to have a set of several fish knives:

• for removing scales;
• for gutting;
• to separate the head and fins;
• in order to cut steaks, a knife with a serrated cutting surface may be needed for slicing;
• to remove the spine and ribs;
• to separate meat and skin.

Special knives will be required to work with oily fish, for example, beluga or other sturgeon. The blade of such a loin should have transverse grooves.

About what there are rules for choosing filet knives for fish, see the next video.