Turbot is considered one of the tastiest and healthiest fish, which is why many professional chefs use it in their unique culinary creations.
This wonderful fish provides the opportunity to be cooked in many ways, which is not only accessible and tempting for professionals, but also for any ordinary household.
Turbot can be baked in the oven, in a pan or grill, boiled in soups and a variety of fish dishes, as well as poached or fried.
However, before you start cooking the fish according to your chosen recipe, it must of course be cleaned. And cleaning turbot will be different depending on whether you cook it whole or separate the fillets for a more refined dish.
In any case, the first thing you must do is to lightly scrape the skin with a spatula without removing or injuring it and then wash it well. This way the fish will not slip in your hands while you clean it.
Turbot is a deep-sea and flat fish and has no scales, but its skin is specific, suitable for consumption - very soft and pleasant, slightly sticky and gelatinous when cooked. On one side (upper) is grayish and below the abdomen is creamy white or light gray.
Cleaning the entrails of the fish is easy, by cutting the head diagonally at the base with a knife and this way you get a hole through which you can remove the contents under it. After you have done this, wash the fish again, so that all the dirt and blood falls out.
If you are going to bake this seafood delicacy whole, then you can finish off the cleaning. Most of all, if desired, you can use kitchen scissors to cut the fins on the side lengthwise, which resemble a comb, as well as those on the head, which are like ears.
The tail can also be cut. When filleting the turbot, these side fins must be removed. It is more complicated to clean if you are going to take out the fillets, but with the right instructions you will do a great job with that as well.
Some masters in the preparation of turbot cut off the head completely according to its outline, while others leave it because it serves as a guide.
The fish is placed on a wide cutting board with the belly facing down. The central bone is felt in the middle and the specific thing here is that it is not straight, but slightly expands from the middle to the eyes. For this reason, an incision is made at an angle, following the bone - from the tail to one eye. A second similar incision can be made to the level of the other eye, then the middle part is separated separately or only one incision is made and so one of the fillets separated later will be slightly larger than the other.
The fish fillets themselves are removed by inserting the knife between the bone and the meat and cutting/separating the fillet with a few movements from the center to the outside part. Here it is important that the knife is very sharp and able to bend, so that it does not get stuck and so that it doesn't tear the fillets.
After separating the upper two, turn the fish over and do the same with the lower abdominal fillets. You need to be more careful with them, because they are thinner.
Even if you can't do it perfectly the first time, you will certainly be able to fillet and clean the bone perfectly, by gaining more practice, without leaving the precious meat on it.
The big central bone, as well as the head of this wonderful fish, should not be thrown away, they are used to prepare some of the best fish broths.
See our suggestions for delicious fish specialties, where you can use cleaned turbot:
