Gut with Head Off
Place the trimmed and scaled fish onto the work surface with it’s belly towards you. Hold the fish firmly in place. Place your knife immediately behind the head and cut into the flesh with a forward sawing motion, until you feel resistance from the backbone.

Turn the fish over and repeat this cut. Your aim is to remove the head, leaving as much flesh as possible on the body of the fish. You will have to apply more pressure to sever the backbone. Ensure you are in full control of your knife.

Place the fish onto the work surface with it’s belly towards you. Hold firmly in place and insert the tip of your knife into the vent which is a small opening immediately in front of the anal fin. Push the knife through the belly towards the head end of the fish.

The gut cavity can now be opened, exposing the gut. Take hold of the gut near the head of the fish and gently pull the gut free from the body. Ensure you remove all remnants of gut, taking special care around the vent area.

Once the gut has been removed you will need to remove the blood which runs along the back of the cavity. To do this, run the tip of your knife down both sides of the backbone along the bloodline.

Wash the cavity of the fish thoroughly, removing all remnants of gut and blood. There may be a slight yellow colouring within the gut cavity which is perfectly normal and cannot be washed away.