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Sablefish (Black Cod) and pinbones

post #1 of 3
2/15/07 at 8:25pm
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Tonight I decided to experiment on fish so I went and bought myself a filet of sablefish to make for my friends and myself. We don't prepare sablefish at the restaurant so when I got home I was surprised that all of the pin bones were in tact, and having a crazed sort of hubris I got a pair of needlenose pliers and tried to get to work on them. Unfortunately, all was not as it seemed, since the pin bones seemed all but impossible to remove, and not without tearing a significant portion of the flesh (after which I find that there were still bone fragments deep near the skin. In the end I just cut around the pin bones and cooked the boneless part (at least it was delicious).

So does anyone have good tips on how to remove these pin bones? Or are they an unfortunate part of eating this wonderful fish?
"If it's chicken, chicken a la king. If it's fish, fish a la king. If it's turkey, fish a la king." -Bender
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post #2 of 3
2/16/07 at 8:52am
I take the bones out after I cook the fish. The first time you do it, you might butcher the poor thing but you'll find it easier each time. We use to do this to seabass for the same reason. To save on food cost. Every cent matters.
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post #3 of 3
2/19/07 at 11:28am
just filet the fish and take your knife and run it about halfway down the tail from the head. Feel for the bones on the other side, and do the same thing. its real easy. I wouldent suggest cooking it first. Also where the "cheek" is cut that off. Use the leftover scrap meat for a fumet and reduce it for a fish demi with white wine. add butter at the end. braise some fennel with some of the stock and butter. Best black cod dish I ever had. some of those "pin bones" are not really bones. they are just hard tissue.
"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a dam*. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demiglace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living."
- Anthony Bourdain
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