How to remove bones from salmon

One of the reasons I never liked to eat fish when I was young is because I really disliked running into the bones. I finally found out the trick to this years ago when I was back in the kitchen of one of the restaurants I worked in as a waitress and I got to see the chefs prepping for dinner service.

All you need is a pair of needle nose pliers, your filet of salmon or other fish and a sharp eye.

Just locate the row of bones in the filet and feel with your fingers which way the bones are going into the fish. Take your pliers and grab one end of the bone, hold the fish with your fingers and pull out the bone with your pliers. Continue until you have all the bones out, feeling with your fingers for what your eyes might miss. This usually works really well, but occassionally you’ll get a fish with bones that don’t cooperate. Don’t give up if this happens to you, just do the best you can and hope for a better filet next time.