- 1). Lay out newspaper over a flat surface such as a table or countertop. Wash the red snapper, pat it dry with paper towels and lay it on the newspaper.
- 2). Carefully snip the dorsal fin (the spiny outcropping on the top back of the fish) with kitchen scissors. Be careful---it is very sharp and can cut your fingers.
- 3). Scale the fish over the sink or newspaper using a scaling knife or the top dull side of a butter knife. Rinse off the scale residue and pat the fish dry with paper towels.
- 4). Cut into the belly of the fish with a fillet knife from the pectoral fin to the tail. Remove the guts with your fingers. Make sure everything is removed. Rinse out the inside cavity with cool water.
- 5). Snip off with kitchen scissors the red snapper's two pectoral fins as well as the anal fin on its bottom back end. Rinse the fish with cool water, pat it dry and store it in the refrigerator or over ice.
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