Choosing a fish

Look for shiny skin and clear bright eyes. If you are able to touch the fish, it should feel firm and the gills should be a bright pink or red. There should be no signs of brown. Essentially, the best-looking fish will be the one to buy.

Scaling and gutting

Otherwise scale the fish before you gut it, by running the back of a knife along the fish from tail to head. The scales will flick off in all directions so be sure to use lots of newspaper or do it in a plastic bag.

Gutting is a simple procedure. Use a very sharp knife to slit the belly of the fish from the anal fin (two thirds of the way down the fish towards the tail) back to the head of the fish. Pull the innards out with your hand and use scissors to trim any remaining entrails away. Rinse. Cut the gills out at the same time using scissors.

Flat fish
Not many flat fish need to be scaled, but if they do then this can be done in the same manner as the round fish.

To gut flat fish, find the soft spot just below the head on the white underside of the fish. Cut a small slit into the soft spot and scoop out the innards with your finger. Rinse.

Filleting

Small round fish
Lay the fish on the board with its back towards you. Using a sharp knife, cut directly behind the head down to the backbone; turn the knife towards the tail of the fish and cut the fillet away from the backbone using the flat of the knife against the bone as a guide. Turn fish over and repeat process.

Large round fish
Cut the head off the fish using the line of the gills as a guide (cut in a v-shape, towards the mouth) to ensure you remove all of the flesh. With the back of the fish towards you, cut down the length of the back to the centre backbone keeping the knife above the line of the bones. As you cut, lift the flap of loose flesh to make it easier to see where you are cutting.

Once the entire top half of the fillet is loose, cut to the central backbone, carefully use the tip of the knife to cut around the bone. Once this is done it is easy to cut off the lower half of the fillet, again using the bones as a guide for the knife. You will need to use tweezers or small pliers to remove any pin-bones (bones that come out of the side of the central backbone). Repeat on other side.

Flat fish
Lay fish white side down on the chopping board with its tail towards you. Slice directly down the centre of the fish from the head to the tail. Turn the knife to one side and, using the bones as a guide, slide the knife out towards the edge of the fish. The fillet should come away easily. Repeat with the other side of the fish before turning it over and repeating with the underside.

Storing fish