Three Cuts/Three Parts Rib Chop
This most popular method starts with a diagonal cut along the line of the ribs from the top of the fish to the bottom. The blade is then turned toward the tail and the fillet sawed off while crunching through the ribs at the backbone. The entrails and belly are discarded and the belly meat trimmed off. Then the ribs are pared from the fillet and, if you like, the fillet knife run next to the skin to saw the skin off. It's easy, basic and both messy and wasteful if you don't use backbones and heads for soup and stock.
Rib Lift Fillets
This starts with the basic diagonal cut near the head, but then cuts back toward the tail by pressing the side of the knife against the backbone and dorsal fin as the knife tip bounces down the ribs without cutting them. This last depends more on feel than sight. You can get the feel by lightly running a knife point (not the sharp side!) over a closed zipper. A light knife with a more flexible blade does the job with the finesse needed.
At the aft end of the ribs, this rib lift method, and the following flip-flop method diverge. With the rib lift, reverse the blade to face the tail, stick the knife through the fish next to the backbone just aft of the vent , and, using the backbone as a blade rest, cut free the tail end of the fillet. Then free the head-end of the fillet by letting your knife run down over the ribs toward the belly to free the fillet. Flop the fish over so the second fillet is done in the same manner on the other side. A bit of trimming around fins and belly, and, if needed, stripping off the skin by running the knife under the skin with the fillet's skin side down does the job if you like skinless fillets or don't want to scale fish.
Innards stay put inside the rib cage for easy disposal along with the trimmed off skin. It's also a good approach for skin-on fillets. The method's disadvantage is the difficulty some have in holding fillets down while stripping off the skin.
Flip-Flop Filleting
Our favorite method diverges from the rib lift method when you finish running your knife point down the ribs. At the aft end of
