- 1). Place your knife just in front of the front vent of the salmon, without cutting in case you cut into the intestine. The vent is located just in front of the fin that is closest to the tail, and is essentially the anus of the fish. Slice along the center towards the head, without cutting too deep. If you do go in too deep you might cut into one of the internal organs, which can release bacteria. This won't spoil the fish but you will have to rinse it immediately. Stop cutting when you get to the bottom of the head, where the gills meet.
- 2). Cut behind the head of the fish while it's lying on its side. You will hit the backbone, at this point start cutting down behind the fin. Once you've cut all the way down the meat on this side, it won't be attached to the head anymore. Repeat this step on the opposite side.
- 3). Turn your fish onto its front (belly) and cut through the backbone. You will literally need to saw through it. Now the head and body should be connected only by the intestine, so cut through this. Cut through the kidney, which is a long, dark red organ and scoop it out with a spoon.
- 4). Hold the fish upside down by the tail and cut through the dorsal fin, sawing through the fish, then cut the anal fin in the same way.
- 5). Cut the fish into steaks by cutting horizontally through the salmon, that is perpendicularly through the backbone. Steaks can be between 3/4 of an inch to 2 inches thick. Each steak will contain a piece of the backbone.
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