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Meaty with a dash of veggies

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Ingredients Kitchen

What’s the difference between fish steak and fish fillet?

Published: 09.09.2013 » Last updated: 03.03.2023

How the fish is cut makes the difference. One is boneless; the other is bone-in. Here are a few illustrations. Read on too to learn which is cut is better for the dish you're cooking.

Difference between fish fillet and fish steak, illustrated

If the fish is cut cross-wise, cutting through the bone, the resulting cut is a fish steak. The top two photos above are of fish steaks.

If the flesh of the fish is cut whole to separate it from the bone, then, you have a fillet. The two bottom photos above are dishes cooked with fish fillet.

Why choose fish steak over fillet or the other way around?

Some say that in fine dining, you can’t serve the fish with the bone. Which is really a shame because the richest flavors of the fish are in the bone. If you cook the fish with the bone, the meat soaks up all the goodness from the bone. If you separate flesh from bone, as you do with fillets, you lose that opportunity to enjoy what the bone has to offer.

So, fish steak is preferable over fillet? Not all the time. There are recipes that you’ll find impossible to execute unless you use fillets. Like? Fish and chips, for one.

Another consideration is the size of the fish. If the fish is really large and a cross-cut is too much for a single serving, then, fillets will probably be more practical.

Recipes using fish fillets

Pan-grilled Salmon With Lemon-butter-garlic Sauce in White Plate

Pan-grilled salmon with lemon-butter-garlic sauce

Fish and chips with vinegar for dipping

Fish and chips

Cheese-topped broiled salmon served with tomato sauce

Easy cheesy broiled salmon

Cheesy baked salmon with crispy crumb topping

Cheesy baked salmon with crispy crumb topping

Salmon katsu piccata over rice

Salmon katsu piccata

Air fried salmon teriyaki garnished with sesame seeds, scallions and chili flakes

Air fried salmon teriyaki

Recipes with fish steaks

Steamed fish steak with sweet soy sauce topped with cilantro and scallions

Steamed fish steak with sweet soy sauce

Catfish braised in caramel sauce (ca kho to)

Catfish braised in caramel sauce (ca kho to)

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Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

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