Take a look inside My Table‘s August-September issue (or just glance at the cover) and you’ll note that it celebrates Gulf Coast seafood. To continue the exploration, August’s how-to video features executive chef Donald Chang and head sushi chef Jojo Urbano of Nara demonstrating how to properly fillet a Gulf Coast red snapper.

METHOD 

Slice open the belly of the fish by beginning at the small hole by the tail and continuing toward the head. Use your fingers to remove the entrails from the abdominal cavity. Remove the scales from both sides of the fish with a fish scaler until smooth. Thoroughly rinse the fish.

Pat the fish dry and place on a cutting board. With a sharp knife, make a cut under each gill and at the top to remove the head. Finish slicing open the belly from the middle toward the tail. Then, holding your knife sideways, run the knife along the spine from the tail toward the head end to remove the first fillet. Slice off any stomach lining that is attached to the fillet. Use bone tweezers to remove six to eight bones.

To remove the skin, place the fillet skin-side down. Slide the knife between the skin and the fillet (while holding the freed skin with your other hand — careful, it’s slippery) until the two are separated.

Note: If you plan to grill the fish, leave the skin on and score the fillet with 1/4″ to 1/2″ deep slices.

Turn the fish over and repeat for the other fillet.

Nara, 2800 Kirby, 281-249-5944, narahouston.com