how to fillet salmon for sushi with special knife

Salmon is one of the more difficult fish to fillet for sushi and sashimi applications. The soft delicate flesh gaps easily if handled too aggressively, so it's a challenging fish to train others. The use of a hollow ground slicer instead of the traditional Japanese deba knife is a much easier approach in terms of speed and minimizes handling.

Over the years, I've used Japanese and Western filleting knives to test what is the most efficient way to fillet salmon. And quite honestly, I believe Western style knives (8" fillet blade and hollow ground slicer) is superior. Some Japanese chefs may disagree, but I have seen salmon processors cut salmon like the wind with minimal effort compared to using Japanese style blades. However, after filleting, the use of a Yanagiba is still best for cutting nigiri or sashimi pieces. So a combo of 2 style is my preference. Check out my Udemy Course to learn more!