Let me share to you  the process in deboning the Bangus Boneless, this is what I’ve learned in my journey in Dagupan City, the bangus capital in Pangasinan.

Bangus Deboning:

PREPARATION

1.  WASHING – wash fish upon arrival from the market, scale may or mayn’t be remove.

2.  SPLITTING – split fish on the dorsal side starting from the tail to the head by running the edge or the knife along the back bone.

3.  REMOVAL OF INTERNAL ORGANS – remove the internal organs, gills, blood and slime and wash thoroughly.

4.  REMOVE THE BACKBONE AND THE DORSAL BONE – remove the backbone by laying fish plat on the cutting board with the skin down, hold the knife in a horizontal / slanting position  and cut in with the tip of the blade along the backbone from the head to the tail, trim off the dorsal fin.

DEBONING PROPER

1.  RIB BONES -  place fish in a a shallow tray with the aid of the mosquito forcep, start removing the spines, rib bone are located in the belly cavity, they are visible and superficially embedded thus easy to pull out.

2.  DORSAL SPINES – make a superficial slit from head to tail along the dent of the dorsal muscle.  Pull out the embedded entramuscular spines one at a time.

3.  LATERAL ENTRAMUSCULAR SPINES – are located in between the dorsal and the ventral muscles.  Pullout first the large arch-shaped spines at the base of the operculum.  Proceed pulling out the y-shaped spines up to the mid portion of the body ending with 3 single delicate spines.

4. VENTRAL ENTRAMUSCULAR SPINES – make a shallow slit dent between the muscle segments of the ventral side from the mid portion of the body to the muscle of tail.  Pull out the very fine and delicate spines found in the mid body which is start of the spines located in this portion.  Proceed to the tail region.