How To Fillet A Blackfin Tuna

How to Fillet a Blackfin Tuna

Blackfin tuna are prized for their rich, flavorful meat and firm texture, making them an excellent fish to bring from the ocean to the table. Their streamlined body and relatively simple bone structure make them straightforward to break down, but proper technique is important to maximize your yield and preserve the quality of the meat. In this tutorial, we’ll walk through how to fillet a blackfin tuna, remove the loins cleanly, and make the most of your catch so you can enjoy every bit of this incredible fish.

What You’ll Learn

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to properly break down a blackfin tuna and get the most out of your catch. We’ll cover how to remove:

• Fillets: How to get the best cuts out of the high and low loins.
• Head: How to cut off the head and what to do with it.
• Collars: You’ll learn how to remove arguably one of the best parts of the fish.
• Ribs: While smaller on blackfin tuna, they’re still a great piece of meat.
• Bloodline: A key part in cleaning up your fillets for the best possible finished product.
• Skin: How to separate the skin from the fillets and what you can do with the skin!
• What to Make: Now that you broke down your fish, we’ll show you what you can do with it.

What You’ll Need

Filleting a blackfin tuna doesn’t require a lot of specialized equipment, but having the right tools makes the process easier, safer, and more efficient.

• Fillet Knife: A sharp, flexible fillet knife for following the backbone and separating the loins from the carcass.
• Serrated Knife: A larger, sturdy knife for making initial cuts and working through tougher sections.
• Cutting Board: A large, stable cutting surface with enough room to comfortably break down the tuna.
• Fish Tweezers or Pliers: Useful for removing any remaining bones or pin bones.
• Paper Towels: For keeping your hands, knife, and work surface clean and dry.
• Gloves: Optional, but helpful for maintaining a secure grip while handling the fish.

The most important tool is a sharp knife. A properly maintained blade makes cleaner cuts, helps preserve the meat, and makes the entire filleting process easier.

Things to Keep in Mind

• Brain, bleed and gut your fish for best results.
• The colder the fish, the easier they are to work with.
• Take your time, it’s not a race.
• A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one!
• You’re going to make mistakes when you’re first learning!

Recipes for Blackfin Tuna

Not only do we have tutorials that show you how to break down your fish, we also have recipes that show you what you can make. Here’s our collection for this species:

5 from 1 vote

How To Fillet A Blackfin Tuna

by Zachery Dyke

Instead of just showing you how to fillet a Blackfin Tuna, Zach from Spearos Kitchen shows you how to break down a Blackfin Tuna in order to get the most yield out of your fish. This might not be the easiest way to clean a Blackfin Tuna, but it will certainly yield you the most meat.

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Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Active Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Equipment

• ▢
  Cutting Board size depends on the fish
• ▢
  Fillet Knife
• ▢
  Serrated Knife
• ▢
  Kitchen Shears
• ▢
  Spoon
• ▢
  Trays

Materials

• ▢ Wax Paper (to line the trays)
• ▢ Paper Towels (for drying the fish)

Instructions 

• Make sure your fish is bled, gutted, and completely dry.
• Remove the left fillet.
  
• Remove the left collar.
  
• Scrape the left side with a spoon.
  
• Remove the right fillet.
  
• Remove the right collar.
  
• Scrape the right side with a spoon.
  
• Remove head.
  
• Remove bloodline from the fillets.
  
• Remove skin from the fillets.
  
• Overview.
  

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