How to: Fillet a Skate

Wade with a ray he caught and released while drum fishing

Filleting a skate or ray is not necessarily all that tricky, but it does require some explanation if you’ve never done it before. It’s a little like filleting a flounder, but with thick, catfish-like skin. When you’re finished, you’ll be left with four clean white “wings” ready for any preparation you’d like.

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Clearnose skate

Using sharp knife, cut along the wing down the “spine.” You’ll meet some resistance as you cut through the cartilaginous “fingers” that run through the wings

Cut all the way through, working around the skull

Two skate wings

Run knife horizontally through the wing, along the “fingers.” It’s similar to filleting a flounder.

Continue cutting all the way to the tip of the wing

repeat process on bottom side of wing

Skin side down, run knife along the skin, working the meat off. The skin is really tough, similar to catfish

When you're done, you'll have four "wings." On left, the two smaller bottom fillets. On the right, the larger top fillets