Milkfish Deboning Guide

• Bangus (milkfish) deboning success relies on hands-on experience

Milkfish Deboning Process

• It can begin with or without scaling the fish
• Cut around the base of the large fins, especially the anal fin
• Pull fins forward suddenly to remove bones
• Kitchen scissors can help remove difficult fins
• Split the fish down its dorsal side
• Flatten the knife and extend the cut from tail to head, running it along the backbone
• Open the fish like a butterfly fillet
• Remove gills and viscera
• Lay the fish flat on its skin to remove the backbone
• Hold the knife horizontally, insert the blade tip along backbone from head to tail
• Remove backbone and as many rib bones as possible using fingers
• Wash the fish thoroughly with clean running water
• Lay the fish on a shallow tray for the next steps
• Use forceps to pull out any remaining rib bones (pleural), they are located superficially

Dorsal Intermuscular Spines

• Make a superficial slit along the dorsal muscle's dent
• Use forceps to pull out intermuscular spines embedded from head to tail
• Each side of the dorsal muscle has 43 to 44 epaxial intermuscular bones

Ventral Intermuscular Spines

• Remove spines on the ventral side similarly
• Approximately 22 to 24 spines are on each side of the fish
• They are located between muscle segments and known as hypaxial intermuscular bones (non-branched form)

Lateral Intermuscular Spines

• Remove spines along the lateral line (junction of dorsal and ventral muscles)
• The spines are Y-shaped
• Start from the operculum with two large arch-shaped spines
• Continue removing ~19 Y-shaped spines
• Finish with three single delicate spines in the mid-body

Spine Summary

• Knowing the approximate number of bones helps determine deboning completeness
• There are roughly 170 to 180 intermuscular spines to remove
• There are 86 to 88 epaxial (dorsal) spines
• There are 44 to 48 hypaxial (ventral) spines
• There are 40 to 44 Y-shaped spines (lateral)
• Complete bonelessness is hard to achieve, thus "boneless" bangus

Requirements

• Raw material: fresh bangus (ideally 3 pieces per kg)
• Required utensils include a knife, mosquito forceps, chopping board, utility tray, and basin

Deboning procedure: step by step

• Step 1: Wash the fish thoroughly and drain. For frozen fish, thaw before use. Scales do not need removal
• Step 2: Split the fish dorsally from tail to head, cutting along the backbone
• Step 3: Open the fish like a butterfly fillet and remove gills and internal organs
• Step 4: Wash to eliminate blood and dirt. Remove or keep the black membrane based on consumer preference. Wash fish again
• Step 5: Lay the fish skin-down. Use a horizontal/slanting knife, cutting along backbone from head to tail, and trim the dorsal fin
• Step 6: Lay the fish flat on a tray to locate spines, especially intermuscular spines
• Step 7: Place fish in a tray, remove rib bones with mosquito forceps as they are visible and easy to pull out
• Step 8: Remove dorsal intermuscular spines
• Step 8a: Slit the dorsal muscle from head to tail
  • Head spines are branched, tail spines attach more to muscle tendon
• Step 8b: Pull out the embedded intermuscular spines one by one from head to tail
• Step 9: Remove the lateral intermuscular spines located between dorsal and ventral muscles
  • Start with large arch-shaped spines at operculum base
  • Pull out the Y-shaped spines up to mid-body, ending with three delicate spines
• Step 10: Remove ventral intermuscular spines
  • Slit between muscle segments on the ventral side from mid-body to tail muscle tip
  • Pull out the first two fine spines near mid-body, proceeding towards tail
• Step 11: Pack bangus in polyethylene bags (0.002-inch thick preferred), seal, and freeze
• Deboned bangus can be cooked, dried, smoked, or marinated