How To Butcher a Whole Tuna: Every Cut of Fish Explained

Yuji Haraguchi is a butcher and owner of the fish market Osakana. In this episode of Handcrafted, Haraguchi shows Bon Appétit how to butcher a whole tuna and explains every cut of fish you would see at sushi restaurants. To do this, Haraguchi uses five knives: the Yanagi, which is used for slicing sashimi, the Mioroshi Deba filleting knife with narrow thin blade, the Deba single-edged knife used for breaking down the whole fish, the Gyuto versatile multipurpose chef's knife, and the Yo-Deba. He breaks down the tuna into back loin, belly loin, pelvic fins, bones, and collars. From there, the cuts are broken down into saku blocks and sashimi like toro, chu-toro, sinews, sankaku, akami, tuna tartare, and aburi.