How to steak out a Mako or Thresher shark

Team Ball's Out · Dec-31-2008, 06:29 PM

I have a cutting board that fits on my tail gate of my truck pretty much just a section of ply wood. Make sure you have a very sharp knife. I can recommend one if you like and send you a picture. It's the by far the best one I have used to steak out sharks and I have done plenty.

Here is what I do. Remove the head, cut all the fins flush with the body and remove the tail and guts. Most of the time I gut them in the water. Make a cut the entire length of the body belly side facing up all the way down to the back bone, I know sharks do not have a back bone but that is what I call it.

Do not cut into the back bone instead cut a V groove about 45 degree angle one on each side of the sharks back bone and make sure the 2 cuts join under the back bone do this the entire lenght of the shark.

Now pull the back bone out.

Now where the back bone was cut all the way down and thru the skin. If you did it right you will have 2 halves about the same size.

They will be big halves depending on the shark. so you can do the same thing with them cut them in half the entire length so you will end up with 4 nice slabs.

Now for the cool part, picture the 4 slabs or 2 as slices of bread that are not cut into slices yet. With the skin side down cut your steaks the thickness you want them but do not cut thru the skin, only cut to the skin. When you are done it should look like slices of bread but still attached on the bottom side next to the skin. Now turn your knife like you would filet any other fish and just cut above the skin, like little marines in formation the steaks will fall in place.

The reason I do mine this way is you are removing the skin from the meat and you do not dull your knife by cutting thru the skin all the time. Saves time in the long run and your knife will keep an edge better. Now bag them! Let me know if this was help full. Next time I get a nice shark I will post pictures of the way I clean and cut one up.

Now for the best part, you will remember this and you will keep your money in your pocket!and not have to pay someone at the fish market to clean your catch for you if that is what you do. Any questions feel free to ask. Ray
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Stanley · Dec-31-2008, 06:39 PM

Yep...that's the best way (not cutting through the skin).

Thanks for the tutorial, Ray.

jagerhunchback · Jan-02-2009, 06:45 AM

great tutorial!!!!

Bigfish69 · Jan-02-2009, 10:49 AM

Very cool, thanks for the info.

I cut a leopard shark a few years ago and when i was removing the guts i must have hit the spleen or somthing with the knife. Oh my lord the smell was so bad i could not continue cutting it as it had me on the verge of puking. Have you ever had this happen and how can i avoid such a problem in the future?

Double Z · Jan-02-2009, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigfish69

Very cool, thanks for the info.

I cut a leopard shark a few years ago and when i was removing the guts i must have hit the spleen or somthing with the knife. Oh my lord the smell was so bad i could not continue cutting it as it had me on the verge of puking. Have you ever had this happen and how can i avoid such a problem in the future?

Duh, don't cut into the stinky thing..

Team Ball's Out · Jan-03-2009, 11:06 AM

Never had a problem with smell...

**Fred Archer** · Jan-10-2009, 12:24 PM

Agreed on the cutting. Hope the drawings help.

bdmudd · Jan-26-2009, 11:11 AM

Bleed 'em, gill 'em, and gut 'em as soon as you catch them and ice them down for quality meat.

**Cornfed** · Feb-10-2009, 06:27 AM

Thanks for the tutorial. I have always wondered what the hell we would do with the Mako/Threshers we occasionally see up here in the PNW...Now I know.

**Fred Archer** · Feb-10-2009, 01:46 PM

Yah, Corny, they're both great eating and one big thresher will go a long, long way toward filling the freezer for a year.

I read on one of the boards up there that the biologists caught ten threshers for every sword they got during some longline research. I think there's a lot more of them up there than most suspect and since nobody apparently targets them or goes about it the right way, they don't get caught. It was exactly that way down here until not too long ago and now they are a regular catch.

Here is how it all got started...Steve Quinn after his first thresher and The Thresher Shark Book, about fifteen years ago. It has since been updated to New Shark Troller's Bible.

Quixotic · Feb-10-2009, 02:40 PM

Get well soon Fred. Mail us NW guys the shark books I ordered so we can study on these dark rainy nights.