Buying:   Beltfish can be found in just about all the Asian fish markets here in Los Angeles. Also, beltfish cleaned and cut to size for rolls can be found in the frozen fish cases.

Filleting:   This might seem a bit daunting for a fish over three feet long, but it's not that hard.

1. Make a cut from the vent (near the middle of the fish) all the way up under the jaw. Remove all the innards and membranes.
2. Remove the head with the usual cuts around the collar and cut the spine with kitchen shears.
3. Outline your fillet with shallow cuts through the skin all along the top and from tail to body cavity at the bottom.
4. Starting at the head end use your filleting knife to cut down to the backbone all the way to the tail carefully following the fins and bones. You may find it better to do this in a couple passes.
5. Dip over the spine and follow the bones from the end of the body cavity to the tail, meeting the shallow cut you made at the bottom.
6. Starting from the head end dip over the spine and follow the ribs on down. Don't try to pull the fillet off the ribs you'll lose flesh.
7. Once the fillet is free, check it for any ribs or partial ribs, pull off any remaining membranes and rinse.
8. Do not attempt to remove the skin - it's what's holding the fillet together.

Yield:   A 1-1/2 pound fish will yield about 12 oz of fillet (50%) but smaller fish will yield a slightly lower percentage.

Skin:   The skin shrinks significantly but is so weak and softens so quickly it can't do a lot of damage.

Cooking   This is a mild fish used in stir fries, to make rolls, and fresh in sushi. Beltfish should always be cooked quickly because when overcooked it gets mushy.

If you are going to use the fillets to make rolls, they are usually cut into two inch lengths. When you make your rolls be sure they are secured with a skewer or by some other means because the skin will shrink and unroll them otherwise. Also make sure something in the roll will jell and hold it together because the skin will quickly soften and stop holding the fillet together when cooked.

Stock:   Stock made from beltfish heads and bones is rather "fishy" and I don't recommend it.   Warning - if you decide you do want to use the head for stock, don't try to pull out the gills by hand, You get at them from the bottom of the head and cut them out with kitchen shears because they have numerous sharp spines. Also stay away from the rather awesome teeth - dead fish do bite.