Trimming Knife

Trimming Knives are like small Boning Knives. A Trimming Knife is used to remove excess fat from beef for a more appealing presentation. The Trimming Knife blade is usually 2 to 3 inches long and has a curved blade that is shaped somewhat like a Boning Knife. They can also be used for small tasks like peeling and decorating.

Fillet Knives

A Fillet Knife is like a very flexible Boning Knife. Blades range from 6 to 11 inches long. The ‘flex’ makes it follow the form of the food during tasks such as meat and fish filleting. The Fillet Knife moves easily along the backbone and under the skin of the fish. Because the Fillet Knife is both flexible and thin, the blade can easily get into places that would be impossible for a typical kitchen knife. Fillet Knives can be used to shave away thin sections of roast beef for baking, broiling, or pan frying. If there is a need to prepare thin strips of some sort of meat for cooking, the Fillet Knife can easily make the effort a great deal easier. They also do well when cutting small or delicate fowl.

Boning Knives

A Boning Knife is used to remove bones from cuts of meat without excessive waste, typically before cooking.

Boning Knives have a cleft edge or blade. The blade is thin and flexible that tapers off to a point, usually about 5 or 6 inches long.

The shape of a Boning Knife allows it to get into small spaces and slip easily between the flesh and bone.

This knife should be kept extremely sharp, so that it can cut through fibrous tissue.

A stiff Boning Knife is good for beef and pork, but a flexible boning knife is preferred for poultry.

A cousin to the Boning Knife, called a Fillet Knife, is much more flexible and allows the user to remove skin from fish.

As with most kitchen knives, a Boning Knife should be washed by hand in hot water and mild soap as a general rule, since running a boning knife through the dishwasher may cause it to dull.

It is also important to sharpen a Boning Knife regularly, because the knife will lose effectiveness as it dulls.