Eviscerate

GUT

Remove the insides like a fish before cooking it.

"Eviscerate" literally means to remove the internal organs, which is exactly what "gut" refers to in a physical sense. The wordplay here is straightforward—both terms describe the act of hollowing out or removing the insides of something, making "gut" a concise, direct synonym. It’s a classic crossword trick where the clue uses a more formal or technical word to point to a shorter, everyday equivalent. Think of it like saying "disembowel" when the answer is simply "gut."