Are you tired of eating fish the same old way? Or maybe you’ve been wanting to branch out and try cooking with different types of fish, but are lost on how to prepare them. Regardless, I’m going to share with you a simple, classic French technique for cooking white fish that will have you eating a restaurant quality meal at home in under 30 minutes. Enter: meunière!
Meunière sounds much fancier (and more complicated) than it actually is. Both a sauce and a cooking technique, it involves dredging fish in flour and sautéing it in butter, then serving it with a brown butter lemon sauce. If you love butter and lemon as much as I do, this dish checks all the boxes.
Before I walk you through the recipe, let me break down this technique a little bit. This recipe involves making brown butter, which is done by caramelizing butter’s milk solids to achieve a rich, nutty flavor. Additionally, the sauce is made in the same pan used to cook the fish, allowing you to use the leftover drippings to build the foundation of the sauce’s flavor. This approach, called a pan sauce, is a great way to elevate the flavor and complexity of a simple dish.
Sole Meunière
Yield: 4-5 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
For the fish:
All-purpose flour for dredging
Four 4 - 5 ounce sole (or any delicate white fish) fillets
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
For the sauce:
1/2 stick butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, rough chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
2-3 tablespoons chicken stock
1 tablespoon cold butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Start by placing the flour in a shallow dish or tray. Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper to taste, then dredge in the flour, patting off any excess. The fish I’m using here is sole, but any delicate white fish will work for this recipe. Flounder, halibut, and fluke are some other great choices.
Next, heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and add the olive oil and butter. Wait for the butter to foam and barely start to brown, then carefully lay the fish into the pan, presentation side down. Cook until golden brown, 2-3 minutes.
Note: Don’t disturb the fish until it’s ready to flip! Keeping it undisturbed is how you get that nice, golden brown crust on the first side.
Flip the fish over and continue to sauté until just cooked through, about 1-2 minutes more. Remove the fish from the pan and loosely cover with foil to keep warm.
Now it’s time to brown the butter for the sauce. Pour off any excess fat from the pan and wipe it clean (not too clean — remember, we want some of those leftover bits to flavor the sauce!) Heat the pan to medium, then add the 1/2 stick of butter. Cook until it turns fully brown, 2-3 minutes. You should see the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan and caramelize. It may feel like you're burning it, but you're not. Be brave. You’ve got this.
Once the butter has browned, remove the pan from the heat and immediately swirl in the chicken stock, parsley and lemon juice. This will stop the cooking process and prevent the butter from burning, which can happen quickly once it gets to this point. Be careful – the sauce will likely spatter!
With the pan still off the heat, whisk in the cold butter. It’s important to use cold butter here to make sure the sauce doesn’t break. The cold butter helps mount the sauce, enhancing the flavor and giving it a smooth texture. Not technically a required step, but I find it makes the sauce a bit less watery and also levels out the acidity of the lemon juice.
Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper, and pour it over the fish. Garnish with the lemon wedges and serve!
This is one of the several dishes featured in our Essential Building Blocks class, where you spend a full day with our chefs to learn the fundamentals of cooking, from knife skills, balancing flavors, and, yes, preparing sauces. Sign up for our next session on September 19th!
