The Cooking of Fish à la Meunière

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy stainless-steel or well-seasoned skillet
• •Flexible fish spatula and a second broad spatula
• •Large oven-safe oval serving platter
• •Fine-mesh sieve and clean kitchen towel

Instructions

1. 1

   Ready the service

   Set a large oven-safe platter in the oven at its lowest setting, about 170°F (75°C), until warm, then switch the oven off. Concass the parsley, meaning chop it roughly, place it in a fine-mesh sieve, and pour boiling water over it for five seconds. Rinse briefly with cold water, then squeeze it in a clean towel until thoroughly dry. Juice one lemon and trim the other into four neat quarters. Everything after the fish enters the pan moves quickly, so have the lemon, parsley, seasonings, and warm platter within reach.

   The parsley must be dry before hot butter reaches it. Damp herbs spit fiercely, while properly dried parsley still gives the final butter its lively froth when it meets the lemon on the fish.
2. 2

   Dry, season, flour

   Pat every fillet dry on both sides, paying attention to the thinner edges. Season lightly with about half the salt and pepper. Spread the flour in a shallow dish, then dredge only the first four fillets, turning once and shaking off every loose trace; the coating should look like dust, not batter. Do this immediately before cooking. If the flour turns gummy in damp patches, brush it off, dry the fish again, and apply a fresh light dusting. Ça se rattrape.

3. 3

   Gild the first batch

   Heat 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) clarified butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers but does not smoke. Lay in four fillets presentation-side down without overlap. Cook without disturbing them for 2 to 3 minutes, until the underside is evenly gilded and the opacity has climbed halfway up the sides. If a fillet resists the spatula, leave it another twenty seconds; a properly formed crust releases more willingly than a pale one. Turn once with a fish spatula supported by a second broad spatula, then cook the second side for 45 to 90 seconds, just until the flesh is opaque and separates in moist flakes. If the butter smokes, lift the pan off the heat at once, transfer the fish temporarily, wipe out the dark fat, lower the heat, and continue with fresh clarified butter. The fish need not be sacrificed to a hot pan.

4. 4

   Finish the second batch

   Transfer the cooked fillets to the warm platter with the spatula and season them lightly while their surface is still hot. Keep them in the switched-off oven. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 42 g) clarified butter to the skillet and flour the final four fillets only now. Gild and turn them exactly as before, then place them on the platter. The first batch should wait no longer than five minutes; this brief hold replaces the brigade's several pans without drying the fish.

5. 5

   Dress the fish

   Pour off the spent frying butter and wipe any dark flour crumbs from the skillet, keeping the same pan for the finish. Take the platter from the oven. Sprinkle the lemon juice over the fillets drop by drop rather than flooding them, season with the remaining salt and pepper, and scatter the concassed, scalded parsley evenly over the top. Set the lemon quarters along the platter's edge.

6. 6

   Pour the beurre noisette

   Add the 8 tablespoons (120 ml / 113 g) fresh unsalted butter to the skillet and set it over medium heat. Swirl the pan as the butter melts and foams; when the white foam begins to settle and the milk solids turn pale hazelnut with a clean, nutty aroma, remove the pan from the heat. It continues browning after it leaves the burner. If it darkens too quickly but still smells sweet, pour it immediately into a cool heatproof cup and whisk in a spoonful of the cold reserve butter to stop the cooking. If it has turned black or smells bitter, discard it, wipe the pan, and brown the reserve butter instead. Ça se rattrape, but burned butter cannot be argued back into goodness. Pour the beurre noisette over the lemoned fish at once; it should froth across the parsley exactly as the dish intends. Carry the platter directly to the table while that froth is still alive. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose fillets of even thickness so the whole batch finishes together. Sole and flounder are particularly suited to meunière; small trout fillets also work, but keep their skin on and start them skin-side down.
• •The source's butter distinction matters. Ordinary butter can cook a truly tiny fish, while clarified butter tolerates the longer heat needed for larger pieces or two domestic batches. Fresh whole butter belongs at the finish because its milk solids are what turn hazelnut-gold.
• •A large whole fish is the wrong candidate. Meunière suits small fish, fillets, or slices that can cook through in the time their flour coating takes to gild; a thick fish will burn outside while remaining raw near the bone.
• •No capers and no almonds in this entry. Both make fine finishes elsewhere, but here lemon, concassed parsley, salt, pepper, and butter carry the complete argument. Restraint is the art.
• •Serve with parsley potatoes or fine green beans, something quiet enough to catch the butter without competing. A dry Muscadet works beautifully beside the sweet fish and lemon.

Advance Preparation

• •Ask the fishmonger to skin, pin-bone, and trim the fillets. Up to 4 hours before cooking, lay them on a rack over a tray and refrigerate uncovered; the dry surface helps the flour gild cleanly.
• •The parsley can be concassed, scalded, dried, and refrigerated in a covered container for up to 6 hours. Cut and juice the lemons at the same time.
• •Clarified butter can be prepared well ahead and kept chilled. Do not flour the fish until the skillet is heating, and do not make the beurre noisette in advance; those two moments are the dish.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)