Three minutes skin side down without touching it, then a minute in butter: pan-fried saithe asks for nothing more. It is the method that shows off its firm flesh best. Take a skin-on loin if you like it crisp, a skinless fillet otherwise.
- Serves 4
- Total time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 Icelandic saithe loins (about 600 g), skin on or off
- 40 g butter
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp flour (optional, for a crust)
- Chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Salt, freshly ground pepper
Method
- Take the fish out 15 minutes ahead. Dry it thoroughly with kitchen paper: wet flesh will not sear. Season with salt and pepper, and dust lightly with flour if you want a crust.
- Heat the oil in a pan over a high heat until it shimmers.
- Lay the loins skin side down (or smoothest side down) and cook for 3 minutes without touching them. The flesh whitens from the bottom up.
- Turn, lower to a medium heat, add the butter. When it foams, spoon it over the fish for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Off the heat, squeeze the lemon juice into the pan and scatter with parsley. Serve with the lemon butter from the pan.
The right product
For crisp skin, choose our skin-on saithe loins (scaled), delivered chilled in 24 to 48 hours.