Easy Fish

This is fish meuniere stripped down to the essentials: fish fillets dredged in flour, pan-fried until golden, and finished with a brown butter and lemon sauce spooned over the top. It works beautifully with red snapper or grouper, and even adapts to boneless chicken breast.

Pat the flour onto the fillets firmly, then shake off the excess. A thin, even coating is what gives you a crisp, golden crust without a thick breading. The flour also helps the brown butter sauce cling to the fish when it’s poured over.

The brown butter is where the magic happens. After removing the fish, heat butter in the same skillet until it turns a deep, nutty brown. That color means the milk solids have toasted, which gives the butter a rich, almost hazelnut-like flavor. Hit it with fresh lemon juice off the heat and it sizzles into a sauce that’s both bright and deeply savory.

This whole process takes under 15 minutes from start to plate.

Pro Tips

• Get the oil hot before adding the fish so it sears immediately instead of steaming
• Don’t move the fillets around while they cook, let them develop a crust undisturbed
• Watch the butter closely when browning; it goes from golden to burnt very quickly
• Use fresh lemon juice, never bottled, for the brightest flavor in the sauce

Variations

• Add capers to the brown butter before the lemon juice for a classic piccata-style sauce
• Toss in minced garlic with the browning butter for extra depth
• Substitute sole, tilapia, or any mild white fish for the snapper