Sea bass cooked skin side down the whole time, so the skin stays crisp. Hot garlic-herb butter spooned over the top cooks the rest.
You'll need: 12-inch stainless steel skillet, thin fish spatula, meat thermometer
Ingredients
- 4 sea bass fillets, skin-on, about 6 oz each, patted very dry (Chilean or black sea bass)
- 1 tbsp Lemon Pepper Mix, for the flesh side, right before cooking
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, avocado or canola
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter or ghee
- 1 tbsp Mama Nina Mix, for the basting butter
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
- 1 lemon, cut in wedges, to serve (optional)
Method
- Pat the fish very dry, especially the skin. Score the skin with 2–3 shallow cuts. Tip: Scoring stops the fillet from curling up in the pan.
- Season the flesh side only with the 1 tbsp Lemon Pepper Mix. Tip: Do this right before cooking. The citric acid in the blend firms up fish if it sits.
- Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high until it shimmers.
- Lay the fillets in skin-side down. Press each one flat with the spatula for 30 seconds. Tip: Keeps the whole skin touching the pan so it crisps evenly.
- Cook without moving 4–5 minutes, until the skin is crisp and the fish is cooked most of the way up the sides.
- Turn the heat to medium. Add the butter, thyme, and 1 tbsp Mama Nina Mix.
- Tilt the pan and spoon the foaming butter over the tops of the fish for 3–4 minutes, until the tops turn white and it reads 145°F in the thickest part. Tip: No flipping. The skin stays down and stays crisp. The hot butter cooks the top.
- Serve from the pan with the butter spooned around, and lemon wedges on the side.
Don't be salty.
