Best Classic Sole Meunière Recipes

EASY SOLE MEUNIERE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Have 2 heat-proof dinner plates ready
• Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large shallow plate. Pat the sole fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle one side with salt.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of butter in a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Dredge 2 sole fillets in the seasoned flour on both sides and place them in the hot butter. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a metal spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. While the second side cooks, add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to the pan. Carefully put the fish filets on the ovenproof plates and pour the sauce over them. Keep the cooked fillets warm in the oven while you repeat the process with the remaining 2 fillets. When they're done, add the cooked fillets to the plates in the oven. Sprinkle with the parsley, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.

CLASSIC SOLE MEUNIèRE

Steps:

• For fish:
• Place flour in pie dish. Rinse fish; pat with paper towels. Sprinkle both sides of fish with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. Dredge fish on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Place on platter.
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until oil is hot and shimmers. Add butter; quickly swirl skillet to coat. When foam subsides, add fish and cook until golden on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully turn fish over and cook until opaque in center and golden on bottom, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide fish between 2 warmed plates; tent with foil. Pour off drippings from skillet; wipe with paper towels.
• For sauce:
• Place skillet over medium-high heat. Add butter; cook until golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in parsley and lemon juice (sauce may sputter). Spoon sauce over fish. Serve with lemon wedges.

SOLE MEUNIèRE

Steps:

• Season the fish with salt and pepper. Put the flour in a wide shallow dish, then coat the fillets one at a time in the flour, shaking off the excess.
• Heat a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the vegetable oil; once very hot and shimmering, add the fillets. (You may need to do this in 2 batches.) Cook until golden brown and cooked about two-thirds of the way, 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip the fish and cook until just cooked through, about 30 more seconds. Remove the fillets to a serving platter.
• Pour off any remaining oil and wipe out the skillet. Return it to medium-high heat, then add the butter and cook until melted, any foaming subsides and the butter is a deep golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and swirl in the lemon juice and a pinch of salt (it may splatter a bit). Once incorporated, add the parsley and immediately spoon the sauce over the fish. Serve with lemon wedges.

SOLE MEUNIERE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Place an oven-safe platter in the oven to warm.
• Spread the flour on a plate or pie dish. Heat the Clarified Butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, sprinkle the fish with salt and pepper on both sides. Dredge the fish in the flour and shake off any excess. Once the Clarified Butter is hot, add the fish to the skillet and sear, occasionally basting the fish with the butter in the skillet, until golden brown, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Carefully turn the fish over and cook the other side until golden but the fish is still slightly springy to the touch, about another minute. (If the fish flakes easily, it's overcooked.) Transfer the fish to the warmed platter.
• Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the European butter. Cook until it melts, then turns lightly browned and smells nutty. Add the capers, if using, and season with salt and pepper. Add the lemon juice-the butter will splutter-and swirl the skillet to incorporate. Spoon the sauce over the fish, then garnish with the parsley and serve.
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue to cook until a layer of white milk solids floats to the surface and the butter becomes foamy. Lower the heat to medium and continue to gently boil. The milk solids will sink to the bottom of the pan. Once the boiling has stopped, pour the butter through a cheesecloth-lined strainer into a glass measuring cup or heatproof bowl to filter out the milk solids. Cover and store in the refrigerator.