Sole Meunière

A tender and flaky fish with a crispy exterior and mouth-watering brown butter lemon sauce, you just can’t go wrong with Sole Meunière. This elegant main dish is surprisingly easy to make and is ready in less than 20 minutes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine French

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 8

Total Time 18

Servings servings

Calories 1011kcal

Author John Kanell

Ingredients

¼ cup all-purpose flour (30g)
2 sole fillets (about 4 ounces/112g each)
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons unsalted butter divided (57g)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Lemon wedges

Instructions

Place the flour in a shallow dish. Season the fish fillets generously with salt and pepper. Dredge the seasoned fish fillets in the flour, shaking off any excess.
Heat a large 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the oil and 1 tablespoon of butter until bubbling. Add the fillets and cook just until the fish is done, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. (They should feel mostly firm and easily flake.) Transfer the fillets to serving plates or serving platter. Sprinkle with parsley.
Wipe the skillet clean and return to medium heat. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, swirling until bubbling and just starting to turn golden in color, about 1 minute. Carefully stir in the lemon juice and pour the sauce over the fish fillets. Serve immediately with lemon wedges and an additional sprinkle of salt and pepper if needed.

Notes

Dry the fish. Pat the fish dry with paper towels before dredging it in the flour. This will make the fish extra crispy when fried.
Don’t dredge too soon. Dredge the fish right before frying. Fish does not do well being dredged ahead of time, as the flour will get soggy and will not fry up well.
Use a fork to test doneness. The fish is done when it is mostly firm and flakes easily with a fork, or after it has cooked for 2-3 minutes on each side.
Watch the heat or the butter can burn! Be careful not to burn the butter. The line between browned butter and burned butter is very thin; remove the pan from the heat as soon as the butter is starting to turn golden, as the sauce will continue to brown after being removed from the heat.

Nutrition