Merlan à l’Anglaise

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •30 to 35 cm (12 to 14-inch) heavy skillet
• •Three wide shallow coating dishes
• •Wire rack set over a tray
• •Two broad flexible fish spatulas
• •Long oven-safe serving platter
• •Small saucepan

Instructions

1. 1

   Make maître d’hôtel butter

   Beat the softened butter with the parsley, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and a pinch of the white pepper. Work only until evenly mixed. Shape it into a short roll, wrap, and chill for 15 minutes so it becomes firm enough to cut. This beurre maître d’hôtel must taste of butter first, with parsley and lemon sharpening the finish rather than taking it over.

   Taste a fleck before chilling. It should be bright but not sour; too much lemon hides the sweetness of the whiting.
2. 2

   Open and dry fish

   Ask the fishmonger to open each whiting down the back, loosen and completely remove the spine, and leave the two fillets joined along the belly so the fish opens flat. Check carefully for stray bones, then blot every surface dry. Season the inside of each fish with the remaining salt and white pepper. Wet fish loosens its coating and cools the butter, so take the drying seriously.

   If you must draw the spine yourself, cut closely along both sides of it with a flexible boning knife, snip it free at the ends, and lift it out without cutting through the belly hinge.
3. 3

   Coat à l’anglaise

   Arrange the flour, the Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), and the fine breadcrumbs in three wide shallow dishes. Dust each whiting lightly with flour, shaking away every loose patch. Coat it thoroughly with the Anglaise, let the excess drain, then lay it in the crumbs and press gently so every surface wears a fine, even coat. Set the coated fish on a rack for 5 minutes while the butter heats. Thick clumps become greasy; fine adhesion is what gives the crust its strength.

   Use one hand for flour and crumbs and the other for the egg preparation. The cook stays tidy, and so does the coating.
4. 4

   Heat clarified butter

   Set a platter in a 200°F (95°C) oven. Pour enough clarified butter into a wide heavy skillet to form a generous film and heat it over medium-high heat to about 350°F (175°C). Drop in a pinch of breadcrumbs: they must bubble immediately and rise, taking colour gradually rather than burning. Whole butter cannot do this cleanly because its milk solids scorch before the fish is cooked. Clarified butter is the foundation here.

   If the test crumb sinks quietly, wait. If it blackens at once, lower the heat and let the butter settle before testing again.
5. 5

   Cook fast in batches

   Lower two whiting into the butter, outer skin side down, without crowding the pan. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until the underside is evenly butter-gold, then turn with two broad spatulas and cook for another 1½ to 2 minutes. The flesh should be opaque at its thickest point and reach 145°F (63°C) if checked. Transfer the fish to the warm platter and repeat, skimming out loose crumbs and adding clarified butter as needed. If the coating begins drinking fat without colouring, lift the fish carefully to the rack and bring the butter back to a lively sizzle before returning it. Ça se rattrape.

   Turn each fish only once. Repeated handling breaks delicate whiting and knocks away the crust you worked to build.
6. 6

   Finish half-melted

   Cut the chilled beurre maître d’hôtel into pieces. Warm three quarters of it in a small pan over the lowest heat until golden liquid pools around pieces that remain soft but visible, then remove the pan and swirl in the reserved cold pieces. If it liquefies completely, don't pour it out. Ça se rattrape: take it off the heat and beat in the cold reserved butter until the finish becomes creamy and half-melted again. Spoon it generously over the whiting, letting the parsley-speckled butter collect around the crisp edges, and serve immediately. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Whiting is thin, fragile, and exactly right here. Ask the fishmonger to do the back-opening and spine drawing; that is an honest home equivalent for the brigade's dedicated fish station, not a retreat from the method.
• •Make the breadcrumbs from fresh, close-textured white bread and pass them through a coarse sieve. Dry crumbs produce a harder, rougher shell, while very fresh fine crumbs make the resisting crust described by the dish.
• •Use true clarified butter. Ghee tolerates the heat, but its nutty flavour changes this quiet fish; ordinary whole butter burns before the crumb coat has browned.
• •The source permits grilling but plainly prefers clarified butter. Follow that preference. Contact with the hot fat sets the à l’anglaise coat evenly and keeps the whiting succulent.
• •Serve the fish the moment the beurre maître d’hôtel goes on. A plain boiled potato alongside will catch the butter beautifully, and a dry Muscadet keeps the whole plate brisk.

Advance Preparation

• •The beurre maître d’hôtel can be mixed up to three days ahead and kept tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. Bring it only to a firm, sliceable chill before finishing the fish.
• •Prepare the Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) earlier the same day according to its own entry, then keep it covered and cold until the coating station is ready.
• •The fish may be opened and boned on the morning of cooking. Keep it on a rack over a tray in the cold, loosely covered, and dry it again before seasoning.
• •Do not apply the coating more than 20 minutes ahead. A long wait lets the egg soak into the crumbs, and the crust loses its clean edge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 230g)