Merlan à la Colbert

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) wide, heavy pot or Dutch oven with tall sides
• •Clip-on deep-fry thermometer
• •Flexible filleting knife and kitchen shears
• •Fish-bone tweezers
• •Wire rack set over a rimmed sheet pan
• •Channel knife or sharp paring knife
• •Long warmed serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the butter

   Work the softened butter to pommade, a soft, spreadable texture. Beat in the parsley, lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and ⅛ teaspoon of the white pepper, adding the juice gradually so the butter accepts it. If liquid beads on the surface, the butter is too cold; set the bowl over barely warm water for five seconds, remove it, and beat again without letting the butter melt. Ça se rattrape. Divide the maître d'hôtel butter into four equal portions and keep it cool but pliable.

   The butter must be soft enough to settle into the fish but not oily. If it melts before serving, chill it briefly and beat it back to pommade.
2. 2

   Open and bone fish

   If the fishmonger has prepared the whiting, feel carefully along each cavity and remove any remaining bones with tweezers. To do the work yourself, lay each fish belly-down and cut through the dorsal skin along both sides of the backbone, working from just behind the head toward the tail. Follow the ribs without piercing the belly skin, snip the backbone behind the head and near the tail, then lift out the backbone and rib cage. The intact belly is the hinge that keeps the fish whole. Open the back gently, pull any pin bones, and pat every surface thoroughly dry. Season inside and out with the remaining salt and white pepper.

3. 3

   Build the crust

   Set the milk, flour, and prepared Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174) in that order. Dip one whiting in the milk and let the excess drain, roll it thoroughly in flour, and shake away every loose patch. Apply the prepared Anglaise evenly over the fish, pressing its coating into the curves around the dorsal opening. Repeat with the remaining whiting, then rest them on a rack in the cold for 10 minutes. The rest lets the coat grip. If a bare patch appears, touch it with a little more prepared Anglaise and press the coating back into place before the fish reaches the oil.

   Loose flour turns to paste and pushes the crumb coat away from the fish. Shake firmly after flouring; you want a thin adhesive film, not a white blanket.
4. 4

   Fry at full heat

   Heat the oven to 200°F (95°C) and set a wire rack over a sheet pan inside. Pour the oil into a wide, deep pot, keeping the pot no more than half full, and heat it to 355°F (180°C). Lower one whiting away from you and fry for 5 to 6 minutes, turning once if it floats unevenly, until the coat is deep golden and the thickest flesh is opaque and reaches 145°F (63°C). Drain it on the warm rack and let the oil return fully to 355°F (180°C) before adding the next fish. If the temperature falls below 340°F (170°C) and the crust looks pale or greasy, lift the fish out, restore the heat, and return it for 45 to 60 seconds. Ça se rattrape. Never crowd the pot.

   A rack preserves the crust while the other fish cook. Paper traps moisture underneath and turns the first crisp side soft.
5. 5

   Fill and serve

   Transfer the fried whiting to a warmed long platter with their dorsal openings facing upward. Tuck one portion of maître d'hôtel butter into each opening while the fish is still fiercely hot; the butter should soften at once, slip between the flakes, and pool in a green-flecked ribbon without drowning the crust. Border the platter with the grooved lemon slices. Do not cover the fish and do not make it wait. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Ask for whole European whiting opened and boned through the back, with the belly skin, head, and tail left intact. Those words matter. Ordinary belly-gutting cuts the hinge that gives Colbert its shape.
• •Whiting is modest and delicate, which is precisely why the coating matters. Choose fish with clear eyes, bright gills, firm flesh, and a clean sea smell. If whole whiting cannot be ordered, a small whole hake of the same weight accepts the method honestly, but it becomes hake à la Colbert.
• •Use sunflower, peanut, or grapeseed oil for frying. Butter burns at the temperature this crust requires; it belongs inside the finished fish, where its parsley and lemon can run through the flakes.
• •Serve with boiled new potatoes or a plainly dressed green salad. A dry Muscadet from the Loire coast has enough freshness for the frying and enough restraint to leave the maître d'hôtel butter alone.
• •Fried whiting waits badly. If one remains, chill it within 2 hours and reheat it uncovered on a rack at 400°F (200°C) for 8 to 10 minutes. The crust will recover some crispness, though the first moment at the table cannot be stored.

Advance Preparation

• •The maître d'hôtel butter can be mixed up to 3 days ahead, wrapped, and chilled. Let it soften for about 30 minutes before filling the fish.
• •The whiting can be opened and boned on the morning of serving. Lay them on a rack over a tray, cover, and keep very cold; season and coat them only shortly before frying.
• •The fish may be coated up to 30 minutes before frying and held uncovered in the cold. Longer storage dampens the coating and costs the crust its clean bite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 255g)