Sole Colbert

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Flexible 6-inch fish-filleting knife
• •Kitchen shears
• •Wide, heavy 6 to 8-quart pot
• •Deep-fry thermometer
• •Two wide fish turners or wire spiders
• •Wire rack and rimmed baking tray
• •Small tongs
• •Four heatproof dinner plates or one large oval platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the maître d'hôtel

   Work the softened butter with the parsley, lemon juice, salt, and white pepper until evenly green-flecked and supple. Divide it into four equal batons, each about 1 oz (28 g), and chill them for 15 minutes so they hold their shape. Bring them out again as the oil heats; the butter should be cool but pliable when it enters the fish, not hard from the refrigerator.

2. 2

   Open the soles

   Pat each sole thoroughly dry and set it pale side down, with the upper side facing you. Cut along the centre line from the shoulder end toward the tail until the knife reaches the backbone. Keeping the blade nearly flat, slide it outward over the bones to loosen each of the two upper fillets from the spine, stopping before the outer edge so the fillets remain attached around their margins. Through the central opening, snip or crack the exposed backbone in three evenly spaced places without cutting the lower skin. Ease the loosened fillets back a finger's width so they are clearly free of the bones.

   Ask the fishmonger to skin both sides, remove the head, and trim the fins, but not to fillet the fish. If they know the Colbert cut, they may open the upper fillets for you; inspect that the skeleton remains in place and the outer margins remain attached.
3. 3

   Heat the frying fat

   Set a wire rack over a rimmed tray and warm the oven to 200°F (95°C), placing four heatproof dinner plates or one large platter inside. Pour the oil into a wide, deep, heavy pot, never filling it more than one-third, and heat it to 375°F (190°C). Very hot means measured, not smoking. Keep the pot steady, leave room around it, and have its lid nearby.

4. 4

   Paner à l'anglaise

   Arrange four wide dishes in order: milk, flour, the prepared Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), and fine breadcrumbs. Dip one sole completely in the milk and let the excess run away. Coat it lightly but thoroughly with flour, shake off every loose patch, pass it through the Anglaise (for Egg-and-bread-crumbing) (No. 174), then press it into the crumbs on both sides and inside the opened channels. Ease the upper fillets back slightly once more so the breading does not seal them onto the bones. Repeat with the remaining soles and leave them on a dry rack while the oil reaches its full temperature.

5. 5

   Fry in hot fat

   Lower one sole into the oil, upper side facing up and moving it away from you. The temperature will fall; adjust the heat to hold it between 350°F and 365°F (175°C and 185°C). Fry for 4 to 5 minutes, turning carefully once after the crust has set, until the coating is an even deep gold and the flesh beside the backbone is opaque, moist, and at least 145°F (63°C). If a piece of coating begins to loosen, stop moving the fish and hold that section beneath the oil with a spider for 20 seconds so the egg can set again. Ça se rattrape. Lift the fish with two wide turners or spiders, supporting its whole length.

6. 6

   Drain and hold

   Set the fried sole upper side up on the wire rack, never flat on paper, which traps moisture beneath the crust. Place the rack in the low oven while the oil returns to 375°F (190°C), then fry the remaining soles one at a time. Keep the holding time under 12 minutes; the oven is there to protect the first fish from the cold, not to cook it a second time.

7. 7

   Draw out the bones

   Working with the first fried sole first, lift the two loosened upper fillets gently with the tip of a knife. Grip the exposed backbone at the shoulder end with small tongs and draw out the broken sections one by one; the attached rib bones should come with them. If a section resists, snip it free instead of tearing the flesh. Run a fingertip carefully through the hollow to find any remaining bone fragments, then settle the fillets back into their natural shape. If an edge tears, lay it back in place without fuss. The butter will hold the fish together on the plate.

8. 8

   Fill and serve

   Transfer each sole to its very hot plate and place one baton of maître d'hôtel butter along the clean central hollow. Let the butter soften into the fish until its edges shine and the parsley and lemon begin to perfume the crust. Serve at once, while the underside is still crisp and the butter is pooling through the flesh. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Dover sole has firm flesh and a strong, orderly skeleton, which is why it performs this trick so cleanly. Lemon sole or a small whole flounder can stand in, but the flesh is softer and cooks faster; watch the colour closely, and expect the bones to come away less neatly.
• •Do not substitute fillets. The central skeleton is not an inconvenience here, it is the architecture that creates the hollow for the maître d'hôtel butter. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, but this particular piece of knife work is the dish.
• •Use a thermometer. Breadcrumbs can look golden while the oil is too cool beneath them, and the result will taste greasy. Let the oil recover completely between fish, even if the table is waiting.
• •Serve Sole Colbert with plainly boiled potatoes or buttered spinach and a dry, mineral white wine such as Chablis or Muscadet. Keep the accompaniment quiet because the parsley-lemon butter already supplies the sauce.
• •Fried sole waits badly. Refrigerate any leftovers within two hours, then reheat them uncovered on a rack at 400°F (200°C) for about 8 minutes. The butter will run more freely, but the crust will recover much of its bite.

Advance Preparation

• •The maître d'hôtel butter can be mixed, divided, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring the four portions out while the oil heats so they become pliable enough to melt into the fish.
• •The soles can be trimmed and opened up to 4 hours ahead. Keep them uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator so their surfaces remain dry, then complete the milk, flour, egg coating, and crumb sequence shortly before frying.
• •Arrange the coating dishes, rack, tools, and warmed plates before guests sit down. Frying and boning belong to the final 25 minutes and should not be done ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 220g)