Chef Juliette
John Dory (St. Pierre)
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Cabillaud Grillé
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 991, Cabillaud Grillé, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Cabillaud Grillé turns lean cod succulent through discipline: a light dredge, fierce overhead heat, and repeated butter basting until the steaks bronze while their thick flakes stay moist.
Main Dishes
French
Weeknight
Comfort Food
20 min
Active Time
12 min cook•32 min total
Yield4 servings
Cabillaud Grillé (butter-basted grilled cod) teaches one true thing: lean fish needs fat during cooking, not merely beside it at the table. The flour should be no more than a veil, the heat must be fierce, and the melted butter must keep coming. Frequent basting is the dish.
The professional kitchen behind the entry had a grill cook at the fire, a saucier beside a stockpot never off the heat if grilled-fish sauce was ordered, and a salamander ready to bronze the surface. For four servings, a broiler-safe rack beneath a home broiler supplies the same direct heat, while prepared Maître-d’Hôtel butter replaces separate sauce service. The fishmonger cuts the steaks, and four modest parsley clusters replace the brigade platter's bouquets. Those things are scaffolding. The thick cut, seasoning, dredging, copious butter, and repeated basting stay exactly where they belong. One cook, one stove, one evening.
When it is right, the flour and butter make a thin bronze skin while the cod separates at the bone in broad, moist flakes. Pull the tray out each time you baste, coat the fish generously, and begin testing before you think it can be ready. Overcooking is the one mistake butter cannot entirely forgive.
At the French table, cabillaud means fresh cod, while morue names the same fish after salting and drying; confusing the two confuses both the method and the dish. Cabillaud grillé belongs to the Parisian grill-room and bistro repertoire supplied by Channel and Atlantic ports, where thick transverse steaks could withstand fierce heat and repeated butter basting. Lemon slices, parsley bunches, and a separate compound butter show how a plainly grilled market fish entered classical service without losing the logic of coastal cookery.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
center-cut cod steaks
Quantity
4 steaks, 6 ounces (170 g) each and about 1¼ inches (3 cm) thick
fine sea salt
Quantity
1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g)
finely ground white pepper
Quantity
½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g)
all-purpose flour
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 60 g)
for dredging
unsalted butter
Quantity
½ cup (120 ml / 113 g)
melted and kept warm
lemon
Quantity
1
cut crosswise into 8 thin slices
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
16 sprigs
gathered into 4 small bunches
prepared Maître-d’Hôtel butter
Quantity
¼ cup (60 ml / 57 g)
cool but spreadable
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| center-cut cod steaks | 4 steaks, 6 ounces (170 g) each and about 1¼ inches (3 cm) thick |
| fine sea salt | 1¼ teaspoons (6 ml / 7 g) |
| finely ground white pepper | ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml / 1 g) |
| all-purpose flourfor dredging | ½ cup (120 ml / 60 g) |
| unsalted buttermelted and kept warm | ½ cup (120 ml / 113 g) |
| lemoncut crosswise into 8 thin slices | 1 |
| flat-leaf parsleygathered into 4 small bunches | 16 sprigs |
| prepared Maître-d’Hôtel buttercool but spreadable | ¼ cup (60 ml / 57 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy rimmed sheet pan
- •Broiler-safe wire rack sized to fit the pan
- •Small saucepan for melted butter
- •Two broad fish spatulas
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the home grill
Set an oven rack 5 to 6 inches (13 to 15 cm) beneath the broiler and heat the broiler on high for a full 10 minutes. Place a broiler-safe wire rack inside a foil-lined, heavy rimmed sheet pan and coat the rack lightly with melted butter. Fill the serving platter with very hot tap water and leave it to warm while the fish cooks. The rack exposes both surfaces to dry heat, which is the honest home equivalent of the original grill.
- 2
Season and dredge
Pat the cod completely dry, especially around the bone and beneath any skin. Season both sides with the salt and white pepper. Spread the flour in a shallow dish, dredge each steak just before cooking, and shake it firmly so only a fine veil remains. Thick flour turns pasty beneath the butter; nearly all the loose flour should fall away before the fish reaches the rack.
If a ring of skin surrounds each steak, make two shallow snips through the skin with kitchen scissors. The flesh will then stay flat instead of curling away from the heat. - 3
Bronze the first side
Arrange the steaks on the prepared rack with space between them. Spoon melted butter copiously over their tops and sides, then broil for 2 minutes. Pull the pan completely from beneath the element, baste again with fresh melted butter, and return it to the heat. Continue until the first side is evenly bronze, about 4 to 6 minutes in all. Turn each steak carefully with two broad spatulas so the flesh does not split at the bone.
- 4
Baste until just cooked
Coat the turned side generously with butter and broil for another 4 to 6 minutes, pulling the pan out to baste every 90 seconds to 2 minutes. The cod is ready when it reaches 145°F (63°C) near the bone and separates under gentle pressure into thick, moist flakes. If the dredging darkens before the center is ready, move the pan one rack lower and cover the darkest patches loosely with foil. If the surface begins to look dry or chalky, give it another thorough spooning of butter before it goes back. Ça se rattrape. Start testing early, since a 1-inch steak cooks much faster than a 2-inch one.
- 5
Serve on the hot dish
Empty the hot water from the serving platter and dry it thoroughly. Transfer the cod at once, arrange two lemon slices beside each steak, and set the four small parsley bunches around the platter. Send the Maître-d’Hôtel butter to the table separately so each diner can let a spoonful soften over the bronzed fish. Serve immediately. À table!
Chef Tips
- •The recipe wants cod steaks cut across the fish, with the central bone holding the lean flesh together. If steaks cannot be found, thick center-cut loin portions are the honest substitute, but they lack that support and should be handled once, gently, and tested about 2 minutes earlier.
- •Keep the melted butter warm, not browned, and spoon it from the saucepan rather than dipping a brush that has touched raw fish. If dripping butter begins to smoke beneath the broiler, lower the rack by one position and continue basting.
- •The source offers Maître-d’Hôtel butter, Anchovy butter, or grilled-fish sauce at the table. Maître-d’Hôtel butter keeps this weeknight version direct: parsley, lemon, and real butter meeting the fish while it is still hot.
- •A dry Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine has the salt-edged freshness for cod and the acidity for all that butter. Cook only what will be eaten immediately; leftover cod keeps for a day in the cold, but the bronzed surface softens and the flesh loses its particular pleasure.
Advance Preparation
- •The Maître-d’Hôtel butter can be prepared up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Let it soften for about 20 minutes before serving so it yields readily to a spoon.
- •The lemon and parsley can be arranged up to 2 hours ahead and kept cold under a barely damp towel.
- •The cod may be portioned and patted dry up to 2 hours ahead, then held uncovered on a rack in the refrigerator. Season and dredge only when the broiler is fully hot, or the flour will absorb moisture and turn gummy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 180g)
Calories
395 calories
Total Fat
27 g
Saturated Fat
16 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
140 mg
Sodium
870 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
1 g
Protein
31 g
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