The Art of Cooking Sole Fillet: A Step-by-Step Guide

When it comes to cooking sole fillet, there are several key steps that need to be followed in order to achieve a delicious and flaky dish. In this article, we will walk you through the process of cooking sole fillet, from preparing the ingredients to serving the final dish.

Preparing the Sole Fillet

The first step in cooking sole fillet is to prepare the ingredients. This includes rinsing the fish under cold water, patting it dry with a paper towel, and seasoning it with salt and pepper. The chef also wants to make sure that there's no debris or scales on the surface of the fish, so a gentle scraping of the flesh off with a spatula is necessary.

Next, the chef will heat up a sauté pan over medium-high heat, adding a small amount of oil to the pan. Once the pan is hot, the chef will place the sole fillet in the pan and cook it for about 2-3 minutes on each side, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C).

Using the Right Tools

To cook sole fillet successfully, it's essential to have the right tools. In this case, the chef is using a spatula with a flat edge and a second spatula with a curved edge. The flat-edge spatula is used to gently flip the fish over, while the curved-edge spatula is used to scoop up any stray bits of food.

The chef also uses a spoon to check for doneness, making sure that the fish is cooked through but still moist. This technique allows the chef to determine if the fish is done by checking the edges and the center of the fillet.

Serving the Dish

Once the sole fillet is cooked, it's time to serve it. The chef will remove the fish from the pan, leaving behind any excess fat or butter. Next, they will add pieces of whole butter to the pan and let them melt, creating a rich and creamy sauce.

The chef then adds lemon juice to the pan, squeezing it in at the right moment to create a golden-brown color. This is done by swirling the sauce around the pan until it reaches the desired consistency. Finally, the chef will taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning as needed, adding salt and pepper to balance out the flavors.

Adding a Touch of Garnish

To finish off the dish, the chef adds a sprinkle of parsley to the plate, using a small amount of force to release the delicate flavor and aroma of the herb. The parsley is sliced across the top of the fish, creating a beautiful presentation that complements the dish perfectly.

The Final Touches

As we take our first bites of the sole fillet, it's clear that the chef has done an excellent job in preparing this dish. The fish is cooked to perfection, with a delicate flakiness that simply melts in the mouth. The sauce is rich and creamy, with just the right amount of acidity from the lemon juice.

To finish off the meal, we add a pinch of salt and pepper to our plate, taking a moment to appreciate the simple yet elegant flavors of the sole fillet. And as we sit back and enjoy our meal, it's clear that this is a dish that requires careful attention to detail and a deep understanding of the ingredients and techniques involved.

The Importance of Tableside Filleting

In order to complete the dining experience, the chef will perform a final step: tableside filleting. This involves using a spoon to separate the fish from its bones, creating a beautiful presentation that showcases the dish perfectly. The chef will then serve the sole fillet to our guests, who will be amazed by the delicate flavors and presentation of this dish.

The Art of Cooking Sole Fillet

Cooking sole fillet is an art form that requires patience, skill, and attention to detail. By following these steps and using the right tools and ingredients, you can create a delicious and elegant dish that's sure to impress your guests. Whether you're a seasoned chef or just starting out in the kitchen, this article will provide you with the knowledge and techniques necessary to cook sole fillet like a pro.

Luck and Ingredients

As we look back on our meal, it's clear that luck played a significant role in its success. The fish was fresh and of high quality, the ingredients were expertly chosen, and the chef's technique was flawless. And yet, it's also clear that the outcome of this dish depended heavily on the individual components.

Cooking sole fillet is not just about following a recipe or using the right tools – it's about understanding the delicate balance of flavors and textures involved in cooking fish. The chef must be able to coax out the natural sweetness of the fish, while also adding depth and complexity with the sauce and garnish.

Grilling and Wine Barrel Cooking

Finally, as we wrap up our meal, we can't help but think about the possibilities for future dining experiences. Perhaps a trip to the grill, where we can cook sole fillet over an open flame and add smoky flavor to the dish? Or maybe a wine barrel cooking session, where we can soak the fish in a rich and creamy sauce made with red wine and herbs?

Whatever the case may be, one thing is certain: cooking sole fillet is an art form that requires skill, patience, and attention to detail. By following these steps and using the right tools and ingredients, you'll be well on your way to creating a truly unforgettable dining experience.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enit's like almost like you're splitting I'm pulling pretty hard on the tail end as I pull on that red end I'm pulling there hey guys it's Karla I'm here in the bone Appetit test kitchen today with Eric Stonestreet from Secret Life of pets - and modern family and today we have 20 minutes to make Sol Meuniere mmm so - oh yeah yesterday for lunch shut up really I'll say I'm a good actress it's gonna be me thanks bunny err French oui and we're gonna see if Eric can follow along with me through verbal instructions only so I'm in Canada 3 or just kiddin turn around and I start cooking 1 2 1 year so this is the sole part of the Mooney air alright the first thing we have to do we just have to rip the skin off of the fish okay so what I want you to do is pick up the little paring knife on your cutting board yes locate the tail yeah and we're gonna cut crosswise from the narrowest part of the tail but where it's like on the fillet part of the fish I'm not gonna take the tail off but just like scouring down to the center of the flag okay and that's just gonna make like a little um opening at the tail end of the fish okay yeah and you'll feel the bones but just don't go all the way through okay and then use the tip with a paring knife and just sort of teasing the knife in between and the fillet and the skin mm-hmm because we just want to loosen it up a little bit so that we've got something to grab onto know what I mean I do okay so making a little shallow little slashes across just on the fish not my hand right correct sir got it and just until you feel like you could pull up like almost like creating like the tag on a on the inside of your t-shirt that you could grip with your thumb and your forefinger I wish I had some fish mongering gloves oh how about that I know what monger means how far along are you I have made a tab that I feel like flips up and I feel like I can get my fingers and then with a paper towel on the other hand which will just help to grip because the skin is kind of slippery yeah I noticed all right so using that paper towel just start to pull up like like the fish is getting a bikini wax kind of I'm sorry what we're just gonna rip the skin off are you pulling up or you getting I am pulling up okay and it's the skin coming off it is kind of oh yeah yeah mine is being very stubborn and I'm I'm gonna switch to my kitchen towel to get a better grip now how do I deal with the spine I feel like the narrowest part is the hardest but I'm about a third of the way up now and it's just kind of zipping open okay I'm here with the soul and I'm about I would say I'm about a third of the way up - okay and I'm worried you know I don't want to I don't want to ruin this wonderful yeah piece of fish that gave its life so we can enjoy this molière yeah Munir yep yep so I'm trying to be respectful yep but you have to be firm and diligent at the same time and actually I'm pulling pretty hard on the tail end as I pull on that rod end there can you hear the effort and then when you get up to the head this is a little tricky if you pull too hard you can rip the head off so when you throw a rip the what up rip rip the head off oh yeah so when you get up to the face just stop and that's we're gonna use the scissors for it so grab this little red handle tillers just cut the skin away believe the face skin on what's the horror movie who's the guy wears yeah leather face so body skin off okay face on I took the skin off and I have a skinless body fish and you have a skin face I do have a skin face okay perfect uh now we're just gonna season the fish on both sides thoroughly you know is it true that people under salt a lot because you know they're scared I would say it's the the gravest error that the home cook makes right is the under salting we're just gonna do a little more okay and then turn it over to the side that has skin on it the white skin side we're not messing with that skin but I do want to salt it yeah I feel good about my age seasoning okay great so now we're going into this flour dredging both sides okay stretching a familiar I feel like you you know about this yeah dredge I'm a big dredger ok dredging both sides but lately okay so after you dredge Eric yeah nice nice pots okay encouraging Pat's all along hey yeah well so far Shaklee and patting off our excess flour cuz I don't want it to be super ya coated or it's not fried chicken you know II you know what happens when that I know what happens when that happens what happens it gets too much oil and grease and then you're eating oil and grease rather than a nice crisp eNOS yeah and this is a nice delicate fish so after you've dredged and padded yeah we're gonna go into the other room sheet tray that's right next to your saute pan that has nothing on it oh I have my fish skin in that pan you should have a pan I just tossed it okay just toss it but keep your fish okay okay so I'm coming over to your burner yep and then turn the big dial in the front up until the readout says 340 okay I can already tell you I'm going to be ordering one of these this is awesome so there's butter two ways in this recipe the first way is in the form of clarified butter you might be using ghee and clarified butter for the home viewers yeah this butter that's had the way or something the milk solids milk solids yeah move from it ah so you've clarified some butter and your day well I've clarified a few things in my life okay so pick up fishy again and we're gonna go with the side that used to have the skin on it the outsides gonna go into the pan first that's presentation side and if I can just tell you watching at home yeah the smell of this clarified butter delish delicious it smells like I'm about to eat the best movie popcorn ever it smells so good a hundred percent this is gonna take like two or three minutes on the first side give your pan a little bit of a shake and just make sure everybody's moving freely in the pan yep okay give them sliding around alright so come back over your cutting board good have you ever made a lemon cheek before Eric a lemon once so instead of making lemon wedges we're gonna make lemon cheeks oh no oh you know it's really easy take one of the lemons and just shaving off like an outer lobe like this tell me what you're doing so cutting from you know the long way I'm cutting off an outside round edge got it and that's a cheek yep okay and then if you have any seeds just flick those aside just get two nice cheeks and those are gonna be for serving now we got to cut that other lemon in half and this is going to be the lemon that we use for the sauce how's your fish it's good so did you cook a lot at home I gotta be honest to tell you I don't cook anything like this at home I love fish on the grill grill out a lot out which is why I have my signature towel right here strapped in my belt yeah as I'm always cooking outside and I'm wiping my hands and gas grill air live fire ground well I have a great grill that does both I also cook gas and I can cook over charcoal and wood and my favorite is to do a little bit of a combo of that where I'm cooking mainly with the heat element of gas but with the flavor of some nice I love it some nice wine barrel wood or some nice red oak or white oak oh wow so I'm gonna say very advanced all right lemon has been cut in half seeds aside yep other lemon has been cheap try it well I'm not confident on my chance yes look like cheeks but I don't know how much of the lemon yeah I need well it's enough to like if you squeeze them or squeeze them they're worrisome out okay we would get some folks out that's why I need to know all right now come back over to fish we go I can see that I've got some golden brown around the edges of the fish yeah I can too and using this big fish spatula I want to get underneath so just lifting up I have a very beautiful golden brown color what do you have under going on under there pretty good really yeah if you compare it to uh like a brown paper bag or a a walnut table like I would compare it to like the most delicious-looking color of hash browns Oh perfect okay so then how about the tail though the tail is not as Brown yeah the tail my tail is not as brown either so this is where I'm gonna kind of like use my spatula almost as like a just a slider over / and then tilting the pan just to cheat it a little and I'm just trying to get the butter to pool at that end so I can get a little action on the tail you know what I mean I'm getting some action over here yeah but I'm oh but that helped oh that kind of made me cut my fish don't worry what part got cut just a the tail kind of back in the end medic yeah it is possible that the tail is going to come off if we're not careful and then what would you say to do if that happens just go with it it's a Everman yeah yeah I didn't mean the tail so now I think it's time to turn okay I definitely strongly advise using the second spatula but also too special yeah so one special is gonna be going under delicately and just make sure you're under the whole fish and not scraping the flesh off okay and then using the other spatula but use the back of the spatula and just use it to like sandwich it like it was in a grill bath oh and then burner over oh yeah and back into your rudder how do you do pretty good and you know what I didn't want my I didn't want you to ever have to deal with the tail yeah so I great I support that decision all right so shake everything around again make sure that that second side is not sticking no it's not sticking all right let's chop some parsley and this is really just for garnish but I want a couple tablespoons worth slicing is opposed to chopping slicing instead of like hammering it down in a rocking way I like to kind of slice across okay and it's really hard to ship an odd parsley right it's hard to ship an odd parsley I just looked up shipping odd before I came I just did a bunch of studying and you said it perfectly the ship and odd put the parsley in the glass bowl and when and it's fish checking time okay so we're looking for two things now we're looking for browning but we also need to start checking that the the flesh is actually cooked through the way to do that is to kind use the edge of the spatula towards the middle of the play their parts of the fillet where the foot where the flesh like naturally separates in these teams there's also a spoon in your little equipment kit and you can use that to check just teasing the tip of the spoon down towards the bone in the middle uh-huh and just see if it looks uncooked or fully opaque there I think it looks pretty good I think it's gonna flake what nice I agree okay so now the goal is gonna be to remove the fish from this saute pan okay then we're gonna dump out all of this butter and stuff that's in the pan pan goes back on the heat take the pieces of whole butter get those into the saute pan and then it's gonna be the butter sauce okay we're gonna go to kind of a golden and then we're gonna use the lemon halves and squeeze that lemon juice right into the butter at the moment when you feel like it's achieved its golden nests so I'm like looking for these big bubbles to kind of start to subside yeah I feel like I'm there so now with your lemon halves squeeze the juice in the pan just like not a lot going on in this sauce just lemon butter sauce don't grate to me right just trying to get a little color yeah alright so just give it some swirling and then we got to taste it I think it's gonna need salt mmm okay yeah it's pretty cool Remini little Saul's gonna help balance that out lifting up that saute pan grab a big spoon from the equipment kit and just spoon your lemon butter sauce over the fish yummy yum yum I had a chef ones who really yelled at us if we poured it from the pan oh really like what see that what that's why it would keep me from ever probably being a chef is because I feel like what I would bring is like natural ability and then I would have I'd get yelled out and then you would get yelled at that's exactly what happens and then your beautifully Shiva knotted parsley I'm just sprinkle over your fish I'm not huge parsley and you know I think as a chef my job is to decide what you're gonna like exactly and I don't think I appreciated that thank you and a little flaky salt that you're gonna want same and then pepper I love pepper I hope you do too oh I do too that's it let me know when you're ready alright I'm ready to show you my creation Oh fabulous pick up your fish Potter and we'll just turn around and fish off oh my god you're real cook really nailed it oh no yours okay so now before we eat we have to do the tableside filleting of the sole using your spoon you want to find those teams that we were talking about before and just teasing and if it's cooked properly it will separate from that Center spine it's better it's better huh gorgeous I'm not looking how about you go back literally and then did you put a little woman I did voila I hope you enjoy okay many week let's just chalk it up to my Mike my tutelage my future the beautiful ingredients that we had here today and luck there you have it I think the thing to do the next time we're together is to grill we'll do it some wine barrel stuff can we grill and yeah there's a grill right over there oh we can throw a log on it yeah nobody in this building would noticeit's like almost like you're splitting I'm pulling pretty hard on the tail end as I pull on that red end I'm pulling there hey guys it's Karla I'm here in the bone Appetit test kitchen today with Eric Stonestreet from Secret Life of pets - and modern family and today we have 20 minutes to make Sol Meuniere mmm so - oh yeah yesterday for lunch shut up really I'll say I'm a good actress it's gonna be me thanks bunny err French oui and we're gonna see if Eric can follow along with me through verbal instructions only so I'm in Canada 3 or just kiddin turn around and I start cooking 1 2 1 year so this is the sole part of the Mooney air alright the first thing we have to do we just have to rip the skin off of the fish okay so what I want you to do is pick up the little paring knife on your cutting board yes locate the tail yeah and we're gonna cut crosswise from the narrowest part of the tail but where it's like on the fillet part of the fish I'm not gonna take the tail off but just like scouring down to the center of the flag okay and that's just gonna make like a little um opening at the tail end of the fish okay yeah and you'll feel the bones but just don't go all the way through okay and then use the tip with a paring knife and just sort of teasing the knife in between and the fillet and the skin mm-hmm because we just want to loosen it up a little bit so that we've got something to grab onto know what I mean I do okay so making a little shallow little slashes across just on the fish not my hand right correct sir got it and just until you feel like you could pull up like almost like creating like the tag on a on the inside of your t-shirt that you could grip with your thumb and your forefinger I wish I had some fish mongering gloves oh how about that I know what monger means how far along are you I have made a tab that I feel like flips up and I feel like I can get my fingers and then with a paper towel on the other hand which will just help to grip because the skin is kind of slippery yeah I noticed all right so using that paper towel just start to pull up like like the fish is getting a bikini wax kind of I'm sorry what we're just gonna rip the skin off are you pulling up or you getting I am pulling up okay and it's the skin coming off it is kind of oh yeah yeah mine is being very stubborn and I'm I'm gonna switch to my kitchen towel to get a better grip now how do I deal with the spine I feel like the narrowest part is the hardest but I'm about a third of the way up now and it's just kind of zipping open okay I'm here with the soul and I'm about I would say I'm about a third of the way up - okay and I'm worried you know I don't want to I don't want to ruin this wonderful yeah piece of fish that gave its life so we can enjoy this molière yeah Munir yep yep so I'm trying to be respectful yep but you have to be firm and diligent at the same time and actually I'm pulling pretty hard on the tail end as I pull on that rod end there can you hear the effort and then when you get up to the head this is a little tricky if you pull too hard you can rip the head off so when you throw a rip the what up rip rip the head off oh yeah so when you get up to the face just stop and that's we're gonna use the scissors for it so grab this little red handle tillers just cut the skin away believe the face skin on what's the horror movie who's the guy wears yeah leather face so body skin off okay face on I took the skin off and I have a skinless body fish and you have a skin face I do have a skin face okay perfect uh now we're just gonna season the fish on both sides thoroughly you know is it true that people under salt a lot because you know they're scared I would say it's the the gravest error that the home cook makes right is the under salting we're just gonna do a little more okay and then turn it over to the side that has skin on it the white skin side we're not messing with that skin but I do want to salt it yeah I feel good about my age seasoning okay great so now we're going into this flour dredging both sides okay stretching a familiar I feel like you you know about this yeah dredge I'm a big dredger ok dredging both sides but lately okay so after you dredge Eric yeah nice nice pots okay encouraging Pat's all along hey yeah well so far Shaklee and patting off our excess flour cuz I don't want it to be super ya coated or it's not fried chicken you know II you know what happens when that I know what happens when that happens what happens it gets too much oil and grease and then you're eating oil and grease rather than a nice crisp eNOS yeah and this is a nice delicate fish so after you've dredged and padded yeah we're gonna go into the other room sheet tray that's right next to your saute pan that has nothing on it oh I have my fish skin in that pan you should have a pan I just tossed it okay just toss it but keep your fish okay okay so I'm coming over to your burner yep and then turn the big dial in the front up until the readout says 340 okay I can already tell you I'm going to be ordering one of these this is awesome so there's butter two ways in this recipe the first way is in the form of clarified butter you might be using ghee and clarified butter for the home viewers yeah this butter that's had the way or something the milk solids milk solids yeah move from it ah so you've clarified some butter and your day well I've clarified a few things in my life okay so pick up fishy again and we're gonna go with the side that used to have the skin on it the outsides gonna go into the pan first that's presentation side and if I can just tell you watching at home yeah the smell of this clarified butter delish delicious it smells like I'm about to eat the best movie popcorn ever it smells so good a hundred percent this is gonna take like two or three minutes on the first side give your pan a little bit of a shake and just make sure everybody's moving freely in the pan yep okay give them sliding around alright so come back over your cutting board good have you ever made a lemon cheek before Eric a lemon once so instead of making lemon wedges we're gonna make lemon cheeks oh no oh you know it's really easy take one of the lemons and just shaving off like an outer lobe like this tell me what you're doing so cutting from you know the long way I'm cutting off an outside round edge got it and that's a cheek yep okay and then if you have any seeds just flick those aside just get two nice cheeks and those are gonna be for serving now we got to cut that other lemon in half and this is going to be the lemon that we use for the sauce how's your fish it's good so did you cook a lot at home I gotta be honest to tell you I don't cook anything like this at home I love fish on the grill grill out a lot out which is why I have my signature towel right here strapped in my belt yeah as I'm always cooking outside and I'm wiping my hands and gas grill air live fire ground well I have a great grill that does both I also cook gas and I can cook over charcoal and wood and my favorite is to do a little bit of a combo of that where I'm cooking mainly with the heat element of gas but with the flavor of some nice I love it some nice wine barrel wood or some nice red oak or white oak oh wow so I'm gonna say very advanced all right lemon has been cut in half seeds aside yep other lemon has been cheap try it well I'm not confident on my chance yes look like cheeks but I don't know how much of the lemon yeah I need well it's enough to like if you squeeze them or squeeze them they're worrisome out okay we would get some folks out that's why I need to know all right now come back over to fish we go I can see that I've got some golden brown around the edges of the fish yeah I can too and using this big fish spatula I want to get underneath so just lifting up I have a very beautiful golden brown color what do you have under going on under there pretty good really yeah if you compare it to uh like a brown paper bag or a a walnut table like I would compare it to like the most delicious-looking color of hash browns Oh perfect okay so then how about the tail though the tail is not as Brown yeah the tail my tail is not as brown either so this is where I'm gonna kind of like use my spatula almost as like a just a slider over / and then tilting the pan just to cheat it a little and I'm just trying to get the butter to pool at that end so I can get a little action on the tail you know what I mean I'm getting some action over here yeah but I'm oh but that helped oh that kind of made me cut my fish don't worry what part got cut just a the tail kind of back in the end medic yeah it is possible that the tail is going to come off if we're not careful and then what would you say to do if that happens just go with it it's a Everman yeah yeah I didn't mean the tail so now I think it's time to turn okay I definitely strongly advise using the second spatula but also too special yeah so one special is gonna be going under delicately and just make sure you're under the whole fish and not scraping the flesh off okay and then using the other spatula but use the back of the spatula and just use it to like sandwich it like it was in a grill bath oh and then burner over oh yeah and back into your rudder how do you do pretty good and you know what I didn't want my I didn't want you to ever have to deal with the tail yeah so I great I support that decision all right so shake everything around again make sure that that second side is not sticking no it's not sticking all right let's chop some parsley and this is really just for garnish but I want a couple tablespoons worth slicing is opposed to chopping slicing instead of like hammering it down in a rocking way I like to kind of slice across okay and it's really hard to ship an odd parsley right it's hard to ship an odd parsley I just looked up shipping odd before I came I just did a bunch of studying and you said it perfectly the ship and odd put the parsley in the glass bowl and when and it's fish checking time okay so we're looking for two things now we're looking for browning but we also need to start checking that the the flesh is actually cooked through the way to do that is to kind use the edge of the spatula towards the middle of the play their parts of the fillet where the foot where the flesh like naturally separates in these teams there's also a spoon in your little equipment kit and you can use that to check just teasing the tip of the spoon down towards the bone in the middle uh-huh and just see if it looks uncooked or fully opaque there I think it looks pretty good I think it's gonna flake what nice I agree okay so now the goal is gonna be to remove the fish from this saute pan okay then we're gonna dump out all of this butter and stuff that's in the pan pan goes back on the heat take the pieces of whole butter get those into the saute pan and then it's gonna be the butter sauce okay we're gonna go to kind of a golden and then we're gonna use the lemon halves and squeeze that lemon juice right into the butter at the moment when you feel like it's achieved its golden nests so I'm like looking for these big bubbles to kind of start to subside yeah I feel like I'm there so now with your lemon halves squeeze the juice in the pan just like not a lot going on in this sauce just lemon butter sauce don't grate to me right just trying to get a little color yeah alright so just give it some swirling and then we got to taste it I think it's gonna need salt mmm okay yeah it's pretty cool Remini little Saul's gonna help balance that out lifting up that saute pan grab a big spoon from the equipment kit and just spoon your lemon butter sauce over the fish yummy yum yum I had a chef ones who really yelled at us if we poured it from the pan oh really like what see that what that's why it would keep me from ever probably being a chef is because I feel like what I would bring is like natural ability and then I would have I'd get yelled out and then you would get yelled at that's exactly what happens and then your beautifully Shiva knotted parsley I'm just sprinkle over your fish I'm not huge parsley and you know I think as a chef my job is to decide what you're gonna like exactly and I don't think I appreciated that thank you and a little flaky salt that you're gonna want same and then pepper I love pepper I hope you do too oh I do too that's it let me know when you're ready alright I'm ready to show you my creation Oh fabulous pick up your fish Potter and we'll just turn around and fish off oh my god you're real cook really nailed it oh no yours okay so now before we eat we have to do the tableside filleting of the sole using your spoon you want to find those teams that we were talking about before and just teasing and if it's cooked properly it will separate from that Center spine it's better it's better huh gorgeous I'm not looking how about you go back literally and then did you put a little woman I did voila I hope you enjoy okay many week let's just chalk it up to my Mike my tutelage my future the beautiful ingredients that we had here today and luck there you have it I think the thing to do the next time we're together is to grill we'll do it some wine barrel stuff can we grill and yeah there's a grill right over there oh we can throw a log on it yeah nobody in this building would notice\n"