Sole Meunière
Updated July 22, 2025
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- 64-ounce skinless, boneless sole or other thin fish fillets, patted dry
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly ground white or black pepper, to taste
- 4tablespoons clarified butter
- 4tablespoons unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature
- 3tablespoons minced parsley
- 1lemon, cut into wedges, for serving
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
295 calories; 18 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 10 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 0 grams sugars; 24 grams protein; 368 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 200 degrees and place a large oven-safe plate or baking sheet inside.
- Step 2
Place flour on a large, shallow plate. Season both sides of fish fillets with salt and pepper to taste. Dredge fish in flour, shaking off excess.
- Step 3
In a 12-inch nonstick or enamel-lined skillet over medium-high heat, heat 2 tablespoons clarified butter until bubbling. Place half of the fish fillets in the pan and cook until just done, 2 to 3 minutes per side, then transfer to the plate or baking sheet in the oven to keep warm. Add 2 more tablespoons clarified butter to skillet and heat until bubbling, then cook remaining fillets. Wipe out the skillet.
- Step 4
Arrange the fish on a warm serving platter. Top with parsley. In reserved skillet, heat remaining 4 tablespoons unsalted butter until bubbling and golden, 1 to 2 minutes, then pour evenly over fillets. Serve immediately, with lemon wedges on the side.
Private Notes
Comments
If you're worried about "fishy" flavor, soak the fillets in milk for a half hour before dredging with flour. I've been doing flounder or sole meuniere this way for years--it's fool proof unless you get fish that had preservatives added to it. If the fish is semi-translucent when you see it in the store, it may be preservative-laced. It won't crisp up, and the texture after cooking is like that of bread dough. Look for fillets that are a nice opaque white.
A deglaze of the pan after removing fish, and before adding butter, using a good splash of dry white wine is de rigueur.
I am incredibly fussy about fish so if there is anything "fishy" about the smell or taste I turn up my nose. This recipe turned out so fresh and delicious I actually had seconds! I used frozen dover sole fillets from Trader Joes that were not too pricey. To prevent the fillets from curling, I scored the fillets before frying. Also, I used a copper saucepan with aluminum coating to make the brown butter so I could observe the change in color. What a wonderful dish!
Well, a number of things went wrong. I think that the reason for the clarified butter is because you really do need to get to a pretty high temperature before you put in the fish. I went with a tablespoon of oil and a tablespoon of butter, which was a technique that I learned in a cooking class a years ago to keep butter from burning. I don’t think I got the fat hot enough though. And then I tried to cook very thick cod fillets. And the filets were probably not dried enough, so the flour was too thick. The coating got gummy in the medium heat instead of brown. And I didn’t cook long enough for the thick fillets. Oh boy, that was a disaster of masterly proportion. My family may never trust me again.
I'm a novice cook and found this to be a wonderful meal. We'll do it again.
Fabulous fabulous! I agree with the comment about soaking the fish in milk, and also deglazing with a splash of wine. I also poured the pan sauce through a strainer before spooning overtop (and then ate those buttery bitties secretly)