One-Pan Fish With Bacon and Sweet Corn
Updated July 28, 2021

- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 4(6-ounce) fish fillets, such as tilapia, snapper, trout or striped bass, skin on or off
- Kosher salt
- ½cup chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves and tender stems
- ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes
- 2garlic cloves, finely grated
- 1tablespoon chopped thyme leaves (from 5 to 6 sprigs)
- 1lemon
- 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4bacon slices, chopped
- 2small shallots, finely chopped
- 2cups fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears of corn)
Preparation
- Step 1
Lightly season both sides of the fish fillets with salt. In a large bowl, combine ¼ cup parsley with the red-pepper flakes, garlic and thyme. Zest the lemon into the bowl and stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Transfer the fish to the bowl and turn to coat. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. (The fish can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 12 hours.) Cut the zested lemon into 8 wedges and set aside.
- Step 2
Heat a large skillet over medium. Add the bacon and cook, stirring frequently, until crispy, about 6 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate lined with a paper towel.
- Step 3
Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil to the bacon drippings in the skillet. Lay the marinated fish fillets in an even layer (skin-side down if your fillets are skin-on) and cover fish with any leftover marinade from the bowl. Cook until the fish is firm, opaque and flakes easily when poked with a fork, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer the fish to a serving platter; keep the skillet on the stove.
- Step 4
Lower the heat to medium, and add the shallots and reserved bacon. Cook, stirring, until the shallots soften, about 2 minutes. Add the corn, stir and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and squeeze in the juice from 3 lemon wedges. Add the remaining ¼ cup chopped parsley, stir and spoon over the fish. Serve with the remaining lemon wedges for squeezing.
Private Notes
Comments
The instructions do seem to suggest flipping, but I find that doing so almost invariably results in a messier presentation. I've had excellent success simply cooking fillets skin-side down, covered with a heavy lid, for a few extra minutes; the bottom obtains a nice sear, and the top remains tender and pretty.
Interesting discussion. When I cook skin-on fish (which is most of the time, since my fish of choice is steelhead trout from Costco), i start it in the skillet on low, skin-side down, and cook until the skin begins to crisp. I then flip to the already-seasoned skinless side down, cook until it begins to brown, peel the skin off and season the top side, and then put the formerly-skin-side back down long enough to brown and firm up: a bit of crust on both sides and our pup gets the crisp skin.
If the fish has skin, cook skinless side first. Easier to turn over to cook other side.
Terrific from start to finish - no notes.
Delicious! I used rockfish and it was a great substitute. The fish does get hard to flip so make sure you use a wide spatula and only flip once and then slide out of the pan. Fresh corn works best and I served it with rice.
This amazing recipe is going to be a go-to for me when fresh corn is in season. The recommended fish weren't available at my local market, so I substituted orange roughy. Used two slices of thick-cut bacon instead of four thinner cuts. Cooking the corn briefly is key because that slight crunch adds a delicious texture to this dish. Added 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, but will increase to a full teaspoon next time.