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I first learned about skate at the beginning of my career at Le Cirque in NYC. We received skate wings weekly & it was my responsibility to clean the wings, then gently poach & cool them in court bouillon.
Cooking Skate Wings
I've always found it challenging to peel or slice the skin off of skate wings.
I enjoy sautéed, 'peeled' skate wings with brown or black butter & capers very much.
I still prepare skate wings in this fashion, but my new, preferred method is a simple curry marinade for an hour, then searing the wings on a cast iron grate with a small amount of oil. I get the curry nice and brown, the skin splits and it's very easy to see when the flesh is cooked through.
This is so much easier than cleaning the wings raw or poaching and provides a nice, flavorful crust & moist, juicy flesh. It's super easy to scrape the skin and meat using a fork or spoon.
Prep Time: 3o min
Cooking Time: 30 min (grilling/ resting)
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
4 ea. Skate wings
Seasoning:
6 oz. Olive oil
1 Tbsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ginger powder
1/2 Cup Curry powder
tt Kosher Salt
lemons & hot sauce
How to prepare Seared Skate Wings
Step 1
Mix the curry spices and oil together and coat the skate wings well. Let marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature.
Step 2
Heat a cast iron grill pan to medium high; scrub the grill pan and then gently oil to avoid sticking.
Step 3
Place the skate wings onto the grill pan and sear about 6-8 minutes; Invert and continue cooking to reach the desired temperature you enjoy. You'll see the skin splitting and the flesh on the sides to determine doneness-or use a thermometer and cook to 150F.
Step 4
Serve the skate with fresh lemon and hot sauce.
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Often when I'm fishing, people catch bluefish or skate and throw them back. I always run over and ask to keep one or two. Bluefish are quick and easy to fabricate and a delicious dinner to prepare when I get back home from fishing all day. I prefer simply dredging in seasoned flour and frying pieces in olive oil & butter mixed together. Perfect with cold beer or white wine!
My first professional cooking job was as the poissonnier at Le Cirque in Manhattan. Occasionally the Chef asked me to make fried fingers (goujons) of flounder family meal. Being right out of culinary school, I set up the normal mise en place for standard breading; a tray of sifted flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. Chef came over and taught me the quicker method... flour the seasoned fish in a bowl, add eggs to the floured fish (same bowl) and then breadcrumbs (same bowl). (one bowl and a fraction of the time)! To this day, that’s the method I use to make crispy, fried goujons-these photos are with bluefish fillets Junnie and I caught.
I see fisherman fillet their fish, discard the head & frame! They're amazing at catching fish but have little experience fabricating or cooking the beautiful, fresh fish they get. I'm very interested in sustainability & respectful when I take a fish. I cook from head to tail... that's where the tender, 'chef' cuts are... cheeks, head, on the bones etc... which is perfect for salads, pasta, rice and this frittata. The first time I ate this frittata, I actually thought it was crabmeat!
One of the more challenging classical seafood dishes I know of requires fabricating a whole fish in to perfectly even darnes, trussing the darnes and then gently poaching in a Court Bouillon. While the darnes are still quite hot, the pin bones need to be pulled (they are on a diagonal), the butcher twine needs to be cut away, the skin needs to be peeled and the seafood must be plated without breaking... and served piping hot with Sauce Hollandaise & boiled, tourneed potatoes. I repeatedly practiced this dish for the CMC exam with a whole salmon... quite the challenge!
One of the more challenging classical seafood dishes I know of requires fabricating a whole fish in to perfectly even darnes, trussing the darnes and then gently poaching in a Court Bouillon. While the darnes are still quite hot, the pin bones need to be pulled (they are on a diagonal), the butcher twine needs to be cut away, the skin needs to be peeled and the seafood must be plated without breaking... and served piping hot with Sauce Hollandaise & boiled, tourneed potatoes. I repeatedly practiced this dish for the CMC exam with a whole salmon... quite the challenge!
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