Sous Vide Monkfish

October 5, 2011

Sous Vide Monkfish

Monkfish is one of those fish that doesn’t have much in common with other white fish. The flesh is firm and meaty, almost like lobster tail, and it’s precisely that structure that makes the fish well suited to sous vide. Where a fragile plaice fillet is quickly overcooked, monkfish can take a higher temperature and a longer time in the water bath without turning dry or stringy.

The recipe uses monkfish tail fillet, seasoned simply with salt and pepper and vacuum-sealed, optionally with a little oil and a lightly crushed clove of garlic in the bag. The fish is cooked at 131-133°F (55-56°C) for 30 minutes - a figure that recurs across several independent Danish sources for sous vide cooking of fish, and it gives a firm, cooked-through texture without the fish turning bland.

The searing afterwards is not an optional step. The fillets must be patted completely dry and fried briefly in browned butter until the surface is golden and lightly crisp. Without that sear, the monkfish turns soft and a little boiled-tasting instead, and the characteristic flavor of nut-brown butter goes missing.

Monkfish is an expensive ingredient - only the tail and cheeks are used - and traditionally the Danish approach has been pan-frying or oven-baking rather than sous vide. But precisely because the fish is costly, the precision sous vide offers is hard to say no to: the risk of ruining an expensive fillet by over- or undercooking becomes markedly smaller. That makes the dish an obvious choice for a Sunday dinner or another occasion where you want to serve something a little out of the ordinary without gambling on the cooking.

Serve the monkfish right after searing, with a little of the browned butter poured over and a scattering of fresh parsley. Boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes are the obvious side, and a seasonal vegetable such as asparagus, cauliflower or sautéed mushrooms rounds the dish off.

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 monkfish tail fillets, 150-180 g each
salt
freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp neutral oil, in the vacuum bag (optional)
75 g unsalted butter
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed (optional)

Directions

Pat the monkfish fillets thoroughly dry with paper towels and season them with salt and pepper on all sides.

Preheat the sous vide water bath to 131-133°F (55-56°C). Lay the fillets in one or more vacuum bags in a single layer so they don’t overlap. Add the oil and the crushed garlic to the bag if using, and vacuum-seal.

Lower the bag or bags into the water bath and cook the fish for 30 minutes.

Take the bag out of the water bath when the time is up and remove the fillets carefully. Pat them completely dry with paper towels - this is crucial for a good sear.

Melt the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat and let it simmer until it stops foaming and just turns nut-brown.

Lay the fillets in the browned butter and fry them, turning once, for about 4-5 minutes in total, until they have a golden-brown surface on both sides.

Take the fillets out of the pan and let them rest briefly. Pour a little of the browned butter over at serving if you like, and scatter with chopped parsley and freshly ground pepper.

Serve the monkfish at once, ideally with boiled potatoes or mashed potatoes and a seasonal vegetable such as asparagus, cauliflower or sautéed mushrooms.

Notes

Monkfish is a firm, meaty fish and therefore takes a higher sous vide temperature than delicate white fish like plaice or cod, which are typically cooked at 120-126°F (49-52°C).
If you prefer a more delicate, slightly rare texture, the temperature can be lowered to 122-126°F (50-52°C). To make the fish firmer and more thoroughly cooked, the time can be extended to 45-60 minutes at 133-136°F (56-58°C) - use the thickness of the fillet piece as your guide.
Monkfish cheeks can be cooked on the same principle, but since they contain more sinew and cartilage than the tail fillet, they benefit from a little longer in the water bath.