If you're looking for a simple yet elegant Sablefish Recipe that will allow the luxurious buttery flavors of the fish to shine, this recipe is for you! The "black cod" is pan-fried and served with a lemon garlic butter sauce. It's perfect for an easy weeknight meal or a special occasion dinner.
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I love discovering new to me foods and am thrilled that sablefish is now entering my cooking rotation. Welcome, sablefish! I'm so happy you're here.
To be fair, I've unknowingly enjoyed sablefish many times when dining in restaurants. But because it was called "black cod," I didn't realize I was eating sablefish. Once I learned that, I realized I've had black cod a couple times at Morimoto! It's also a well-known dish at Nobu.
When I saw sablefish being offered as a deal on ButcherBox a couple months ago, I knew I needed to try it.
Now that I've been enjoying it through several different cooking methods, I'm excited to share my current favorite sablefish recipe with you!
🐟 What is sablefish?
Have you ever had sablefish before? Initially I was quite surprised that it's not more known in the U.S. considering it's often found in the North Pacific, from California to Alaska (and extending west to Japan and the Bering Sea).
But apparently, the U.S. and Canada export a great deal of our sablefish to Japan as it's quite popular there, especially for sushi (source).
Sablefish is a white fish that looks a lot like cod, which is why it's often referred to as "black cod," though it's not actually members of the cod family. The fish is also sometimes referred to as "butterfish" because it has a high oil content and practically melts in your mouth! (source)
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, sablefish is currently a sustainable option and is presently only available as wild seafood as it's not generally farmed just yet.
Not only is sablefish high in protein, but its also very high in omega-3 fatty acids, including EPA and DHA. It's low in mercury and contains lots of essential nutrients, like Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, and Selenium (source).
It does tend to be a pricier, more "luxurious" fish option, so you definitely want to make sure you're cooking it the best way possible!
Oh and one last crazy fact... Sablefish can live up to 90 years old!
😋 What does sablefish taste like?
Well, it's not sometimes called butterfish for nothing! Sablefish has a rich, buttery flavor and a perfectly flaky texture.
In many ways, the fish can be described as mild since it doesn't have an overly fishy flavor at all, but it's also quite decadent as it's buttery and a little bit sweet, due to the higher fat content and Omega-3s.
Though it's often called black cod, I find it so much more delicious and luxurious than cod!
👩🍳 Cooking methods
Thanks to high fat content that helps keep the fish moist and tender, sablefish is a very versatile fish and can be cooked using many different methods, including baking, pan-frying, poaching, steaming, broiling, and grilling. For this recipe, we're pan-frying it.
Because it's high in fat and fairly mild, it pairs well with salty and acidic flavors and with many different marinades, glazes, and sauces. Think of it as a luxuriously buttery blank canvas.
❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
If you've recently discovered sablefish and are looking for an easy recipe that will allow you to enjoy its velvety texture and buttery delicious flavor, this is the recipe for you!
It's incredibly simple to prepare and can easily be adjusted based on your own preferences.
I hope this sablefish recipe convinces you that you need to make the fish a regular occurrence in your life... at least for special occasions!
🗒 Ingredients
Because this is a simple recipe, you only need a few simple ingredients to make it. Here's everything required (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Sablefish filets
- Salt & pepper
- Olive oil
- Unsalted butter
- Minced garlic
- Lemon juice
- Low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- Chopped parsley: for serving
🥘 How to make sablefish
This sablefish recipe simple requires cooking the fish and making an easy lemon garlic butter sauce. When you have such a naturally delicious fish, it's best to keep it simple!
Start by patting the sablefish filets dry with paper towels and coating with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
You can use other seasonings if you want, but I wanted to keep it very simple.
Now, add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
Once hot, add sablefish filets skin-side down. Cook for 4 minutes and then flip.
Then cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the fish is starting to turn golden and flakes easily with a fork.
If you're using a meat thermometer, you'll want the internal temperature of the fish to be 145°F.
While the fish is cooking, you can make the lemon garlic butter sauce.
Melt the butter in small saucepan over medium heat.
Once melted, add in garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
And stir in the lemon juice and vegetable or chicken broth.
Let the mixture come to a simmer for 3-4 minutes until it thickens slightly.
Mix in additional ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and taste. Add more seasoning if desired.
Serve the fish on a platter or on individual plates and spoon the lemon garlic butter sauce over it.
Top with chopped parsley
It was love at first bite for me!
True to its description, this sablefish was incredibly flaky and buttery and the lemon garlic butter sauce only enhanced the flavors.
I love that the sauce brings out the natural flavors of the fish so well and doesn't mask them at all.
Something tells me sablefish is going to become my new special occasion fish.
🥗 What to serve with
This sablefish recipe pairs so well with lots of different sides! I served it with simple green beans and roasted potatoes here, but here are some other options you could cook with it:
- Caramelized Mushrooms
- Chick-Fil-A Kale Salad
- Blistered Green Beans
- Red Skin Mashed Potatoes
- Lemon Pepper Asparagus
- Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes
- Chopped Kale Salad with Pistachio Dressing
- Garlic Butter Sautéed Zucchini
🎉 Other preparation ideas
- Miso-marinated: One of the most popular Japanese preparation methods for sablefish is miso-marinated. Just marinade the sablefish in a mixture of sake, mirin, white miso paste, and sugar for a couple days and then bake or broil until the fish is caramelized on the outside and flaky inside.
Here's a recipe for Nobu's Miso-Marinated Black Cod for further instructions.
- Herb-crusted: For even more flavor, you can coat the sablefish with a mixture of breadcrumbs, the finely chopped herbs of your choice (like parsley, thyme, or dill), garlic, and lemon zest. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until the crust is golden and the fish is cooked through.
- In parchment: If you've ever baked fish "en papillote," you know how easy and delicious it is! You can use your favorite recipe with sablefish, too. I recommend using thinly sliced vegetables like peppers, onions, tomatoes, and zucchini, herbs, and lemon juice in your parchment paper. The sablefish will steam in its own juices and will result in a moist and flavorful fish.
- Glazed: You can coat the sablefish in the glaze of your choice (I especially recommend soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and sesame oil) and baking it or grilling it.
Here's a recipe for Morimoto's Braised Black Cod with Ginger-Soy Glaze if you want to prepare it like an iron chef does.
Because it's such a versatile fish, the preparation methods are really endless and you can cook sablefish with most of the same recipes you're using for other fish.
I do recommend keeping the ingredients fairly simple as you really want the flavor of the fish to shine!
🐠 More fish recipes
I'm excited to add to my collection of sablefish recipes in the future, but for now, here are some of my other favorite fish recipes!
I try to make seafood a part of my regular diet and eat salmon at least once a week.
While I've always loved salmon, swordfish, haddock, cod, arctic char, etc. I'm always looking for new healthy fishes to cook and enjoy!
What's your favorite?
In the meantime, you'll find me searching for sablefish on sale in my neighborhood and enjoying it every chance I get.
Do you have a favorite sablefish recipe?
📖 Recipe
Sablefish Recipe {with Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce}
Ingredients
- 4 6-8 oz. sablefish filets
- ¾ teaspoon salt, divided
- ¾ teaspoon pepper, divided
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic (from about 2 cloves)
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
- ¼ cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
- Chopped parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Pat sablefish filets dry with paper towels and coat with ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
- Add olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add sablefish filets skin-side down. Cook for 4 minutes and then flip. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the fish is starting to turn golden and flakes easily with a fork. If you're using a meat thermometer, you'll want the internal temperature to be 145°F.
- While fish is cooking, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.
- Once melted, add in garlic and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
- Stir in lemon juice and vegetable or chicken broth. Let mixture come to a simmer for 3-4 minutes until it thickens slightly. Mix in additional ¼ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper and taste. Add more if desired.
- When ready to serve, spoon lemon butter sauce over sablefish filets and top with chopped parsley.
Mandy says
I added some stuff for my entire meal but this was a really good recipe 🤗
Jenn says
Delish!!! Easy and quick recipe. I added white wine for extra flavor and needed a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce. Yum!
Jessica says
This came together quickly and easily from ingredients I already had. The sablefish tasted great, I'll definitely again.