Turns out, Sous Vide Black Cod Fillets is an easy method to make some delicious fish!
True confession: cooking seafood always stressed me out in the past. Maybe it’s ‘cause proteins from the sea are extremely perishable and seem to overcook in an instant. Plus, have you seen the price of high quality seafood lately?! Marone!
For many moons, my tame kitchen adventures involving fruits de mer only revolved around salmon and shrimp…but not anymore!
Armed with a SousVide Supreme and the conviction that I gotta get more healthy omega-3’s in my belly, I jumped in the deep end and joined a seafood CSA. I’m excited and a tad nervous that we’re getting a weekly delivery from Siren SeaSA – a sustainably-harvested local seafood CSA in the San Francisco Bay Area – but I’m ready for a challenge!
For my first delivery, I received two be-YOO-tiful black cod fillets.
Wanna see how I sous vided them?
Follow the jump for the recipe!
Time to make Sous Vide Black Cod Fillets!
Serves 3
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of black cod fillets, skin-on and scaled
- 3 tablespoons of ghee or grass fed butter
- 3 sprigs of thyme
- 2 tablespoons of table salt (double the amount if using Kosher salt)
- 1 cup of water
- Kosher salt
- Fleur de sel
- Lemon wedges
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
I preheated the oven to 300 F, filled and heated my SousVide Supreme to 125 F, and sharpened my kitchen knife.
I combined the table salt and water in a measuring cup to make a 10% brine.
Then, I divided the big fillet into two portions (3 fillets total), carefully removed the skins from each piece…
…seasoned the skins on both sides with kosher salt…
…and placed the skins on a parchment-lined baking sheet. I placed the skins in the preheated oven and set the timer for 35 minutes.
I grabbed a pair of clean tweezers and removed the pin bones from the fillets.
What a pain in the butt!
Then, I put the boneless and skinless fillets in a Ziploc bag, poured in the brine, and let them sit on a bowl of ice in the fridge for 10 minutes.
You don’t have to brine the fillets but it helps with the flavor AND you won’t get the unsightly white albumin all over the finished product.
After the brining was finished, I removed the fillets…
…rinsed them in the sink…
..and dried them with paper towels.
I vacuum sealed each fillet with a pat of butter (or ghee) and a sprig of thyme…
…and dunked them in the water oven for 20 minutes.
While the fish was bathing in the Jacuzzi, the skins were finished crisping in the oven. I removed them to a wire rack to cool (and not get soggy).
When the fish was finished cooking, I removed the fillets and plated them on warm platters with some of the reserved cooking liquid/melted butter.
I topped the fish with a sprinkle of freshly ground pepper, Fleur de sel, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice before diving in.
The crispy skin coupled with the moist, buttery flesh was really yummy!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Sous Vide Black Cod Fillets
Ingredients
- 1 pound black cod fillets skin-on and scaled
- 3 tablespoon ghee or fat of choice
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 4 tablespoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup water
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Fleur de sel
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 F and heat the SousVide Supreme to 125 F.
- Combine the 2 tablespoons of table salt or 4 tablespoons of Diamond crystal kosher salt with 1 cup of water in a measuring cup to make a 10% brine.
- Divide the large black cod fillets into two portions for 3 fillets total.
- Carefully remove the skins from each piece and season the skins with salt on both sides.
- Place the skins on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Throw them into the oven for 35 minutes.
- While the skins are cooking, grab a pair of clean tweezers and remove the pine bones from the fillets.
- Put the fillets in a bag and pour in the brine. Let them sit in a bowl of ice in the fridge for 10 minutes. (You don’t have to brine the fillets but it helps with the flavor AND you won’t get the unsightly white albumin all over the finished product.)
- After brining, remove the fillets from the bag, rinse them in the sink, and dry them with paper towels.
- Vacuum seal each fillet with a pat of ghee or butter and a sprig of thyme.
- Dunk the sealed fillets in the water oven for 20 minutes.
- The skins should be finishing up in the oven. When they are done, remove them from the pan to a wire rack to cool.
- When the fillets are finished cooking, put them on a platter and top with the reserved cooking liquid/melted butter.
- Top the fillets with pepper, fleur de sel, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
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