Fillets of Turbot is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of neatly-trimmed turbot wings fried with butter and lemon juice that's served with a suitable fish sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Fillets of Turbot.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Fillets of Turbot that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé Francatelli's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 197.—FILLETS OF TURBOT.
A small turbot may be purchased for this purpose; and after cutting out the fleshy parts from the four divisions intervening between the fins and the backbone, divide these into square oblong pieces, and place them neatly in a sautapan with two ounces of dissolved butter, pepper, salt, and lemon-juice; set them over the fire; in the latter case, the fillets must be turned over to admit of their being done on both sides. The fillets, after being drained on a napkin, must be dished up similarly to cutlets, and sauced over with either the following sauces: viz.,—maître-d'hôtel, Dutch sauce, ravigotte, Italian, Indian, lobster, shrimp, oyster, muscle, &c.; each kind of sauce affording a variety, as well as being suitable to convenience.
Fillet the wings of the turbot and trim the four fillets into neat oblongs. Melt the butter in a large pan, add the fish and season to taste with salt, black pepper and lemon juice. Fry until cooked through then arrange on a warmed plate and pour over your choice of sauce. Serve immediately.
