Name: Pan Fried Barramundi
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 13 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Australian
Ingredients: 2 barramundi fillets, about 300 g, skin on; ½ tsp flaky sea salt; 1 tbsp vegetable oil; 25 g butter; 1 lemon, half juiced and half in wedges; 1 tbsp parsley, chopped

Pan Fried Barramundi

Barramundi fillets seared skin side down for 5 minutes in a hot pan until crisp, then finished with butter and lemon.

13 min total Serves 2 servings Easy

Why This Is Worth Making

Pat the skin dry, then do not touch it. Barramundi is an Australian fish with a firm, mild, slightly sweet flesh and a thick skin that crisps beautifully, and the only way to get that crispness is to start with a dry surface and a hot pan. Moisture on the skin means steam, and steam means flabby skin.

Take the fillets out of the fridge 10 minutes before cooking. Score the skin with two or three shallow cuts, which stops the fillet curling, and season generously with flaky salt. Heat a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat with a tablespoon of oil until it just begins to shimmer. Lay the fillets skin side down, away from you, and press gently with a fish slice for 15 seconds.

Cook it 80 per cent on the skin side. About 5 minutes undisturbed, and you can watch the colour of the flesh change as it turns from translucent to white up the sides. When it has reached about two thirds of the way up, flip the fillets for 1 to 2 minutes only.

Add a knob of butter and a squeeze of lemon to the pan just before the fish comes out, and spoon the foaming butter over. Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon.

What Goes With It

Steamed greens
Chips
Green salad
Lemon wedges

Making Pan Fried Barramundi, Step by Step

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Take the barramundi out of the fridge 10 minutes before cooking. Pat the skin completely dry, score it lightly and season with the salt.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Lay the fillets skin side down and press gently for 15 seconds.
Cook undisturbed for 5 minutes until the skin is crisp and the flesh has turned white two thirds of the way up.
Flip, add the butter and cook for 2 minutes, spooning the butter over.
Squeeze in the lemon juice, scatter with parsley and serve with the lemon wedges.

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A Few Notes

Dry the skin completely.

Do not move the fillets while the skin crisps.

Flip only for the last 2 minutes.

Leftovers

Best eaten fresh. Keeps for 1 day in the fridge.