Let me present you with perhaps one of the most flavorful dinners for the most minimal amount of prep. This Pan Fried Cod with Meuniere Sauce comes together in just 15 minutes! No gimmicks…it really is super simple. With just a few steps and your dinner is ready. And it will wow your kitchen patrons.
To make this fish crispy on the outside but flaky on the inside, I used a similar technique as in this recipe for a Pan Fried Haddock Mediterranean Style. The difference here is in the type of fish and the sauce.
Pan Fried Cod with Crispy Coating as a Quick Weeknight Meal Idea
I swear, this Pan Fried Cod is one of those dishes that I make all the time. In fact, I don’t know why it took me so long to put on the blog. My apologies, but here it is. Here are a couple of reasons why I love it so much:
- I grew up eating Cod all the time (I’m from Poland and there is a lot of Cod in the Baltic sea, so it was natural to have access to it all year long);
- Cod is a mild, white, flaky fish with no fishy taste;
- It cooks quickly;
- It’s affordable, even with the wild caught ones that are available in almost every fish market or freezer section (I buy mine in Costco);
- This recipe, in particular, comes together very quickly – when your fish is fresh or thawed, it literally takes just 15 minutes;
- I use my special technique to make it crispy (see below). I also use egg and flour, but the ways I do it may surprise you;
- And I smother it with the best-in-the-world, simplest sauce: Meuniere…which is basically a brown butter, lemon juice, salt and pepper (5 minutes from start to finish!);
- I garnish it with fresh parsley and capers because I really love both. But obviously, that’s your choice;
- I also love dunking fresh bread or baguette into the sauce and serve it with my super quick Best Green Salad. Done. Dinner is served!
What Ingredients are Needed to Make this Awesome Pan Fried Cod Recipe and Meuniere Sauce
It’s a very simple recipe and requires only a handful of ingredients:
- Fresh or Frozen (thawed) Cod;
- Light Oil for frying the fish;
- Salt and Pepper;
- All-purpose flour, or Wondra (for a thinner coating);
- Egg, beaten;
- Butter, for Meuniere Sauce;
- Squeezed Fresh Lemon juice, for the sauce as well;
- Capers and Fresh Parsley, for Garnish.
What is Meunier Sauce
Meunier sauce is one of the most famous French sauces and it’s usually served with fish. Its based on brown butter and lemon, sometimes with the addition of capers. Preparation takes just a few minutes, but the flavor is outstanding. You can serve it with any type of seafood you’d like. I often make it for scallops as well.
How to Make Pan Fried Cod and Meunier Sauce
Step 1: Cut your Cod into 2-3inch pieces, season them on both sides with salt and pepper;
Step 2: Coat a plate with flour, and on another plate put two beaten eggs;
Step 3: Heat up cooking oil in a skillet;
Step 4: Once the oil in your skillet is hot, drench cod fillets first in flour (shaking it off to remove excess flour) and then placing them into the egg wash. From there, straight into the pan. Let the filets cook undisturbed for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove and place onto a paper towel;
Step 5: In the meantime, using a light colored skillet, add butter and let it melt on low heat. Once melted, cook it for about 3 minutes until the butter browns and smells nutty (tip: the light colored skillet will let you see when the butter changes color). Immediately remove the butter from the skillet and add it to a small bowl. Let it cool off for a minute and then add fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper.
Step 6: Place the fish on a serving dish or pan and drizzle the sauce over it. Finally, sprinkle with capers and freshly chopped parsley.
Which One is Better Fresh or Frozen Cod
I like fresh fish if I have a really good, trusted, fish market and I can find out where and when the fish came from. No matter what, when you’re buying fresh fish, always ask the attendant to let you smell it first. If it doesn’t smell good, don’t buy it! I personally prefer the taste of fresh fish over frozen, but sometimes frozen can be better for you.
So frozen fish is pre-packaged and you can read on it where and when it was caught. The beauty of it, as I learned from my husband, is that the canneries actually have a flash-freezing process right there on their docks. Meaning, as soon as that fresh fish is caught, it’s then filleted and frozen. Apparently, my husband decided to squander a year before law school doing seasonal jobs and working at a Salmon cannery in Alaska was one of those jobs.
I like the fact that I can get wild caught, sustainable seafood in a freezer section. I often buy a package of Wild Caught fish in Costco and use it either for this recipe or fish taco (‘Tuesday’) nights (we love them so much!).
How to Defrost Cod
To thaw slowly, remove your fish from packaging and place in the fridge overnight.
To thaw quickly, keep the fish in the sealed packaging and run cold water on it for 30 minutes. Then remove from packaging and proceed with the recipe.
What to serve this Fish Dinner with
As mentioned above, fresh bread and a simple green salad are my go-to’s for this Pan Fried Cod with Meuniere Sauce, but here are a couple of other suggestions:
- French Salad with Brie & Pears with French Salad Dressing;
- Parsley Potatoes;
- Spinach Rice;
- Potato Pancakes.
This Pan Fried Cod with Meuniere Sauce comes together in just 15 minutes! No gimmicks...it really is super simple. With just a few steps and your dinner is ready. And it will wow your kitchen patrons.
Ingredients
- 1 lbs Cod fish
- 2 tbs Cooking Oil for frying fish
- 4 tbsp Flour
- 2 Eggs beaten
- Salt & Pepper
- Capers to garnish
- Fresh Parsley to garnish
Meuniere Sauce
- 4 tbsp Butter unsalted
- 1 tbsp Lemon juice freshly squeezed
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut your Cod into 2-3inch pieces, season them on both sides with salt and pepper;
- Coat a plate with flour, and on another plate put two beaten eggs;
- Heat up cooking oil in a skillet;
- Once the oil in your skillet is hot, drench cod fillets first in flour (shaking it off to remove excess flour) and then placing them into the egg wash. From there, straight into the pan. Let the filets cook undisturbed for about 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove and place onto a paper towel;
- In the meantime, using a light colored skillet, add butter and let it melt on low heat. Once melted, cook it for about 3 minutes until the butter browns and smells nutty (tip: the light colored skillet will let you see when the butter changes color). Immediately remove the butter from the skillet and add it to a small bowl. Let it cool off for a minute and then add fresh lemon juice and salt and pepper.
- Place the fish on a serving dish or pan and drizzle the sauce over it. Finally, sprinkle with capers and freshly chopped parsley.
Nutrition
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Edyta
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I did not know my favorite sauce had a name! I basically use this sauce on everything!!! YUM!
Yes, it has a name Jennifer and it is super yummmy 🙂
This looks so so good! I make a very similar recipe for my family but usually I use sea bass. I didn’t know it was called a meuniere sause so I’m pleased to have found out something new.
Funny, you’re the second person who said this. The sauce has a name. It is so good 🙂
This looks amazing! Love the meuniere sauce!
Thanks Julia!
What a fabulous recipe idea! My whole family will love this one!
Thank you Kim!
That’s interesting … you dredge it in flour and THEN the egg. I have always done it the other way around. Does that make it extra crispy?
Definitely going to try this! My husband has been asking me to prepare more fish recipes but I run out of ideas very quickly. I do love cod because it doesn’t have an overly fishy flavor.
I know! That’s the trick to this awesome coating 🙂 Let me know how you liked it!
Delicious! So much easier doing the flour first and then the egg. Thanks! We love it.
Awesome. I’m glad to hear that!