Chilean Sea Bass – Immaculate Bites

What Is Chilean Sea Bass?

Chilean sea bass is a famous dish, and boy, is it expensive. However, the name bass for this delightfully sweet and tender fish can be a little confusing because it’s actually a Patagonian toothfish. And it loves deep, cold water, which is why this harder-to-catch fish is so expensive.

Recipe Ingredients

1. Chilean Sea Bass – Two fillets of 5-6 ounces each are enough for an elegant date night. But you can replace it with a more economical fish if you’d like the same flavor for the rest of the family. Black cod, mahi-mahi, and red snapper all work fine.
2. Seasonings – Creole seasoning adds a spicy kick for an extra special touch.
3. Beurre Blanc – Lemon juice, white wine, aromatics, spices, and, of course, lots of wonderful cream and butter make as decadent a sauce as you can get.

How to Make Chilean Sea Bass

Prep the Bass

• Season – Rinse and pat the sea bass dry with paper towels to soak up any excess moisture. Then season with salt and salt-free Creole seasoning or pepper to taste. 
• Pan-Fry the Fish – Heat oil in a cast-iron or oven-safe skillet. Once hot, add your fish skin-side up. Reduce the heat to medium-high and brown each side for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. 
• Bake – Transfer the cast-iron skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the fish is done. The time varies, depending on the fillet’s thickness, but the internal temperature should be 145℉/63℃. 
• Serve – Remove from the oven and serve with beurre blanc.

Make the Beurre Blanc

• Combine – Mix white wine, lemon juice, heavy cream, minced garlic, and shallots in a small saucepan.
• Simmer – Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Then, when it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let the wine mixture simmer until the liquid reduces to about 3-4 tablespoons (6 minutes or more). 
• Add Butter – Reduce heat to low and whisk in 3-4 pats of butter until it melts completely. Repeat the process with 3-4 more pats of butter until all the butter has been added and melted. The sauce should be thick and smooth (it takes 4-6 minutes).
• Serve – Remove from the heat and place in a serving bowl. If the sauce is too light, let it sit for about 2 minutes. Keep in mind the sauce thickens quickly. Serve immediately over your fish.

Recipe Variations

1. Grill It – Besides frying and baking, grilling Chilean sea bass is even better. The added smoky flavor is genuinely satisfying.
2. Chicken – While this sauce was created for fish, it is just as good over chicken.

Tips and Tricks

1. Beurre blanc can be a bit contrary. Keep it from overcooking and from getting too cold. Of course, if it gets cold, give it a few minutes in a saucepan to melt the butter again.
2. It’s crucial to massively reduce the liquid before adding the butter. If not, your sauce will be light and runny, not creamy and decadent.
3. Internal temperature for sea bass ranges between 135-145℉/58-63℃, depending on how done you like your fish.

Make-Ahead Instructions

Although Chilean sea bass is best served fresh from the oven, making it ahead won’t be an issue. You can pan-fry the fish and refrigerate it for up to three days. Then bake as instructed when ready to serve. 

And since the sauce has heavy cream and wine, I highly recommend making the sauce on the day of serving to enjoy it warm. Reheating the sauce may make it curdle. 

Serving and Storage Instructions

Leftovers – Store the fish and sauce in a separate container so the fish won’t get soggy. 

Refrigerate – The fish can stay fresh for three days in the fridge or two months in the freezer. The sauce will stay good for a week. Gently reheat it, so it doesn’t separate. 

Reheat – Bake at 275℉/135℃ for 15-20 minutes to bring back the fish’s crispiness. Or reheat it in your air fryer at 330℉/165℃ for 5-7 minutes.

FAQs

What to Serve With Chilean Sea Bass

This elegant dish deserves equally fancy side dishes like the amazing recipes below.

1. Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes
2. Parmesan-Crusted Asparagus
3. Seasoned Rice
4. Cornbread Salad
5. Oven-Roasted Corn on the Cob

More Amazing Seafood Recipes to Try

1. Seafood Paella
2. Crawfish Etouffee
3. Seafood Gumbo
4. Crab-Stuffed Salmon
5. Fish Stew
6. Pickled Shrimp

Conclusion

Beurre Blanc elevates the dish into a more sophisticated restaurant-quality meal. What’s your favorite sauce to serve over fish? Let me know in the comments. 😍