Sous Vide Chilean Sea Bass has been one of my most popular recipes. Cooked to perfection every time, then pan-seared and presented on an island of garlic mashed potatoes and a bed of easily prepared sautéed spinach, surrounded by homemade roasted red pepper sauce. While I can't claim the idea as my own, I also can't call it a copycat.
In the early 2000s, a restaurant called Biaggi's served a very similar dish in contents with identical plating. I don't know how they made theirs, nor have I had it in over a decade.
However, this dish is an absolute treat.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Start with smooth yet chunky garlic mashed potatoes cheesed up with Neufchâtel. Pair that bite with a creamy and slightly vinegary Homemade Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, and you'll immediately experience something exceptional. Next, I swear you could approach this sea bass steak with your fork, and it would fall apart. Lastly, the silky sautéed spinach nestled between the island of potatoes and buttery sea bass adds a subtle fourth dimension that pulls the whole dish together.
Ingredients
All you'll need are Chilean Sea Bass Steaks, Kosher Salt, Ground Black Pepper, and Salted Butter.
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
I like to Sous Vide my Chilean Sea Bass at 132°f. This makes the fish perfectly flaky but not too much before the sear, which will inevitably cook some of the fat out.
You'll want to cook them for 30 minutes per inch during the Sous Vide process. In this recipe for Chilean Sea Bass, I used two steaks that were 2 inches, so they were in the sous vide bath for 1 hour.
Once the Chilean Sea Bass has come out of the Sous Vide, place the butter in the smoking hot cast iron skillet until it's bubbling. Pan-sear the fish for 2 minutes on each side. You'll see the outer edges coming to a golden brown.
So, now you know how to sous vide and pan-sear Chilean Sea Bass.
Expert Tips
- Pair this meal with an Italian Pinot Grigio for an extra romantic meal.
- If you'd like to serve it as pictured, plate the garlicky mashed potatoes, then the homemade sautéd spinach. If any spinach falls outside the potatoes, you can easily put it back on top. I used small tongs for plating the spinach. Next, pour the roasted red pepper sauce around the potatoes using a large spoon or gravy boat. Lastly, carefully place the fish on the island of spinach and potatoes, ensuring it doesn't flake apart.
- Another wonderful appetizer option is to cut this Rustic Rosemary Bread into cubes and serve it with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- When removing the sea bass from the sous vide bags, be gentle; they're flaky, and you need them to hold together for the pan-sear.
Recipe FAQs
Chilean Sea Bass is either Antarctic Toothfish or Patagonian Toothfish. So, not Bass at all, actually. The most important takeaway is that you know that you're buying fresh fish.
Some Chilean Sea Bass are caught by many lines attached to a boat off Chile's coast and immediately shipped on ice, fresh to the USA.
Others are caught in Antarctica, frozen on the vessel, then shipped months later for resale. While the US is the largest consumer of the legal Chilean Sea Bass fishing trade, the numbers are dwindling, and it's said that these fish may be commercially extinct within the next five years.
So choose wisely, and don't just go around eating a crap ton of them like they're McFilets!
Sous vide Chilean Sea Bass steaks at 132°f for 30 minutes per inch of meat. Once remove them from the sous vide bath, pan sear to your desired crispiness.
Yes. Cooking Chilean Sea Bass Sous Vide will give you the exact same results every time.
Cooking Chilean Sea Bass will normally take no longer than two hours and ten minutes.
It only takes about 4 minutes to pan-sear Chilean Sea Bass steaks that have already been cooked sous vide.
More Recipes You'll Love
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📖 Recipe
How to Cook Chilean Sea Bass
Ingredients
Chilean Seabass
- 1 lb Chilean Seabass Filets
- 4 tablespoon Unsalted Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Set your Sous Vide Circulator to 132°f for 1 hour.
- Using a filet knife, remove the skin from the filets.
- Sprinkle each side with a pinch of Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper.
- Place each filet in its own separate plastic freezer bag with two tablespoons of butter.
- Place the bags in the sous vide bath and, using the displacement method, pushes the air out and seal the bags. Allow them to cook for the entire hour.
- In the last 10-15 minutes of the Sous Vide cook, preheat a cast iron skillet over high heat to the point of smoking.
- Carefully remove the filets from their bags, ensuring they don't fall apart. They will be very flaky!
- Place two tablespoons of butter in the cast iron immediately, followed by one Seabass Filet. Sear for two minutes on each side, then repeat with the next filet.
- Follow the below.
Plating
- Add a scoop of mashed potatoes.
- Top the potatoes with half of the spinach if making two plates.
- Pour the Red Pepper Sauce around the potatoes just until it's filled the bottom of the serving dish.
- Carefully place the Seabass on top of the potato island.
- Serve and Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Pair this meal with an Italian Pinot Grigio for an extra romantic meal.
- If you'd like to serve it as pictured, plate the garlicky mashed potatoes, then the homemade sautéd spinach. If any spinach falls outside the potatoes, you can easily put it back on top. I used small tongs for plating the spinach. Next, pour the roasted red pepper sauce around the potatoes using a large spoon or gravy boat. Lastly, carefully place the fish on the island of spinach and potatoes, ensuring it doesn't flake apart.
- Another wonderful appetizer option is to cut this Rustic Rosemary Bread into cubes and serve it with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- When removing the sea bass from the sous vide bags, be gentle; they're flaky, and you need them to hold together for the pan-sear.
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