Skillet Cod with Brown Butter, Crispy Sage and Shallots

When we think of fall dishes, we aren’t usually thinking about seafood…especially delicate, light flaky fishes like cod. Good old reliable, flaky, fragile, standard white fish cod. Over the years, I have come to love cod more and more. You will never catch me ordering it at restaurants (I usually go for something more exotic if I’m paying a premium to dine out) but when it comes to cooking at home, I think cod is one of the most versatile proteins around. I think of it as the “chicken of fish”… it’s neutrally flavored and makes for a great canvas for other flavors. You can go with a classic baked cod with lemon and olive oil; poached cod in a hearty tomato stew; or you can do something different like this pan-seared brown butter cod with crispy sage and shallots.

I chose cod for this dish because it’s affordable, even when it’s fresh. If you want to take it up a notch, halibut would also go beautifully here. Something I do want to note is that cod is very, very delicate, especially when prepared in a pan. It will only take a few minutes to sear the cod to temperature (140 degrees F,) and when it’s done cooking, it will start to flake apart. To make sure you’re flipping and handling it carefully, I highly recommend using a fish spatula for the pan-sear. I’m linking some below if you want to purchase (they’re great for other proteins, pancakes, even veggies as well and I use mine all the time!) I personally use the OXO brand (the first one that’s linked.) If you don’t have a thin spatula like a fish spat, then feel free to bake the cod and then prepare the sauce separately to make sure the fish doesn’t break and flake excessively before its served.

I also want you to know that I styled these photos by putting the cod back into the skillet with sage and shallots. This isn’t the most beautiful dish, so I had to get creative to showcase the different flavors and textures for a blog photo. I don’t want to be misleading, so I want to let you know now that yours will look a little different, and instead of being topped with sage and shallots in the skillet, it will happen on a plate. Here’s how it works: we cook the cod then remove it from the skillet. Then, we make our brown butter sauce. There are two important steps here because it all happens so fast. First, make sure you give your pan a minute to cool down after searing the cod. If you put the butter in right after the cod is done, it will brown instantly and then burn one second later. To prevent this, turn off the heat entirely and let it sit for a second as you gather your ingredients for the sauce. Second, once the butter is melted, add the shallots and sage. Let them cook with the butter at a lower and slower pace. If you turn your heat up too fast, the shallots and sage will end up burnt, as will your butter. You’d rather take your time with this!

Side dish pairings:

My personal favorite side to serve with this fish is a classic arugula salad with a simple balsamic vinaigrette. The balsamic brings a rich depth of flavor to the spicy arugula, which feels crisp and clean. The comforting, toasty, yet light and delicate fish goes beautifully with this or any simple side salad. It also would go nicely with simple roasted Brussels sprouts (just tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper) or green beans.