Pulling out another one of those recipes from the days of being a private chef - Miso Marinated Black Cod! This one will legit win awards.
My first clients as a private chef were big time Nobu fans! They'd go on the regular and everyone would always order the Miso Marinated Black Cod and rave about it. Obviously being one to constantly step up my game, decided to take it upon myself and figure out how to make it at home so I could serve it at work! Here's the deal - it's SUPER easy. Like so easy it's insane. All you need are a few ingredients, which I tend to grab from my local Asian market but Whole Foods would have them too. Then just marinate the fish and broil it to perfection. Serve it up over some steamed white rice and charred green veggies and dinner is done.
Also just FYI - the way this fish is cooked lends itself to cooking for a crowd. So don't be hesitant to serve this next time you have company! People will freak out it's so good. White fish is generally a good candidate for that, and I recommend checking out pan fried sole as well.
Miso Marinated Black Cod
Ingredients
- ¼ cup sake
- ¼ cup mirin
- 4 tablespoons white miso paste
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 4 black cod fillets about ⅓ pound each
- vegetable oil for cooking
Instructions
- Bring the sake and mirin to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Boil for 20 seconds to evaporate the alcohol. Turn the heat down to low, add the miso paste, and whisk. When the miso has dissolved completely, turn the heat up to high again and add the sugar, whisking constantly to ensure that the sugar doesn't burn on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat once the sugar is fully dissolved. Cool to room temperature.
- Pat the black cod fillets thoroughly dry with paper towels. Slather the fish with the miso marinade and place in a non-reactive dish or bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Heat an oven-proof skillet over high heat on the stovetop. Lightly wipe off any excess miso clinging to the fillets, but don't rinse it off. Add a little oil to the pan, then place the fish skin-side-up on the pan and cook until the bottom of the fish browns and blackens in spots, about 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until the other side is browned, 2 to 3 minutes more. Transfer to the oven and bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until fish is opaque and flakes easily.
- Serve over a bed of white rice and charred broccolini
Can you use the miso marinade on other fish?
sure can!
love this recipe. I used fresh caught pacific cod as it's hard to find black cod. I marinated it for 1.5 days. I bake the fish 12 or so mins then turn on broiler for a couple of minutes at the end to brown the top vs frying and then baking. Mainly because I had very large pieces of fish filets for a party and wanted to keep it simple while I was doing other tasks. I topped with freshly snipped chives.
Trying this tonight.
Can I make double and freeze half?
to be honest, I've never tried freezing fish in the marinade!
Black cod is sometimes sold as Butterfish or Sablefish.
what else can I use besides black cod!
Thanks!
SALMON!
What did you do about the pin bones in the fish???? Thank you!!
Always remove them! Sometimes they come removed (frequently with cod) but if not, tweeze them out!
INCREDIBLE RECIPE!!! This is our new go-to recipe for special occasions we celebrate at home.
I have made this several times now, both with black cod (labeled "sablefish" at my Whole Foods in Chicago) and salmon. It is incredible and a big crowd pleaser! Great for entertaining. I wish the recipe went into more detail about deboning black cod; I would love Gaby's tips and tricks from her chef days on how to do this, especially when entertaining. I found it impossible to debone the black cod prior to cooking; while it is easy to debone with fish tweezers *after* cooking, it can take time and you don' want the fish to get cold. It is too wasteful to just cut around the spine and you end up with small pieces. Help, Gaby! 🙂
Hello —I would like to make this this week. Any suggestions for a non-alcoholic substitution for the sake?
Thanks—love all your recipes!
Paula
Yum!! For anyone curious, Black Cod is also known as Sablefish and Butterfish. Swapping for regular cod might not work well with this recipe because it is much leaner that Black Cod and might not fare well with the high heat cooking, but I bet Salmon would also be great with this recipe!
At this moment, I am marinating the black cod in the miso marinade. I used only 1/2 of the miso.... I spooned what I needed in a separate bowl so the remainder is “clean”. How can I use the remainder marinade... in salad dressing? Veggies? Would love your ideas. Thanks!
VEGGIES!!! slather it all over them once cooked!
If you don't want to cook the fish on the stove first, what would you suggest for an adjustment in baking time?
haven't tested it that way! I would just keep your eyes on it!
I had this in a restaurant once and still dream of it. I’d love to make it at home! Question- I’m on the east coast and don’t have black cod readily available in our fish market. Can I sub regular cod?
YES absolutely!
I’m also on the east coast. Look also for sable fish - same thing as I’m told at my local Whole Foods anyway. I have made this recipe and it’s incredibly delicious. Thx Gaby!
The fastest, easiest, tastiest miso marinade ever. Ever. Good lord is this good.
Any substitution for the sugar?
you could omit! still good!