Brill Fillet - Frozen
When cooked a brill is sumptuous and luxurious, their exclusively carnivorous diet
gives their flesh a full depth of flavour that is almost meaty. A brill is a high-class
fish.
Despite this, it has, on the odd occasion, been known to be overlooked by
chefs instead favouring the flatfish’s more famous cousin, the turbot. But, in truth,
we’re never quite sure why this is. In taste and texture, a brill and a turbot are almost
indistinguishable. Some suggest a brill is perhaps a little lighter, more like a meaty
Dover sole – but that’s hardly an insult!
In the wild brill and turbot have been known the interbreed. They truly are that
similar. Meanwhile, they are often considered a sustainable choice given that they
are faster growing than many other flatfish species.
All the fish in our frozen section was caught at its best and flash frozen at the quayside. When it arrives at your home you can put it in the freezer to enjoy another day (even if partly defrosted) or put in your fridge and enjoy it within the next 2-3 days as you would with our fresh fish.
When cooked a brill is sumptuous and luxurious, their exclusively carnivorous diet
gives their flesh a full depth of flavour that is almost meaty. A brill is a high-class
fish.
Despite this, it has, on the odd occasion, been known to be overlooked by
chefs instead favouring the flatfish’s more famous cousin, the turbot. But, in truth,
we’re never quite sure why this is. In taste and texture, a brill and a turbot are almost
indistinguishable. Some suggest a brill is perhaps a little lighter, more like a meaty
Dover sole – but that’s hardly an insult!
In the wild brill and turbot have been known the interbreed. They truly are that
similar. Meanwhile, they are often considered a sustainable choice given that they
are faster growing than many other flatfish species.
All the fish in our frozen section was caught at its best and flash frozen at the quayside. When it arrives at your home you can put it in the freezer to enjoy another day (even if partly defrosted) or put in your fridge and enjoy it within the next 2-3 days as you would with our fresh fish.
- Portion Size:
- Min 150g
- Serves:
- Serves 1
- Skin on:
- Yes
- Bones:
- No
- Can I freeze it?
- Yes
- Latin name:
- Scophthalmus rhombus
- Allergen:
- Fish
- May contain:
- Crustacean, Mollusc
Recommended Butters & Sauces for Brill Fillet - Frozen
Cooking techniques
HOW TO OVEN ROAST A WHOLE FISH: Fish likes heat. Preheat your oven to 220˚C/200˚C Fan/425˚F/Gas Mark 7. Rub your fish with olive oil, then salt, and make a few slashes in the flesh, right down to the bone – diagonal slashes look good. Add some rosemary or thyme to the slashes if you have some to hand or stuff the herbs into the cavity of the fish.
Put the fish on a roasting tray and place in the oven. As a guide, (all ovens are different, you know yours better than me) a 450g whole fish will feed 1 person and take around 12-15 mins to cook. A 1 – 1.2kg fish, serving 4, will take around 30 minutes.
To make an instant sauce add the following to the baking tray: chopped fresh tomatoes, a pinch of dried chilli flakes, a good splash of white wine, a few slivers of sliced garlic, and herbs such as thyme, bay, parsley or chives. Serve the cooked fish with lemon wedges.
HOW TO OVEN ROAST A CHOP/CHUNK OF FISH: Fish likes heat. Preheat your oven to 220˚C/200˚C Fan/425˚F/Gas Mark 7. Rub your fish with olive oil, season with salt and place in a roasting dish. Place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and spoon 2tbsp of Rockfish flavoured butter over the fish. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes and then remove. Put your fish on a plate and pour over the warm butter from the roasting dish.
HOW TO: A great way to cook fish is 'en papillote' aka in an oven bag. You can make a bag yourself very easily from a piece of greaseproof or parchment paper. Cut a piece of paper that is about 4 times larger than your fish. Fold it in half. Fold two of the open edges of the paper into the centre a few times leaving one edge open. Then all you have to do is pop your fish into the bag, fold in the final edge and make sure the corners are sealed.
Once you've got the hang of making the bags it is a super easy way to cook fish, especially fillet portions like hake or sea bass. It’s a fool proof method as the fish steams as it bakes and means you can add any flavours and liquids you like (or use a spoonful of one of our butters).
Preheat the oven to 220˚C/200˚C Fan/425˚F/Gas Mark 7 create your oven bag and pop your fish, and any flavourings into it. Place the bag on a roasting tray - a hake or sea bass fillet should be ready in 15 minutes, a t-bone such as brill, turbot or plaice will need 25 minutes.
To serve either let your guests open the bag at the table, or simply cut open the bag and empty the fish and the cooking juices straight onto a plate.
HOW TO: Just like a beef steak, a T-bone is a prime cut taken from the biggest flat fish like brill, turbot and plaice. These fish have developed muscle and fat (and fish fat is really flavoursome as well as being healthy) and both the top and bottom fillet are on one bone. The white skin on a flatfish is soft, gelatinous and packed with flavour. The dark skin on Brill, Turbot and Plaice isn’t to everyone’s taste but we leave it on because a) you might not agree with me and b) it bastes the fish in lovely juices, stops it drying when roasting and is easily removed before serving.
To cook your T-bone preheat your oven to 220˚C/200˚C Fan/425˚F/Gas Mark 7 . Place a piece of parchment for each fish onto a roasting tray. There’s no need to season here as the skin will be removed before serving. Put the fish on the paper and roast for around 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a pair of tongs to gently peel off the dark skin. To make a tasty instant sauce, add the following into the roasting tray before it goes into the oven - a good glug of white wine, sliced garlic, chopped fresh tomatoes and herbs.
HOW TO OVEN ROAST A WHOLE FISH: Fish likes heat. Preheat your oven to 220˚C/200˚C Fan/425˚F/Gas Mark 7. Rub your fish with olive oil, then salt, and make a few slashes in the flesh, right down to the bone – diagonal slashes look good. Add some rosemary or thyme to the slashes if you have some to hand or stuff the herbs into the cavity of the fish.
Put the fish on a roasting tray and place in the oven. As a guide, (all ovens are different, you know yours better than me) a 450g whole fish will feed 1 person and take around 12-15 mins to cook. A 1 – 1.2kg fish, serving 4, will take around 30 minutes.
To make an instant sauce add the following to the baking tray: chopped fresh tomatoes, a pinch of dried chilli flakes, a good splash of white wine, a few slivers of sliced garlic, and herbs such as thyme, bay, parsley or chives. Serve the cooked fish with lemon wedges.
HOW TO OVEN ROAST A CHOP/CHUNK OF FISH: Fish likes heat. Preheat your oven to 220˚C/200˚C Fan/425˚F/Gas Mark 7. Rub your fish with olive oil, season with salt and place in a roasting dish. Place in the preheated oven for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and spoon 2tbsp of Rockfish flavoured butter over the fish. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes and then remove. Put your fish on a plate and pour over the warm butter from the roasting dish.
HOW TO: A great way to cook fish is 'en papillote' aka in an oven bag. You can make a bag yourself very easily from a piece of greaseproof or parchment paper. Cut a piece of paper that is about 4 times larger than your fish. Fold it in half. Fold two of the open edges of the paper into the centre a few times leaving one edge open. Then all you have to do is pop your fish into the bag, fold in the final edge and make sure the corners are sealed.
Once you've got the hang of making the bags it is a super easy way to cook fish, especially fillet portions like hake or sea bass. It’s a fool proof method as the fish steams as it bakes and means you can add any flavours and liquids you like (or use a spoonful of one of our butters).
Preheat the oven to 220˚C/200˚C Fan/425˚F/Gas Mark 7 create your oven bag and pop your fish, and any flavourings into it. Place the bag on a roasting tray - a hake or sea bass fillet should be ready in 15 minutes, a t-bone such as brill, turbot or plaice will need 25 minutes.
To serve either let your guests open the bag at the table, or simply cut open the bag and empty the fish and the cooking juices straight onto a plate.
HOW TO: Just like a beef steak, a T-bone is a prime cut taken from the biggest flat fish like brill, turbot and plaice. These fish have developed muscle and fat (and fish fat is really flavoursome as well as being healthy) and both the top and bottom fillet are on one bone. The white skin on a flatfish is soft, gelatinous and packed with flavour. The dark skin on Brill, Turbot and Plaice isn’t to everyone’s taste but we leave it on because a) you might not agree with me and b) it bastes the fish in lovely juices, stops it drying when roasting and is easily removed before serving.
To cook your T-bone preheat your oven to 220˚C/200˚C Fan/425˚F/Gas Mark 7 . Place a piece of parchment for each fish onto a roasting tray. There’s no need to season here as the skin will be removed before serving. Put the fish on the paper and roast for around 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and use a pair of tongs to gently peel off the dark skin. To make a tasty instant sauce, add the following into the roasting tray before it goes into the oven - a good glug of white wine, sliced garlic, chopped fresh tomatoes and herbs.
Brill Fillet - Frozen recipes
A selection of Mitch's favourite recipes for Brill
