Pan Fried Sea Bream Fillets

Pan-fried Sea Bream fillets are a quick and easy way to enjoy this white meaty fish. Sea Bream has a clean delicate slightly sweet flavour and goes beautifully with mediterranean vegetables. It can be pan fried, baked, grilled, steamed or poached. Pan frying gives a lovely crispness to the skin and helps seal in the flavour, leaving it nice and juicy on the inside. I've served this pan fried sea bream with fresh tomatoes, olives and new potatoes.

plate of sea bream fillets pan fried and served with fresh parsley and lemon wedges.

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Pan frying white fish is a quick and easy way to cook it and you can pair your fish with lots of different flavours. For some serving suggestions, see below. You may also like this simple Pan Fried Plaice or Grilled Haddock Fillets.

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Ingredients
Instructions
Top Tips for Pan Frying Fish
Equipment
Serving Suggestion
Storage
Sustainability
Green Tip
FAQ
More quick and simple fish recipes
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Ingredients

All you need for simply pan frying sea bream is fish, plain flour and butter and/or an oil such as vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil. I've included the potatoes, tomatoes and olives here as a serving suggestion.

Sea Bream - a medium sized fish with a pink and silver skin and white flesh. You can buy it whole or as fillets. It should smell faintly of the sea, but not 'fishy'. Look for fillets weighing 150g -200g / 5-7oz per person with the skin on.
Plain flour - or All Purpose flour for dusting. Use a gluten free flour if you need to.
Butter - salted or unsalted.
Oil - use a few tablespoons of an odourless oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil. Other oils will flavour the fish. You can fry the fish in just butter or oil or a combination of the two.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Before cooking your sea bream, run your finger over the flesh to check for bones.

Place the baby or new potatoes in a pan of lightly salted boiling water and cook the potatoes for 10 - 15 minutes until there is no resistance when pierced with a fork.

Rinse your fillets and pat them dry. Lightly dust both sides in plain flour (all-purpose flour) and season with a little salt and pepper. Shake off any excess flour.

Heat the butter and/or oil in a large frying pan over a medium to high heat and fry the sea bream fillets skin side down for 3 - 4 minutes then carefully turn over and fry for another 2-3 minutes. Sea bream should be opaque and flake easily with a fork when cooked. Remove the cooked fish fillets to a plate.

cherry tomatoes and black olives in frying pan.

Add the tomatoes and olives to the pan and fry in the butter or oil for 2 -3 minutes. Serve with the fish, potatoes, lemon wedges and fresh parsley over the top.

Top Tips for Pan Frying Fish

Pat your fillets dry before dusting them with flour. Removing excess moisture will give a crispier coating. Shake off any excess flour.
Use a heavy bottomed pan for an even heat distribution.
Heat the pan first, then add the butter and /or oil. Add the fish when the butter or oil is hot.
Don't overcrowd the pan as this can result in soggy fillets. Fry in batches if you need to.
When frying the fish, press the fillets down gently in the pan for the first 30 seconds to stop them curling up. Don't move them around the pan or the skin won't crisp as well.
Using a large fish fillet to flip the fish will help ensure it doesn't break.
Fish is cooked when the flesh turns opaque.
You can fry the fish fillets in butter or oil or a combination of the two. Frying in oil will give a more even golden colour as the oil doesn't darken in the way that butter does. Some people prefer the flavour of the butter.

Equipment

You just need one large frying pan. I also recommend a large spatula or preferably fish slice for turning the fillets over in the pan.

sea bream fillets served with Mediterranean vegetables.

Serving Suggestion

Sea Bream has a mild sweet flavour and goes well with a variety of sides.

Sauces - a simple drizzle of butter flavoured with lemon or parsley. Add some capers for a strong contrasting salty flavour. Tartare sauce goes well with most fish.
Vegetables - green vegetable sides such as green beans, asparagus, broad beans, courgette (zucchini), tender stem broccoli, garden peas, watercress, or a green salad.
Potatoes - are the most common carbohydrate to serve with sea bream. Try baby or new potatoes for a sweet flavour. Sauteed, fried or hasselback potatoes also go well.
Beans - try serving with some cannellini beans as an alternative to potatoes.
Herbs - the most common herbs to serve with Sea Bream are fresh parsley or basil.
Sides - for an interesting side dish, try this easy Fruity Moroccan Couscous Salad, Broad Bean (Fava Bean) Salad, or Stuffed Peppers with couscous and Feta cheese or a Mediterranean Ratatouille Sauce.

Storage

Fresh sea bream fillets can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 days or can be frozen for up to three months. When freezing sea bream, you should wrap the fillets up in baking paper and then cover them with a cling film. This is to keep out excess moisture and prevent freezer burn.

Fish is always best cooked fresh but cooked fillets can be kept in the fridge for up to three days.

I don't recommend freezing cooked fillets as the fish is very delicate.

Sustainability

When shopping for fish, look for the Marine Stewardship Council logo. This label tells us that the fish has been sourced responsibly. The Marine Stewardship Council constantly monitors fish stocks to help preserve them for future generations. The Good Fish Guide will give you the latest information on fish stocks.

Green Tip

Look for fish in season. Sustainable alternatives to Bream are Basa, Meagre or Gilthead Bream.

FAQ

How do I stop the fish sticking to the pan?

To stop your fish sticking to the pan when frying, you should use a heavy bottomed pan as the heat distributes more evenly. Heat the pan first then add the oil. Swirl to coat the bottom of the pan then immediately add your fish skin side down. Don't move your fish around the pan until it naturally releases. Pat the fish dry before frying. Soggy fish is more likely to stick and you won't get a nice crisp outside.

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