I bought a filleted side of butterfish at the fish shop in PE/Gqeberha harbour the other day, brought it home and cooked it for supper. It served two handsomely.
Butterfish became popular in South Africa in the 1990s when it featured often on fancy restaurant menus. It is famed for its apparent butteriness, even if this isn’t necessarily anything to do with why it is called butterfish.
Their skin is kind of slimy, or, as some prefer to say, buttery. I’m not sure that slimy is nearly as enticing, so maybe that’s a bit of handy PR. More to the point, there is a pleasing buttery flavour and texture to the flesh of this fish, so I can’t say I’m all that convinced that this flavour and texture aspect isn’t the real reason they’re called butterfish. Common sense plays a part in these things too.
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Here’s another thing I like about butterfish. They have a very nice “flake”, if not as large or firm as that of kingklip. Butterfish are quite small, and their flakes, so to speak, are small too, but they do nevertheless hold themselves together in the pan, making them a great fish for frying.
When I say “frying”, in this instance, I mean pan frying in butter with a hint of cooking oil, not battering and deep frying while submerged in hot oil. Which is not to say you can’t do that.
But the flavour of butterfish deserves better, so I suggest pan frying them as I did, in thyme-infused butter.
Tony’s butterfish fillets pan-fried in thyme butter
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
1 side of fresh butterfish, filleted
3 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 Tbsp picked thyme leaves
Salt and black pepper
Lemon for serving
Salt and pepper
1 lemon
Method
Pat the fish dry and salt it lightly on both sides. Leave it on a plate in the fridge for half an hour.
Slice the fillet into four individual portions, using a sharp knife; serve two of these per portion.
Melt butter with a splash of oil in a pan and add the thyme leaves. On a very low heat, simmer for a minute or two, making sure not to let the butter brown too much. Whip the pan off the heat if it starts to brown.
Fry the fillets on one side for only a couple of minutes, spooning the foaming butter over them, then turn carefully with a spatula and give them about a minute more on the other side.
Slice the lemon in half and squeeze some over the fillets just before they’re done. Cut the other half into wedges for serving.
Try to resist the temptation to overcook them; fish is best just a bit under done at the centre. Turn them over when serving, so that the upper side is facing you.
Serve with a crispy potato side dish and something bright and green, like minted peas or tenderstem broccoli, blanched and finished in hot melted butter with a little seasoning. DM
Tony Jackman is twice winner of the Galliova Food Writer of the year award, in 2021 and 2023
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This dish is photographed on a plate by Mervyn Gers Ceramics.