Pan-fried skate wings are a great, easy way to "up" your fish cooking game, and these come with a delicious prosecco and caper butter sauce.
There is no reason to be intimidated by cooking fresh fish; these ray wings are pretty much foolproof and cook in well under 30 minutes!
Pan Fried Ray Wings.
I adore this recipe. When my wife and I decided to return to the UK a fair old while ago, this was one of the dishes that was on my list to cook first!
When I first pan-fried skate wings, I remember feeling all very "smart and clever"; it was many, many years ago.
I guess I got caught up in the lie that cooking fish was somehow difficult. It really isn't!
I have a host of simple fish dishes that look like they take way more effort than they actually do.
Recipes like pan-fried hake with chorizo, my fancy sea bass curry, baked hake with romesco sauce, a show-stopping pan-fried halibut with clams and my delicious sea bream fillet with a lemon parsley crumb are real stunners that are deceptively simple.
You do, of course, have to be careful not to overcook and get your heat right, and you certainly can't walk away and read a book.
But this delicious piece of fish cooks in around 10 minutes and takes maybe 5 to prepare for the uninitiated. Even less once you have done it once or twice.
The caper butter sauce is a super simple emulsion of reduced prosecco and butter. It takes roughly the same amount of time as the fish to make.
Just before serving, stir through some fresh parsley and some capers for one of my all-time favourite things to eat!
If you like this recipe, you will love my classic French pan-fried sole meuniere and pan-fried brill recipes!
Frequently Asked Questions.
Are skate and ray wings the same?
Yes and no... Skate has been fished to an endangered status; what we buy now as skate is more than likely ray, a member of the shark family.
There are subtle differences, but none that make this dish anything other than stunning.
Do I have to use prosecco?
No, you can use champagne if you like lol!
Any old fizzy white wine is great in this recipe, but you could swap it out for a nice crisp dry white wine, too.
Why do you say to add the butter in three parts?
Whisking the butter in stages makes the sauce much more likely to form an emulsion. If you throw all of the butter in at once, you will likely not get a sauce that has combined.
My sauce has split. Is there anything that I can do?
Yes, stick it in a blender or grab a stick blender and give it a blitz. It will come back together in a heartbeat.
Serving Suggestions.
I served this simple skate wing recipe with some equally simple roasted tenderstem broccoli.
But it would be great with either my garlic green beans or air fryer asparagus.
Of course, potatoes are a good option too, I would personally go for some quick and simple fried potatoes, roasted Parmentier potatoes or straw potatoes.
But something like these crushed new potatoes would be great too. As would duchess potatoes if you wanted to go real retro and delicious!
Equipment Used
I only name-check brands of equipment if I think they make a material difference to a recipe. But if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section below the recipe.
- Hob/stovetop.
- 30cm or 12" frying pan.
- 15cm or 6" saucepan.
- A combination of weighing scales, a measuring jug, measuring cups and spoons.
- Chopping board.
- Kitchen knife or cleaver, I use an old, beaten-up knife to cut the bone.
- Kitchen mallet or rolling pin.
- Whisk.
Pan Fried Skate Wings Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Skate Wings 250-275g Each
- 3 tablespoon Flour
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon White Pepper
- 25 g Butter 1 tablespoon + 2 Tsp
For the Prosecco Sauce:
- 50 g Butter 3 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon
- 1 Small-Medium Echalion or Banana Shallot 35g
- 175 ml Prosecco ¾ Cup
- 50 g Capers ¼ Cup
- 1 Handful Freshly Chopped Parsley
Instructions
- Prepare the skate wings by first trimming the "frilly" side with some kitchen scissors to make an even curved shape.
- Place the wing on a chopping board and feel for the bone on the thick end; it will only be on one of the two sides.Place a knife alongside the bone and cut to around halfway through the piece of fish; you will not be able to go any further. Use an old kitchen knife if you can!Hit the knife with a wooden mallet or old rolling pin to cut through the bone, then set aside.
- Dice the shallot as finely as you can.
- Heat a small saucepan (15cm or 6") over a high heat, and when it is hot, add the prosecco and shallots and reduce by half.
- Whilst the sauce is reducing, mix the flour with the white pepper and salt for the fish on a flat plate.
- Dredge the wings with the flour mix and set aside.
- Heat a wide-based (at least 30cm or 12") frying pan big enough to hold the skate wings over a high heat. When the pan is hot, add the butter for the fish, and when it foams, add the skate wings.Cook for 3-5 minutes per side. The skate is cooked when it separates easily from the "bones" with a sharp knife.
- Just before serving, whisk cold butter in 3 stages into the reduced prosecco.
- Add the parsley and capers to the sauce, taste and add salt as required. Stir and cook for 30 seconds before serving.
Gen
Friday 15th of April 2022
Easy to follow and scrumptious! Substituted with dry white wine.