• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Reluctant Gourmet

  • Planning
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • Techniques
  • Tools
  • Shop
  • Tips
  • Careers
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Planning
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • Techniques
  • Tools
  • Shop
  • Tips
  • Schools
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Pan Roasted Sea Bass Recipe

    July 23, 2012 by G. Stephen Jones 57 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Pan Roasted Sea Bass Recipe

    Pan Roasting Is Where It's At

    Professional chefs use this cooking technique all the time but how many of you have heard of it or pan roast at home?

    Before you start this recipe, I recommend you read my article on pan roasting to pick up some tips on how to pan roast properly. It provides you with some great tips and suggestions to help understand how pan roasting works and why it is a popular cooking method with professional chefs.

    This post also talks about the importance of being careful whenever you heat up oils and other fats or add fats to a preheated pan. You can see how I determine pan temperature before adding a fat in my post How Much Heat To Use When Sauteing.

    Chilean Sea Bass

    Currently there is a lot of controversy about Chilean Sea Bass, also called the Patagonian tooth fish and you can read more about this controversy below. This recipe calls for sea bass and there are many varieties of sea bass including black sea bass, giant sea bass, Japanese sea bass, European sea bass and I'm sure there are more.

    I suppose if you want to confuse the issue even more, we could talk about striped bass but that's another species and a topic for another time.

    Ignoring the controversy, I am a big fan of Chilean sea bass but because of the very high cost, I don't buy it very often. I am amazed at how such an ugly fish can taste so good. Instead I often opt for black sea bass or stripe bass, both coming out of the Atlantic ocean.

    Print Recipe

    Pan Roasted Sea Bass Recipe

    How to Perfectly Pan Roast Sea Bass
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time45 mins
    Total Time1 hr 15 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 2 servings

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 1 tablespoon butter
    • 1 large onion
    • ¼ cup Marsala wine
    • 8 oz mushrooms fresh
    • ½ cup chicken stock
    • salt and Pepper to taste
    • 2 tablespoons canola oil
    • 2 fillets sea bass approximately 1 lb.
    • 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    • If you can, I highly recommend getting all the ingredients prepped before you start - Mise en Place. This way you're not scrambling around chopping something while the rest of the meal is overcooking.
    • Start out by finely chopping the onion and slicing the mushrooms. Besides having all the other ingredients available, chop up the parsley.
    • Preheat your oven to 450°F. I made the mistake of waiting until I needed the oven and it took a lot longer than expected to reach the right temperature.
    • Heat the olive oil in your pan over medium high heat and sauté the chopped onion until it's translucent.
    • Deglaze the pan with Marsala wine.
      Be careful to remove the pan from the stove when doing this to prevent the wine from igniting in your face.
      You can use white wine if you don't have any Marsala wine. It will give the dish a slightly different taste, but you may like it better.
      When most of the wine is cooked off, add the mushrooms and butter. This recipe would have a lot more flavor if you were to use wild mushrooms, but at the time, all I had were plain old boring white mushrooms and it still came out great with lots of flavor.
    • Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the mushrooms are tender.
      How do you know when they are tender?
      Taste one! That's part of the enjoyment of cooking, you get to taste as you go along. It's also a great way to learn what works and what doesn't. If you just follow a recipe without ever tasting, you'll never learn the effects ingredients have on a dish.
      This is especially true with salt. I've made soups that tasted OK but after adding a little salt, it had a wonderful new flavor. So make sure you taste as you go along.
    • At this point add the chicken stock, a little salt and pepper, and let the sauce cook down until it thickens a little.
      Rule of thumb: when the sauce can coat a spoon, it is the correct thickness. This is something you need to play around with until you learn to get it to the thickness you like.
    • In an oven proof sauté (fry) pan, heat the canola oil until hot, but not so hot that it's about to smoke.
      Be careful every time you cook with hot oil or any fat you heat up. Be prepared for flame ups by having a pan cover handy and always have an chemical fire extinguisher in your kitchen to put out fires if necessary.
    • Season the fillets with salt and pepper and add to the hot pan.
      Now here is where I had a small problem. My fillets didn't have skin on them so I had to adjust my cooking times to compensate.
      Otherwise, I would have started cooking them skin side down for approximately 5 minutes until the skin was nice and crispy. Then I would have flipped them over for 30 seconds, transferred them into a 450°F oven and roasted them for about 3-4 minutes.
    • But since my fillets were skinless, cook them on one side for about 5 to 6 minutes and flip them over for another 2 minutes before transferring to the oven for 3 to 4 minutes.
    • On warm plates ( you can heat them in the microwave for about 2 minutes), dish out the onion-mushroom mixture and top with the pan roasted fillets. Sprinkle a little of the chopped parsley and serve.

    Notes

    My results? Plump, moist, and tender, but you may want to experiment with these times because there are so many variables that can go into any recipe.
    Type of pan, thickness of fish, stove's btu's, oven temperature, pan temperature, type of oil. All of these factors go into cooking times and cannot be accounted for in a recipe. Using your senses and experience are vital for any recipe to work.
    I served this meal with wild rice, green beans, and a wonderful Italian Orvieto white wine. The sea bass combined with the onion-mushroom mixture worked out better than I expected. And my wife loved it.

    « Classic Pot Roast Recipe
    Winter Polish Sausage and Bean Stew »

    I'm a work-at-home dad who enjoys cooking, learning everything I can about the culinary world and sharing it with you. To learn more about me... Read More…

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. gloria

      November 13, 2012 at 10:59 pm

      My husband and I made this for dinner this p.m...fantastico!! We will be saving this in our favorite recipes' file.The pan roasting article was very informative. Thank you.

      Reply
    2. Kazuo

      November 25, 2012 at 4:17 am

      Excellent recipe and perfectly detailed instructions. The fish turned out beautiful.

      Definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you!

      What are your thoughts on some acid for the fish?

      Reply
    3. Bobbo

      November 29, 2012 at 4:53 am

      Pretty good and I liked the pan roasting but the skin immediate seared to the pan and that was the end of it. Tips?

      Reply
      • The Reluctant Gourmet

        May 27, 2014 at 11:18 am

        Hey Bobbo, big problem with many home cooks. Check out my post on Preventing fish from sticking at http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/how-to-prevent-fish-from-sticking-to-the-pan/

        Reply
    4. Janette

      January 15, 2013 at 1:50 am

      It was delicious definitely a keeper. I wouldn't change anything in the recipe. I did use white wine, skin on sea bass and it was so tender.

      Reply
    5. Tulip

      March 29, 2013 at 12:05 am

      I had shiitakes, so used them,, plus young Vidalia onions, so I used them. Wonderful fish and veggies.

      Reply
    6. Sharon

      June 14, 2013 at 1:47 pm

      I tried the recipe yesterday. I followed the recipe exactly. I was a little unclear on adding the mushrooms to the sauteed onions, but I did anyway. The result was EXCELLENT! The meal was restaurant quality Sea Bass! My husband was impressed.

      With the exception of the snaffu, the directions were clear, easily understandable and easy to follow. Thank you Reluctant Gourmet, you have a new follower for life!

      Thanks Sharon

      Reply
    7. tawni

      June 29, 2013 at 1:19 am

      Just made this minus the mushrooms and added a bit more chicken broth... AMAZING!!! Cooked it with out Skin and followed the directions..

      love love love!!

      Reply
    8. karen

      July 03, 2013 at 11:52 pm

      Made this tonight for our first time having sea bass. The fish was cooked to perfection and a nice touch with the mushrooms which I would not pair with fish normally. I chose to pair with a moscato, asparagus and fried green tomatoes.

      Reply
    9. Caela

      July 07, 2013 at 1:59 am

      Well, I must say, this was pure restaurant quality! We love sea bass but I have never cooked at home and just a little apprehensive due to its high price. But the step by step instructions convinced me o try. Very delicious! Plated ld rice pilaf bed, opped with the mushroom reduction, topped with the fish, fresh asparagus and Santa Margharita Pinot Grigio. Perfection! Thank for the recipe. Will do again.

      Reply
    10. Margaret

      August 22, 2013 at 2:04 am

      Our fisherman neighbor gave us some sea bass filets, a fish which we'd never had before. Went online and found this recipe. DElicious! Had it with a rice medley, asparagus and cauliflower . . . and a Chilean sauvignon blanc. This recipe is a little labor-intensive before serving, but well worth it. I'll be using this recipe far into the future! Enjoy. . . .

      Reply
    11. Tom Keller

      September 19, 2013 at 1:45 am

      Just finished dinner and it was phenomenal!

      Reply
    12. Joseph Shopes

      December 21, 2013 at 1:40 am

      Thanks for info I'm a chef in Sonoma co and didthis for spec ...turned out great

      Reply
      • The Reluctant Gourmet

        December 21, 2013 at 3:00 am

        You are very welcome Chef Shopes

        Reply
    13. Laura Buckley

      December 30, 2013 at 1:48 am

      Tried this tonight. I was a little nervous, but our local market had Chilean Sea Bass on sale for $20.00/lb. Turned out amazing! Thank you for the thorough step by step directions.

      Reply
      • The Reluctant Gourmet

        December 30, 2013 at 8:57 pm

        You are very welcome Laura. Thanks for letting me know and Happy New Year.

        Reply
    14. Angela A

      February 15, 2014 at 10:17 am

      I have made this about 4 times, last night (V day) I made this and double it, had some guest over. It is always my go to every time we have special occasions and fork out big money on sea bass, every time I make it, it taste better. Thanks for the step by step....it comes out perfectly every time....thank you thank you!!

      Reply
    15. Angela A

      February 15, 2014 at 10:23 am

      last night we had 4 big cuts skin on, I used a ceramic cast iron skillet and waited until the oil was really hot (on the stove), seared the skin to a crisp (just like the directions said) flipped it over and finished it off in the oven at 450 cooks up perfect every single time!! so good

      Reply
    16. Jan

      March 11, 2014 at 6:18 pm

      Looking up a good recipe for the expensive treat of the sea bass I bought today at Fresh Market. Somehow the Marsala wine doesn't sound right...will either try white or perhaps my new favorite deglazing/flavor enhancer...dry sake. Any comments on how you think it will do?

      Reply
    17. Cathy

      March 17, 2014 at 8:01 pm

      I have always hated fish but decided to try eating more (ok any) to help me lose weight and get healthier. For no specific reason I chose to buy one chilean sea bass filet from Fresh Market. Then I looked for a recipe on the internet and landed here. I was nervous as I had spent a small fortune, had no experience cooking fish and had a mental block about fish that made me think that at best I would tolerate the meal. I followed the very clear instructions as exactly as possible considering I only had one piece of fish and using the white wine since I don't like marsala. OMG the whole dish was absolutely fabulous. If it was affordable I would eat it every single day. Thank you for making one person convert to eating fish and actually enjoying it instead of merely tolerating.

      Reply
    18. cheryl

      March 28, 2014 at 11:48 pm

      Lovely!
      Grateful that you included the additional info with the skin on the fish. Cooked to perfection, crispy skin, melt in your mouth fish. I used coconut oil for the frying, and a blend of maitake, shiitake and crimini mushrooms for the sauce, replacing the marsala with my "paleo wine" substitution.

      Reply
    19. Amy

      April 01, 2014 at 7:27 am

      I've made this several times now and each time it has been a smashing success! There is no better sea bass recipe out there!

      Reply
    20. Bruce

      April 11, 2014 at 4:59 pm

      Have you ever thought about adding a sliver or two of lemon grass to the mix?? Thoughts?

      Reply
    21. Janet

      April 24, 2014 at 7:07 pm

      This was excellent I highly recommend very easy and delicious. will definitely keep as a favorite recipe

      Reply
    22. Cyd

      April 27, 2014 at 1:04 pm

      I just made this and it was very tasty!
      I will definitely make it again

      Reply
    23. J

      May 21, 2014 at 6:09 pm

      How thick is your fillet? What weight? These basic facts make an enormous difference, whether your cooking time works or not!

      Reply
      • The Reluctant Gourmet

        May 27, 2014 at 11:17 am

        J, did you read steps 7 & 8 in the recipe?

        Reply
    24. Melvin

      May 28, 2014 at 8:11 pm

      I just tried this recipe for my wife and her mom and we ate every bite of it. This was absolutely delicious. We used red onions and white wine instead of Marsala, but otherwise, we followed the recipe. Definitely worth the effort!

      Reply
    25. Pam

      June 08, 2014 at 5:39 pm

      Made this recipe tonight with Striped Bass that my boyfriend caught yesterday.
      It was delicious!!!!!!! I added fresh spinach to mushrooms and onions.
      This recipe had such good flavor, the paring of the mushrooms and onions with the marsala was awesome with the fish
      Will make again....

      Reply
    26. Val

      June 18, 2014 at 5:00 pm

      Oh my gosh just made this. Put the sauce on the side because the fish on its own is incredible. Then added ... Wow. My husbands all time favorite.

      Reply
    27. Randi

      August 02, 2014 at 10:02 am

      I have never cooked Chilean sea bass. I always order out. I found it on sale today and decided to give it a try. This sounds amazing and I can't wait to try it tonight

      Reply
    28. Becky Bollin

      August 10, 2014 at 7:19 pm

      This receipe was simply amazing! I added a little more Marsala for added flavor with the chicken stock. Spread some chive mashed potatoes on plate f and topped with fish and mushroom sauce. OMG , it was like a party in my mouth.
      Thanks for making the instructions soooo detailed!!!!

      Reply
    29. Shelly

      November 05, 2014 at 6:24 pm

      Made this tonight with shiitakes, onions, and Malbec. Amazing dish. It was perfect! The fish was creamy and perfectly cooked. Wouldn't change a thing! Thank you for sharing!

      Reply
    30. Nick

      March 18, 2015 at 7:52 pm

      Just prepared this dish with a side of shrimp risotto. Best fish dish we've ever cooked at home. Used portobello mushrooms which added a great flavor to the dish. Can't wait to make for friends and family.

      Reply
    31. Elaine

      December 21, 2015 at 3:11 am

      Thank you for the great instructions and information on cooking Chilean Sea Bass! I've never cooked Chilean Sea Bass before but picked up a piece at the Whole Foods near work and definitely prefer this delicate flavor and cooking method over any other...we'll be making this again. The mushrooms I used were a blend of dehydrated ones that we got at Costco (I did rehydrate them before cooking with them); it was so delicious I wouldn't hesitate to use them again.

      Reply
    32. Roxanne

      June 21, 2016 at 7:13 pm

      Wonderful recipe, however the sauce didn't thicken it just cooked away. I also added asparagus.
      Thanks

      Reply
    33. Karen Cleveland

      July 13, 2016 at 6:00 am

      LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe! I made it a few years back, and it has been an absolute hit ever since. I made this for my now husband when we were dating and he has been hooked on me and this recipe ever since! SMILE 😉 He tells everyone that it is his favorite meal that I prepare. Thank you for the amazing recipe!

      Reply
      • The Reluctant Gourmet

        July 13, 2016 at 9:19 am

        Thank you Karen for letting me know. Much appreciated.

        Reply
    34. Michael

      July 13, 2016 at 11:12 pm

      Fantastic recipe, R.G. Jones!

      My slightly more mushroomy variation included:
      - black truffles in oil served atop the finished seabass (as well as a little in the sauce)
      - shallots instead of onions
      - a dash of garlic
      - a squeeze of lemon
      - porcini salt to garnish

      served with a side of spinach. Thank you for providing the recipe, this was probably the tastiest fish I've cooked up to date.

      Michael

      Reply
    35. Tracy

      August 17, 2016 at 8:30 pm

      First of all I never post comments (sorry) on anyone's page, but I'll start now. I love cooking nice meals with lots of flavor and this was one of them for sure!! My husband bought Seabass for dinner tonight so I searched for a recipe to make for him. He thought it was Chilean Seabass, but it was Mediterranean Sea Bass with the skin. I wasn't sure the difference but they were so thin, so I decided to go with what we always use fresh Mahi. This recipe was absolutely AMAZING!! Searing in the pan first then followed by a few minutes in the oven left it flaky and moist. I served it with fresh sautéed spinich. Our next dinner party I will certainly make this! I wouldn't change anything it was perfect. Thank you!

      Reply
      • The Reluctant Gourmet

        August 18, 2016 at 11:14 am

        You are very welcome Tracy. Thanks for the kind comments.

        Reply
    36. Bryant

      April 07, 2017 at 9:15 pm

      Wow! I walked down to the fish market to get my Chilean sea bass and was dertermined to cook it properly. Wow! It was perfect. I had skin on so I followed those instructions and it was so wonderful. Also I didn't have the mushroom but the onion reduction was still wonderful.

      Thank you for posting your recipe!

      Reply
      • G. Stephen Jones

        April 09, 2017 at 11:04 am

        You are welcome and thanks for letting me know.

        Reply
    37. Chi

      June 08, 2017 at 8:34 pm

      Hey, I am the most amateur of cooks. IE. I never cook. I have made sea bass before, just seared it. Cooks easy and tastes great.

      I think other amateurs wold benefit from my experience. I followed the directions to a tee and when I added canola oil to the hot cast iron pan, I had flames and nearly burnt down my house. I am lucky I did not panic and had a fire extinguisher nearby. So, I think you need to advise people of this. I have no idea how this happened to me and no one else.

      Reply
      • The Reluctant Gourmet

        June 12, 2017 at 12:32 pm

        Hi Chi, thank you for sharing your experience and describing your situation. I've had that happen to me a couple of times because I wasn't paying attention and let the pan heat for too long before adding the oil and it flamed up. I used the pan's cover to cover the pan and put out the fire but it was a scary moment for me too. Although I don't say to preheat the pan before adding oil in this recipe, I do recommend it in my pan roasting techniques page. I do think it is important to heat up a pan before adding oil but I should be more clear about how hot. Years ago, I wrote a post How Much Heat To Use When Sauteing and will link the Pan Roasting page to it. On that page, I have a video showing you how I determine when a pan is ready for adding the oil by first using a teaspoon of water. Let me also add a warning to all cooks who are adding any ingredient to a hot pan, WARNING: Hot oil or any fat for that matter is very dangerous and can burn you. Most home cooks rarely get their pans and the fats they cook with to the proper temperature so if you do start heating your pans and fats to optimum levels before adding any cooking fat, be very careful not to burn yourself. You may even want to start at slightly lower levels than discussed here until you are comfortable before taking them a little higher.

        Reply
    38. Kathy

      July 15, 2017 at 2:02 pm

      I have never tried Marsala wine and so I did googled it to see if I could find out what it tasted like to know if I might like it in a recipe. When I did the search it said there are both dry and sweet Marsala's, so my question is what should I pick to use in this recipe? Thanks,

      Reply
      • G. Stephen Jones

        July 16, 2017 at 1:40 pm

        Great question Kathy. I don't think when making pan sauces it makes that much of a difference and the taste difference will not be that different. You are using the wine to deglaze the pan and then reducing it down. Saying that, I prefer a dry marsala for making sauces and prefer a sweet marsala for dessert recipes like tiramisu. Which one you decide really depends on your personal tastes. If you have both sweet and dry marsala on hand, make half the sauce with one and half with the other and see which one you like best. If you only want to buy one bottle, I would go for the dry marsala. Hope this helps.

        Reply
    39. Jerry Brock

      September 24, 2017 at 4:07 pm

      OMG We fixed this Sea Bass a couple of months ago and absolutely loved it. We are having it again tonight. It took us this long to save the $70 for the sea bass. Good fresh fish is hard to find in Arkansas.

      Reply
      • G. Stephen Jones

        September 25, 2017 at 8:13 am

        Jerry, what is sea bass going per pound in Arkansas? Glad you enjoyed the meal.

        Reply
    40. Jon

      July 25, 2018 at 9:11 pm

      This recipe is to die for! This past season I was fortunate enough to catch one of these massive fish spearfishing. I used this recipe and it was awesome! Nothing beats fresh wild caught fish. If you haven't tried it, you should!

      Reply
    41. Jon

      July 25, 2018 at 9:36 pm

      This recipe is great and you can even sub out the Chilean sea bass for white sea bass for a little more texture. I'll definitely be adding this to my recipe book!

      Reply
    42. Brad R

      October 08, 2018 at 11:58 am

      Am considering making this. I too am a fan of Orvieto white wine, especially from Antinori's "Campogrande" vineyards.

      Reply
    43. Sylvia

      November 04, 2018 at 7:20 pm

      My husband and I made this tonight and it was fabulous. Since I cannot have mushrooms, we used the juice of one lemon and white wine. The only problem we had was that the sea bass did not have a skin, so it stuck to the pan. But, it was orgasmic non the less. We served it with basmati rice and fresh string beans seasoned with oil olive and garlic! Bravissimo!!! Thank you for this wonderful recipe.

      Reply
    44. Sylvia

      November 04, 2018 at 7:36 pm

      Hi, I just left a review. I can’t figure out how to send this recipe to a friend. Can you let me know please? Thank you.

      Reply
    45. Carol

      January 11, 2019 at 10:17 am

      Purchased sea bass from Sams VERY THIN how long should this be baked at and temp. Thanks!

      Reply
      • G. Stephen Jones

        January 12, 2019 at 11:56 am

        Hi Carol, Very difficult to give you precise temp and time without seeing and working with the sea bass. Typically, I would bake (roast) a filet of fish at 350 - 400 degrees F for 10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Since you are pan roasting the sea bass by starting it in a pan and finishing in the oven, these times may be a little less. I suggest you check the fish after 5 minutes and test for opaqueness and flakiness to see if it's done. It's better to have to cook it some more than over cook the fish. Hope this helps.

        Reply
    46. Nicole Letchworth

      October 18, 2019 at 7:10 pm

      This was SO yummy! I had never cooked seabass or any variety of mushrooms really. I bought some gourmet mushrooms and it went well w this dish. The fish was super moist and came out perfect! Thanks!

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Search My Site

    Who Is The Reluctant Gourmet?

    I'm a work-at-home dad who enjoys cooking, learning everything I can about the culinary world and sharing it with you. To learn more about me... Read More…

    How Not to Cook Book

    Cooking Mistakes and How to Fix Them

    Categories

    Reluctant Gourmet on Instagram

    Footer

    About the Reluctant Gourmet

    I'm a work-at-home dad who enjoys cooking, learning everything I can about the culinary world and sharing it with you. To learn more about me... Read More…

    • Facebook
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter

    Featured Favorites

    Homemade Cavatelli

    Cavatelli Pasta

    Cavatelli Pasta with Peas and Pancetta

    Cavatelli Pasta with Spring Peas and Pancetta Recipe

    Prepping Garlic Cloves For Cooking

    Fun Stuff

    • Cartoons
    • Events
    • Opinion
    • Press Releases

    Important Links

    • Advertising Disclosure
    • Terms of Use
    • Copyright Info
    • Privacy Policy
    • Home
    • About The Reluctant Gourmet
    • Contact Me
    • Advertising

    Copyright © 2022 · The Reluctant Gourmet