Pan Roasted Swordfish Steaks with Peppercorn Butter

After spending most of the day in the kitchen, a simple no fuss dinner was the order of the day. Another recipe adapted from Bon Appetit, swordfish steaks are simply seasoned well with salt and pepper and sauteed on one side in a hot cast iron pan. Three minutes later the steaks are turned and hit the oven for another eight. 

After plating they're finished with a sauce made of a compound butter loaded with garlic, lemon peel, fresh parsley and pepper. I took the liberty of adding white wine to the pan first as an aid to getting all the lovely browned bits off the bottom, then the butter's added and when it melts the sauce is ready. 

The resulting flavor is quite wonderful, never mind how easy the whole thing is to put together but to be perfectly honest we found the swordfish very dry and that was after I cut the cooking time recommended in the recipe by a full 2 minutes. 

A firm very meaty non-fishy fish, I discovered in research after the fact that it needs to be seared quickly and cooked only to a medium rare. I guess I did the searing part but could have cut the oven time by about half. Needless to say I'll be doing that next time and have adjusted the recipe below to show the corrected time. 

By the way, in case you're wondering how the Big Guy's andouille sausage turned out, get a load of this. We'll be talking about the process in a post in the near future.

 

Here he is showing the andouille right after it comes out of the smoker.

Using pecan wood chips, he smoked the sausage in his Big Chief for about 5 hours.

Then the links are cooled quickly in an ice bath to prevent the casings from wrinkling up, and then they're hung to dry briefly before hitting the freezer. The color of the finished product deepens to a rich mahogany red  as they cool. 

He's very proud of his first sausage making attempt and you can be sure he'll be making more very soon. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pan Roasted Swordfish Steaks with Peppercorn Butter Sauce (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine Sept. 2005)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 tablespoon fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper (or mixed peppercorns)

4 half inch wide strips of peel from 1 fresh lemon

2 swordfish steaks – about 1 inch thick each

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and coarse ground pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

 

 

For butter – combine butter, parsley, garlic, pepper, and lemon peel in a small food processor and process until a smooth paste. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400. Heat a cast iron or other heavy skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Meanwhile season both sides of swordfish liberally with salt and pepper. Add olive oil to pan and when oil is very hot, add swordfish steaks. Allow to sauté for 3 minutes until browned – do not move fish during this period. Flip swordfish over and immediately place into oven for approximately 4 minutes. Check after that time – fish should be a medium rare, so return to oven if more time is needed. It is important not to overcook the fish or it will be very dry.

When just cooked (to a medium rare), remove pan from oven and plate fish. Place pan over medium high heat and add white wine, stirring pan to get all the browned bits off the bottom. Allow wine to reduce until almost entirely evaporated – about 1 minute. Add half of the compound butter, stirring until butter has melted and bubbles. Pour butter over fish and serve. (Refrigerate or freeze remaining butter for another use).  Makes 2 servings.

A year ago - Make your own Chorizo

Two year's ago - Salmon Wellington with Spinach and Sundried Tomatoes

Comments

[Lea]

That fish sure does look yummy - gorgeous sear! What was your side - it looks yummy, too! I have never tried swordfish - it is on my list of fish to try, though.
OMG - what gorgeous andouille!!!!!!! That is perfection right there! (Now I really want a smoker!)

[June]

Lea - you'll laugh when I tell you what the side was so start chuckling now, OK? It's oven roasted mini potatoes and pearl onions finished in a tarragon bechamel sauce. Had to get the creamy stuff in there somehow and honestly, it really saved the fish from being super dry.
The andouille is wonderful isn't it and I'm so darn proud of my Big Guy. He's amazing!

[Lea]

I love the potatoes and onions with the fish! Gotta have more sauce!!!!
Your Lady Banks is GORGEOUS!!!!!

[June]

You're definitely right about the sauce! Our Lady Banks has been blooming for several weeks and it's still absolutely loaded with buds. The flowering plum tree behind it is a mass of pink flowers and ALL the citrus are in full bloom. It smells amazing - no wonder the allergies are terrible, but the view's incredible. Of course I'm rather partial to the hunk in the orange shirt too. LOL

[pam]

The swordfish sounds amazingly easy - my kind of recipe and the sausage is gorgeous!!!!

[June]

Thanks Pam. They are definitely both keepers.

[Lorraine]

When I was a kid I would always order swordfish when we went out to dinner at the local seafood place. It reminded me of steak because it is so meaty. The sauce looks perfect for it. As for the sausage...amazing!

[June]

Lorraine - The sauce is wonderful and would be great not only with other fish like halibut, cod or salmon, it would be perfect with chicken too.