Grilled Turbot à la Vitel is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of grilled turbot served with a mussel sauce flavoured with white wine and thickened with an egg liaison. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Grilled Turbot à la Vitel.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Grilled Turbot à la Vitel that's derived from the chef, Charles Elmé Francatelli's 1861 volume, The Cook's Guide and Housekeeper's & Butler's Assistant. Below you will find both the recipe in its original form and a modern redaction.
Original Recipe
No. 193.—GRILLED TURBOT A LA VATEL.
Place the turbot on a dish; season it with pepper and salt, lemon-juice, and a little salad-oil. Half an hour before diner-time, place the turbot on the gridiron, over a slow clear fire, to grill (a double gridiron is necessary for this purpose); turn it every five minutes, and baste it by dipping a paste-brush in the seasoning left in the dish, and when the fish is done through, remove it on to its dish; and pour over it the following sauce : viz.,—prepare some muscle sauce, No. 42, with a glass of wine and a leason of four yolks, and a gill of cream, and garnish the turbot round with a border of boiled crayfish.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
1 turbot, cleaned an scaled
salt an freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
3 tbsp lemon juice
6 tbsp olive oil
For the Sauce:
200ml mussel sauce
150ml white wine
4 egg yolks
140ml cream
boiled crayfish, to garnish
Method:
Prepare the turbot, season well then whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil and brush all over the fish. Lay in a dish and set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes.
Pre-heat your grill (broiler) and place the fish on a suitable dish. Place under the grill and cook, turning every five minutes, for about 30 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with a fork.
In the meantime, combine the mussel sauce and white wine in a pan. Bring to a simmer then take off the heat. Whisk together the egg yolks and cream in a bowl. Add three ladles of the hot mussel sauce to temper the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour the resultant sauce back into the pan, return to the hob and allow to heat through (but do not boil).
Arrange the fish on a serving plate, pour over the sauce, garnish with boiled crayfish set around the edge and serve.
