Grilled Turbot à la Vatel is a traditional British recipe, based on Charles Elmé Francatelli's recipe of 1861, for a classic dish of grilled turbot served in a mousse sauce with white wine and an egg liaison. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Grilled Turbot à la Vatel.
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This is a classic recipe for a Victorian version of Grilled Turbot à la Vatel 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 dinner-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 bast 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 lesson 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 and scaled
freshly-ground black pepper
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1 batch mussel sauce
120ml white wine
4 egg yolks
140ml cream
boiled crayfish, to garnish
Method:
Season the turbot with black pepper, pour over the lemon juice and olive oil then set aside to marinate for 10 minutes. When ready to cook, place the fish in a double gridiron and cook under a hot grill, turning every five minutes and basting with the remaining marinade, until cooked through.
In the meantime, prepare the mussel sauce and add the wine. Whisk together the egg yolks and cream in a bowl. Take the mussel sauce off the heat, add 2 ladlefuls into the egg mix then pour back into the sauce and whisk to combine. Heat gently (do not boil) until thickened.
Place the cooked turbot on a serving dish, pour over the sauce, garnish with a border of boiled crayfish and serve.
