Skillet Grilled Rockfish is an easy, tasty dish that’s ready in 15 minutes! Well-seasoned fish fillets are cooked in butter until browned.
A couple of years ago, my husband brought home some rockfish from the grocery store. Since we had never ever had rockfish before, it took a few minutes to come up with a plan on how to fix it. My recipe for pan-seared rockfish with fresh herbs was my first try, and we really loved it! We are big fans of rockfish, and love it’s delicate, mild flavor.
Nowadays we keep a package or two in our freezer, and have found it be be delicious, versatile, perfect for grilling, stovetop cooking or baking, and yummy on fish tacos! This recipe (as printed below) is for two servings, but the recipe can EASILY be doubled or tripled. Let me show you how easy it is to make this version of skillet grilled rockfish!
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Make The Spice Mix For The Fish
The spice mix for the rockfish is made using several common ingredients. They are flour, cornmeal, onion powder, basil, garlic powder, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper. You can combine them in a small bowl or place the ingredients directly into a re-sealable plastic bag (and mix them together).
The spice mix gives the fish a nice flavor, but it’s not overpowering AT ALL. The flour and cornmeal help to form a nice crust on the fish after cooking in melted butter (it browns nicely), and the variety of spices make it taste good!
Lightly pat the rockfish fillets semi-dry on paper towels, then place them into a plastic re-sealable bag with the spice mixture inside. Gently shake or flip the bag over several times until the fish has been coated with the spices.
Time To Make Skillet Grilled Rockfish!
Now that the rockfish has been seasoned, it’s time to cook them. Melt butter in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium heat. Once the butter has melted and the skillet is really hot (but not smoking), place the rockfish into the skillet. Let the fish cook for 5-6 minutes, without moving them in the pan. This will allow it time to form a nicely browned crust on the bottom.
Once you can see that the bottom of the fish has a nice browned color to it, carefully turn the fish over to the other side. Continue to cook for another 5-6 minutes.
NOTE: The cooking time may vary a tiny bit, due to varying thicknesses of fish being used. Once done cooking, both sides of the fish should be crusty and browned. The fish should also flake easily with a fork.
Time To Eat The Skillet Grilled Rockfish!
And just like that… the skillet grilled rockfish is done, and ready to eat! See how easy this dish is to make? Transfer the fish to serving plates, and garnish with a lemon wedge, if desired. Serve immediately, and enjoy your easy, delicious seafood dinner!
I really hope you will have the opportunity to make skillet grilled rockfish for yourself or your family. We sure enjoy it, and hope you will, too. Thanks for stopping by, and have a wonderful day.
Looking For More ROCKFISH Recipes?
You can find all of my seafood recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have several recipes featuring rockfish, including:
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Recipe adapted from: “Taste of Home” magazine, June/July 2005 edition, page 40, published by Reiman Publications, Inc.
Skillet Grilled Rockfish is an easy, tasty dish that's ready in 15 minutes! Well-seasoned fish fillets are cooked in butter until browned.
- ⅛ cup all purpose flour
- ⅛ cup cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon (EACH) salt and pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 12 ounces rockfish fillets (two 6 ounce fillets)
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 lemon wedges (for garnish-optional)
Combine spice mix ingredients in a small bowl OR place directly into a re-sealable plastic bag (and mix them together).
Lightly pat fish dry on paper towels; place fish into bag with spice mix. Gently shake/flip bag several times until fish is covered with spices. Tip: only season TWO pieces of fish at a time.
Melt butter in large skillet (preferably cast iron) on medium heat. Once melted, and skillet is hot (but not smoking), put rockfish in skillet. Let fish cook for 5-6 minutes, without moving them in the pan. This allows time to form a nicely browned crust on the bottom. When bottom of fish is nicely browned, carefully turn fish to other side. Continue to cook for 5-6 more minutes. NOTE: Cooking time may vary a bit, due to different thicknesses of fish. When done, both sides of fish should be crusty/browned, and should flake easily with a fork.
Transfer fish to plates. Serve immediately, with a lemon wedge on top of fish, if desired. Enjoy!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!