Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass is very easy to make and a delicious way to cook up some seafood! It only takes 10 minutes to make!

What is Chilean Sea Bass?

Chilean Sea Bass has a more technical name aka Patagonian and Antarctic toothfishes! It is known as Chilean sea bass in the United States and also Canada, but in the UK they are known as icefish and toothfish.

The name Chilean Sea Bass was created by Lee Lantz, a seafood merchant, in 1977. The fish is actually – very much not physically attractive, and neither is the name ‘toothfish’ and so the seafood merchant started selling it under the culinary name of Chilean Sea Bass – and it was actually a success!

Cuts of Fish

If you are a seafood lover you probably noticed that there are several cuts of fish, including Fillet, Loin, Steak, Tail, and Whole Fish to name a few. For this specific Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass recipe, I am using the Steak cut.

Steak cut

The steak cut is cut perpendicular to the spine, and is a common cut for larger fish such as salmon, tuna, mahi mahi and chilean sea bass. This is the cut we are going to use in this recipe.

I prefer for the skin to be on it too because I love the crispy skin!

Fillet

The fillet is cut lengthwise along one side of the fish parallel to the one. The word originates from French – meaning ‘strip’.

Fillet is one of the most popular cuts. It’s probably the one I use the most often – for example my Pan Seared Salmon with Spinach and Mushrooms!

Loin

The loin is also cut lengthwise but it is usually cross the backs of large fish such as tuna, swordfish, and shark.

Tail

Just like the name describes, Tail is the cut of the fish in the back end, closest to the tail. This part is usually sold with the bone in.

Whole Fish

Whole fish is, well, the entire fish. It’s technically cut, but you can purchase with or without the head and tail, and you can also get it gutted.

How to Season Fish

The easiest way to make your own fish seasoning is with 1 part paprika, 1 part cayenne pepper, 1 part garlic powder, and then add salt and pepper to taste.

However, sometimes I’m even too lazy for that and I absolutely and a big fan of Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning. So you can also just skip creating the seasoning step and use this instead.

How to Pan Sear Chilean Sea Bass

First gather your ingredients:

• 1 Chilean Sea Bass (Steak cut)
• 1/2 tsp of seasoning:
  • 1 part paprika
  • 1 part cayenne pepper
  • 1 part garlic powder
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper, as desired

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Add fish to the pan and sprinkle with half of the seasoning and cook until bottom is golden, 5 minutes, then flip.

Sprinkle with the other half of the seasoning and then cook until the the fish is cooked through, another 5 minutes

Remove from heat and serve!

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