Skate with Brown Butter

I once thought that poached skate with brown butter was the highest and best use of this relative of shark, but then I began to sauté the fish, which is even better. Which you prefer depends, to some extent, on your tolerance for butter. I offer the sautéed version first and the more classic poached fish as a variation.

For either, it’s easiest if you buy skate that has been “filleted,” that is, removed from its central cartilage (if it isn’t, just cook it a little longer; it will p