Fried Sand Dabs with Bacon and Thyme

Name: Fried Sand Dabs with Bacon and Thyme
Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients: ½ pound thinly sliced bacon; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; Leaves from 8 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 cup coarse yellow cornmeal; 2½ to 3 pounds sand dab fillets (3 to 4 per person) or small, whole lemon or gray sole; 1 cup half-and-half or whole milk; 4 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped; 2 tablespoons very cold salted butter, sliced into as many slices as there are sand dabs

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Everything on the Table

By Colman Andrews

Published 1992

About

This idea is based very loosely on a dish of sweetbreads in a cream sauce flavored with pearl onions, bacon, and fresh thyme that Jonathan Waxman used to serve at his late, lamented Jams in New York City.

Ingredients

½ pound thinly sliced bacon
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Leaves from 8 to 10

Bread

Method

Fry bacon over medium-low heat until brown and crisp in 1 very large or 2 smaller skillets. Drain on paper towels, reserving rendered fat in pan.

Mix paprika, thyme, salt, and plenty of pepper into cornmeal. Dip sand dabs in half-and-half or milk, then dredge thoroughly in cornmeal. Fry in batches in bacon fat over medium-high heat until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.