Skate Wing Fillet, Boneless
A wide, flat fillet with a strip of edible cartilage running through it; the texture is the whole reason to buy it.
What It Is
The wing of a skate, skinned and trimmed of the fine bones that make the fish awkward to eat. What is left is thick white meat in long fibres, threaded with a band of cartilage that stays crisp after cooking while the flesh around it turns soft and flaky.
Where It Comes From
Trawled in cold northern shelf water and landed to a plant that processes nothing else, so the wings are skinned and frozen before the fibres have time to soften. Skate does not keep: it turns ammoniac within a day of landing, which is why the freeze happens on shore the same day.
Specifications
| Species | Skate, Raja species |
| Form | Wing fillet, skinned, boneless |
| Net weight | 2 kg per box |
| Size | About 300 to 400 g per fillet |
| Count | 5 to 6 fillets per box |
State on Arrival
Frozen flat so the wing does not fold onto itself. The meat is white with a faint pink blush along the bone line, the cartilage strip is intact, and there is no ammonia smell once thawed; if there is, discard it.
Storage and Thawing
Hold at -18 C or colder. Thaw in the refrigerator for 8 to 10 hours, then rinse and dry. Soak the fillets in cold salted water for 20 minutes before cooking if you want to draw out any remaining blood. Cook within 48 hours of thawing and never refreeze.
Shelf Life and Delivery
Best within 9 months of the production date on the box. Ships in an insulated liner with dry ice and arrives hard frozen.
How to Cook It
Skate is unforgiving on the clock. The moment the fibres separate under a fork it is done; another two minutes and they fall apart.
- Steam with soy lay the fillet on a plate with ginger and spring onion, steam for 7 minutes, then pour over hot oil and light soy.
- Pan-fry in butter dust lightly with flour and fry in foaming butter for 3 minutes a side until the edges brown.
- Stir-fry cut into strips across the fibres and toss for 2 minutes with black bean, garlic and chilli.
- Hot pot slice thin and cook at the table for 40 seconds; the cartilage stays crisp and the meat stays sweet.
Allergen Information
Contains fish. Packed in a facility that also handles crustaceans and molluscs.