Sand dabs

They're a local delicacy at this time of year, and I was fortunate to see some small ones at Pacific Market. So I bought a couple (totaling just under half a pound).
Sand dabs need no help. I cooked a bit of rice and made a salad with mixed greens and an early(!!) tomato and some fresh herbs from my garden, and pan-grilled them about 2 minutes per side in half ghee and half butter.

Yum!

And I had the last slice of my second Gravenstein apple pie for dessert.

John

Love these. There's a restaurant nearby that sometimes serves them fried. My wife says that's the closest thing you can get in California to the fried perch they serve on Friday nights in bars in Wisconsin. (That's a good thing.)

Another thing I've never even heard of! Off to Google it...

Yep, sand dabs are a treat that I miss nearly as much as Dungeness crabs living here in flyover country. And a quick pan fry is a perfect way to prepare them, you lucky dog!

Mark Lipton

Sand-dabs are so thin, I don't understand how they are strong enough to flip in the pan. We always deep fry, using a very thin batter of just seasoned flour, egg wash, and fine bread crumbs (have even tried matzoh meal!). Strengthened by the breading, they hold up very well, and fry in less than a minute. We don't deep fry pretty much anything in our house, but sand-dabs are worth it. I prefer neutral peanut oil to butter for this application, actually. We have also broiled them but the filets mostly fell apart as I pulled them off the pan.

My only regret is that even the fish stand at our local market doesn't consistently carry them, so I can't plan a party around sand-dabs. Oh well, seredipity is a wonderful thing as well. In our family, we call the fish "Yay sand-dabs" because it's always a celebration when we see them.

These were nice short fat little fellows, maybe half an inch thick where the head used to be, and the two of them fit fine in a 10" pan. I had no trouble turning them with a fork.
And they were only $5.99 a pound!
Petrale sole filets, on the other hand, can be the very devil to keep in one piece! (They're another favorite sin of mine.)

John the unrepentant