Dover Sole vs Branzino
Fish afficionados please help me here with this. Still somewhat of a fish novice but have truly come around to loving and appreciating it over the past few years.
I have had both and really come to love both after being able to eat them at some fine restaurants. White, flaky, tender fish that are traditionally served whole, but my question is what makes one better than the other? I think they are extremely similar, however is seems like Dover Sole is always at least $10-$12 more expensive. From my experience, I think Dover Sole tends to be a little more meaty in the sense that its a tad firmer than Branzino. I actually think this makes it much easier to overcook Dover Sole. Perhaps that is why it costs more? The difficulty in keeping it juicy and moist. Also, Dover Sole I have had has been served sans skin which I truly love when crispy.
Branzino actually seems to be a little more delicate to the touch when cut through with a fork, and is usually served with the skin on. Also, Branzino I think tends to be a little thicker than Dover Sole. The Dover Sole I have had tends to be a much flatter fish and maybe even a tad lighter in flavor. Beyond that I don't think there is much of a difference. Please correct me if I am wrong.
While both are delicious I guess the ultimate questions are:
Which do you prefer and why?
Why is Dover Sole generally regarded as the "better" fish between the two? What warrants the higher price?
By steakrules85
on Jun 9, 2011 10:32 AM
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I too like both branzino and Dover sole, but I like Dover sole more. Price seems to be a function of supply and demand.
I believe that Dover Sole is a flounder (correct me if I'm wrong), which might explain why it's thinner. I have also had "Dover Sole" that wasn't DS, and sometimes had what I believe to have been thawed DS, both priced as the "real thing"--not the same!
So enjoy both when you can, but let the buyer beware.
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What is it particularly about DS that you like better? Just curious. I think it tends to have a less "fishy" flavor than Branzino which I could see as more appealing to some people. Of course when you are having the freshest fish available it shouldn't be "fishy" in an offputting way. This conversation obviously is comparing both when they are at their best.
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Not sure. I tend to order DS in no- nonsense restaurants that get the real thing and know how to prepare it properly, meaning simply. I find Branzino more readily available, even at some chain restaurants, maybe that's why. As I said, I like it too, but won't shell out the big bucks for Branzino that I will for the DS.
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Most Branzino sold in US markets and restaurants is farmed raised. Dover Sole is wild and proportionally less is caught. Matched with the market-value (not always based on quality but in this case, very much so), Dover Sole will be more expensive. Tastes are cultural, but in general, Dover Sole's texture, flavor and appearance also have something to do with its market value and price.
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In case anyone doesn't already know it, Dover sole in the USA is almost always not the same species as Dover sole in Europe. The OP appears to be in Manhattan, where I'm sure that either type is available somewhere.
Structurally, as DPGood notes, sole is a flatfish while Branzino is not. So whole Branzino would be better suited to grilling, I should think. In flavor, the sole I've had resembles Branzino in being a very mild white-fleshed fish, but I'm not sure I'd think to compare the two side-by-side any more than I'd compare one of them to other mild white fishes, like halibut, snapper, or even cod. Whatever's fresh, it rules!
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If presented with the best possible/freshest for each- Based purely on taste/texture which do you prefer? Branzino or Dover Sole?
It seems the question on why Dover Sole is more expensive is due to is being a more "rare" species. Not totally due to it being the tastier or better quality fish.
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Again, the difference between sole species surely matters, at least from what I've heard (I don't think I've ever had genuine European Dover Sole.)
American sole I've only had in pan- or oven-based preparations, whereas Branzino I've only done grilled whole. I like the Branzino better, but that's hardly a simple comparison, as I prefer grilling flavors in general.
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In NYC, where Dover sole is available--at a good market, say or in a high quality restaurant--it will be wild, and imported and not the same as "sole" which is often sold elsewhere. (You can look up books by James Peterson or Alan Davidson to learn more about the way "sole" is mislabeled and marketed.) There is a difference between sole and flounder --they are both flatfish but they are not the same.
Most of what is sold as "sole" in the U.S. is actually flounder. I like it, I buy it, but I know it's not the real Dover Sole, which has better texture, flavor and a higher price...
Mr. Steak--some fish are perceptually admired as being of higher quality than others: wild salmon always gets a higher price than farmed; real, wild turbot always gets a higher price than
farmed turbot, and it does have a lot to do with how the fish tastes...(There are plenty of delicious fish that don't get high prices--tautog, wolf-fish or weakfish for example because of their name or because of consumer fickleness or caution with something unfamiliar.) Whether a fish is best cooked via grilling, saute, frying or poaching or baking has nothing in my opinion to do with its price.
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Pent house, I agree; I would rather have a fresh caught Summer fluke or Winter flounder than a "Dover Sole" that has many thousands of miles and a likttle"age" on it. It is my experience too that most "Dover Sole" served in restaurants, (U.S.) is actually North American Flounder.
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I've had the dover sole at La Grenouille and Ai Fiori NYC and both were terrific preparations. I assume they were the real deal.
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I'm sure they were...and Il Mulino (which I know you enjoyed) serves real Dover Sole, too--but at a fearsome price...
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LOL funny you should mention Il Mulino. This is the exact reason why I am asking about Dover Sole vs Branzino! I am going there this weekend and am pondering which to get. Usually, they have both as "specials", which of course at Il Mulino doesn't change much.
Can anyone attest to having either?
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I have had the Dover Sole and it was cooked very plainly but that just set up the pure sweet taste that this fish offers (I asked for some of the sauce they used to use with the red snapper dish that was often a special, and they put that on the side.) They have a new chef, I have heard, so he may be cooking the sole differently. I never had Branzino there and don't recall it being a special or on the menu but as I said, they've changed...I did have striped bass and it was very good...
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What kind of sauces came with the red snapper and striped bass. Two of my favorites!
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They may move this to the Manhattan board...The striped bass was sauteed as a filet and surrounded by cherry tomatoes, capers and pearl onions in a white wine reduction. Pretty simple but the fish tasted very nice. The snapper is something they used to have as a special but I haven't seen it lately (been a while though since I last went)--and they used to cut the filet into strips, floured and sauteed and served in a rich tomato based mixture with shitake mushrooms--used to be one of my favorites. (You can drink red wine with either.)
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Hmmm interesting. Im not a fan of fish in tomato based sauce. More of a lemon butter type of guy.
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steak.....
for sure, I am talking about the next level, (down), restaurants; but not quite as bad as the typical lower quality place that subs pounded pork loin for Veal Scallops....LOL.
Fish is very difficult for most people to tell one filet from another when it is heavily flavored, sauced and overcooked.
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Because they can scam you more easily for Dover Sole, since what is normally sold as DS in the US is a pacific flounder, not a true sole, let alone the true Dover Sole. (But fish purveyors and restaurants can still charge you a premium for fooling you....)
If Americans want to enjoy fish the way the best European (and Chinese and....you get the picture) cooks do, we should do one thing: use only the best local fish, caught as closely as possible to cooking..... Stop the fish tourism, as it were.
That's not (true) Dover Sole or branzino if you are in the States. Those fish will not be at their peak when you eat them here, and not worth big bucks if you do.
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My semi-related question:
Why do even non-Italian restaurants these days use the Italian word "branzino" instead of sea bass, which is what it is?
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Branzino is European sea bass. It is different than American sea bass. Therefore restaurants will say Branzino to designate that the fish has come from overseas.
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or black mullet!!!
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At Marea in NYC, they have two different branzinos on the menu--the farmed from the US, served as a filet, and the whole fish, wild, from the Mediterranean.
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Speaking of fresh/local vs. "tourist visa fish"; my friend brough over 3 nice Pompano last night, hours from being caught. We grilled them whole, with just a little lemon, sea salt and Siracha.......Excellent......
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That's just my point: restaurants are generally calling all sea bass "branzino," no matter its provenance.
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One thing worth noting is the fact that the farm raised Branzino is almost exclusively result of aquaculture in the Mediterranean
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I agree that the pricing of the two species is primarily based upon how many fish are available. Due to restrictions upon the methods utilized to catch Dover sole, the limited geographic area in which the fish can be found, and the limited number and types of vessels permitted to be included in the fleet, fewer fish are available. Moreover, as noted, Branzino can be farm raised resulting in more total fish to market.*
A contributing factor not yet mentioned, however, that affects price is the rate at which deterioration occurs. Flat fish, like sole and flounder, deteriorate more quickly than bass. Thus, the window in which the fish is “fresh” is smaller and the product must be delivered to market more quickly. In the end this further reduces the total tonnage of Dover sole available worldwide and drives up the price.
*Even the price of “wild caught” Branzino is reduced by the availability of fish that were farm raised.
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