An excellent way to diversify any menu is to add a kingklip to it. A popular item on South African menus, Kingklip is noted for its juicy, tender, mildly sweet taste along with its white meat.

Typically caught off the coasts of South Africa and the West Coast of  South and Central America, Kingklip is taken from deep waters, typically over 100 feet deep, by small fishing boats over short periods. Quality and shelf life are improved when trips are shorter. Fall and winter months tend to have better availability of kingklip, as the supply can be irregular and difficult to predict. Extremely tasty fish at an affordable price.

Kingklip, a South African species of prized fish appears to lack a tail fin and has brown and orange spots on its surface. Despite this, it became the most prominent fish in South Africa and exports was minimal.

Thus, our kingklip originates from New Zealand. In the early days of settlement in South Africa, kingklip stood out because of its exceptionally white, flavorful, lean, and boneless meat. There are fillet steaks and good thick neck fillets available at our store.

Kingklip’s subspecies

Frozen Fish Direct sells two kinds of Kingklip – Red and Golden Kingklip – even though there are several related species. Cooking both varieties results in white fillets. Flakes are large and dense in texture.

In terms of taste and texture, red kingklips are considered the best. The raw meat of both red and golden kingklips has a creamy white colour, tinged yellow sometimes. Upon cooking, it turns white.

Cooking black kingklip results in a richer colour. Fillets from black kingklips are smaller as well as those from red and golden kingklips. They have a pleasant, mildly sweet flavour. Compared to the other two types of kingklip, the black one is less tender.

The best way to cook

According to traditional South American cuisine, slender kingklip is an essential component in their chilli-flavoured seafood stew. Due to its dense meat, the fish works well for soups and stews. It also requires more time to cook because of the meat’s density. In general, fillets weigh 1 to 4 lbs, making them extremely suitable for a wide range of cooking methods.

Alternatives

The following fish species are suitable alternatives to Kingklip: Cod, Ocean Perch, and Orange Roughy

Kingklip recipe

Kingklip à la Meunière

Ingredients

  • 4 pieces of 6 to 8oz Kingklip fillets
  • 4 tablespoons of All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • A pinch of salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 tablespoons of salted butter
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons of parsley

Method

  1. Add salt and pepper to the Kingklip fillets and lightly flour them.
  2. Heat the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Put kingklip fillets in hot oil and cook until lightly browned on each side.
  3. Set aside the fillets once they have been removed from the pan.
  4. Add butter to the sauté pan and return it to the heat. After the butter turns light brown, add the lemon juice and parsley, and take the pan off the heat. Place each fillet on a plate and pour sauce over it equally.