Skate is generally considered by-catch. Meaning it’s a trash fish that gets in the nets when commercial fishers are going after something more lucrative. On the one hand that’s unfortunate, because it’s a great tasting bit of seafood that’s getting a bad rap. On the other hand, that’s great because fresh skate wing is super inexpensive. It’s also yummy and easy to cook.
The plate above shows pan seared skate wing with fresh lemon, plated with sauteed red cabbage and mashed eggplant (you can see my eggplant recipe in my post on sabich (
https://yetanotherfoodblog.com/2019/04/16/the-best-sandwich-you-probably-didnt-know-existed/ ).
I’ve seen a lot of recipes that call for dredgiing your skate in flour. I’ve tried that and I find that it masks the taste of the fish and it doesn’t aid in the searing. I recommend ditching the flour. A lot of recipes you’ll find for skate also add capers. I’m not a fan of capers, but if you are you can certainly toss some in at the end of the recipe below.
It’s also a very unattractive fish. I have a theory that that impacts it’s market value.

Your fish vendor should be displaying them skinned. Individual wings run around 8 – 10 ounces, from what I’ve seen at my grocery stores.

1 skate wing per adult
Olive oil
Salted butter
Fresh ground pepper
1/2 lemon per wing

Get a cast iron pan good and hot over a high flame.
Add in olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and then 1/2 TB butter. Let it foam and subside.
Gently place your skate wing in the pan. It will immediately shrink. Let it cook until the edges start to brown – about four minutes.

Carefully turn it over (a fish spatula is really helpful for this, this is a very delicate piece of fish).
Season with salt and pepper and continue to cook it on the other side for a few more minutes until the edges start to curl.

Squeeze your lemon over it, and carefully move it to the plate.
There you go – an inexpensive and delicious piece of fish.