Skate substitute

Best substitute

Sea scallops

1 lb scallops for 1 lb skate wing

Best for brown butter and caper sauces

Different texture

For the flavour, sea scallops are the closest thing you can buy - skate tastes surprisingly like scallop, and 1 lb of scallops stands in for 1 lb of skate wing. For the texture and the way it behaves in a hot pan, monkfish is the better match: firm, sweet, also boneless, and it takes brown butter and capers just as happily. Cod or halibut will carry the sauce at 1:1 but flake into pieces instead of pulling into strands, so lean harder on the capers, lemon and browned butter to keep the dish recognisable.

Other skate substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Monkfish
Different texture
Use the same amount by weight
The best all-round swap: firm, sweet, cartilage instead of bones, and it will not fall apart.
What changes
Best for
skate with brown butter and capers, roasting, braising, curries, grilling
Monkfish is denser and chewier than skate - it cuts into rounds and eats almost like lobster tail, where skate pulls apart into threads. Sweetness is close and slightly deeper. It takes longer: a thick monkfish fillet wants 8-12 minutes, against 4-6 minutes a side for a skate wing. Like skate, it has no bones to pick, which is half the appeal for nervous cooks.
3Ray wing (raie)
Close match
Use the same amount by weight
Not really a substitute - it is the same thing under a different name.
What changes
Best for
any skate recipe
Skate wing, ray wing and raie all describe the same cut from closely related fish, and fishmongers use the names loosely. If a French recipe says raie au beurre noir, or your counter has ray wing but not skate, you are already holding what you need. Buy the thicker wings if you have the choice; thin ones overcook before they release from the cartilage.
4Cod, halibut or haddock
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount by weight
Available everywhere and perfectly good eating, but a different dish - it flakes rather than strands, and it is much less sweet.
What changes
Best for
brown butter and caper sauces, pan-frying, baking
The single thing skate does that these do not is separate into long threads that catch sauce. Big white flakes will not do that, and the sweet shellfish note goes missing, so the browned butter, capers, lemon and parsley become the whole flavour rather than a frame - use more of all four. Halibut is the firmest of the three and the least likely to break up when you turn it.
5Shark, thresher or dogfish
Different taste
Use the same amount by weight
The same family and the same cartilage structure, so it behaves similarly - but it carries the same ammonia risk in a stronger form.
What changes
Best for
frying, braising, fish and chips
Dogfish is the traditional rock salmon of British chip shops and works in skate recipes, with a firmer, meatier bite and a stronger flavour. Sharks and rays store urea in their flesh, so freshness matters more here than with any other fish: buy it very fresh, and soak it for 30 minutes in water with a splash of lemon juice or milk if there is any hint of ammonia on the nose.
6Crab meat or lobster (for flavour only)
Close match
About 12 oz picked meat for 1 lb skate wing
Not a swap for a pan-fried wing, but the right answer if the skate was going into a salad, a rillette or a soup.
What changes
Best for
skate salad, fish rillettes, soups and chowders, fish cakes
Cooked skate is often flaked off the cartilage and dressed, and picked crab lands in almost the same place - sweet, threadlike, mild. It costs more and needs no cooking, so add it at the end and just warm it through. Do not try this in a dish where the whole wing is meant to arrive on the plate as a fan.

What is Skate?

Skate is Skate is sold as the triangular pectoral wing of a skate or ray - a fan of sweet, faintly shellfish-scented flesh in long ribbed strands lying over a sheet of soft cartilage rather than bones.

Cooking tips

Skate should smell of the sea and nothing else. A strong ammonia smell means the urea in the flesh has started breaking down - it is not dangerous once cooked but it tastes unpleasant, and it is the reason people who dislike skate dislike it. A brief 20-30 minute soak in cold water with lemon juice or milk fixes a faint whiff; a strong one means take it back.
Do not try to fillet a raw wing. Cook it whole on the cartilage, then run a spoon along the ribs and the flesh lifts off in strands on both sides. This is also why skate is such a good fish for people who worry about bones - there are none, just one soft central sheet.
A wing wants a hot pan and real fat: 4-6 minutes on the first side in butter or oil, 2-3 on the second, until the strands begin to separate at the thick edge. Underdone skate is rubbery and sticks to the cartilage, so this is one white fish you should not pull early.
The ribbed side is the presentation side. Serve it facing up with the browned butter, capers and lemon poured over at the table, because the sauce runs into the grooves instead of sliding off.
Skate holds up unusually well to being cooked a few hours ahead and served at room temperature with a sharp dressing. If you are substituting monkfish or scallops, that trick does not transfer - both go tough and rubbery as they cool, so cook them to order.

Frequently asked questions

What does skate taste like, and which substitute gets closest?

Sweet, mild and faintly like scallop or crab, with a texture like coarse threads rather than flakes. Scallops match the flavour best, monkfish matches the firmness and the boneless handling best. Cod tastes noticeably plainer, though the classic brown butter and caper sauce carries it.

Can I use monkfish for skate with brown butter and capers?

Yes, and it is the swap most restaurants would make. Use the same weight, cut the fillet into thick medallions, and give it 8-12 minutes rather than the 6-9 a wing needs. Expect a denser, chewier, almost lobster-like bite instead of skate's stranded texture.

Why does my skate smell like ammonia?

Skate and other cartilaginous fish carry urea in their flesh, which breaks down into ammonia as the fish ages. A very fresh wing has no smell at all. A faint one can be soaked out in acidulated water or milk for 20-30 minutes; a strong one means the fish is past it and should go back to the shop.

Can I just leave the skate out?

Not if it is the main protein, which it almost always is. Skate recipes are essentially a piece of fish and a butter sauce, so there is nothing left without it. Swap in monkfish, scallops or a firm white fish instead - and if you want the dish meat-free, thick slices of roasted celeriac or king oyster mushrooms take the same brown butter, caper and lemon treatment convincingly.

Is skate the same as ray?

Skates and rays are different but closely related, and the wings are sold interchangeably as skate wing, ray wing or raie. For cooking purposes treat them as one ingredient. Thicker wings are easier to cook well than thin ones, whatever the label says.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Skate substitute

Other skate substitutes

2Monkfish

3Ray wing (raie)

4Cod, halibut or haddock

5Shark, thresher or dogfish

6Crab meat or lobster (for flavour only)