On Food: Flounder is plentiful and tasty
One of the great and yet under-appreciated delicacies of the Carolina and Georgia seacoast is a flatfish appropriately called flounder.
If you've ever seen one of these fish fluttering sideways along the ocean floor, you'll understand the name completely.
It's a decidedly odd-looking critter. Because of that sideways mode of swimming, over the millennia, both eyes have migrated to one side of its head, its back and belly fins have evolved to flutter-like little propellers, and its downward-facing side has become snow white like a normal fish's belly.
Around here, we take this odd appearance in stride, because flounder are so plentiful and their mild, white flesh is so easy to like.
It's standard fare on the menu of area restaurants, more often than not breaded and fried to golden perfection. In fact, fried flounder is so commonplace that visitors often complain that it's all we seem to know how to do with this fish.
Fortunately, that's not remotely true. The main reason that fried flounder is so popular in local restaurants is because, yes, we do like it - there's simply no better way to enjoy this fish - but mainly, it's because no sensible local wants to do it at home.
If you've ever been to a fish fry or seafood restaurant specializing in frying and taken a good whiff of your clothes the next morning, you'll understand why. The aroma that is so irresistible the day of the frying is not so appetizing when it's still hovering in the air two days later.
At any rate, there are many other ways local cooks prepare and enjoy flounder - from simply broiling it in butter to sumptuously stuffing the whole fish with deviled crab.
Filleting the fillet
The best way to ensure perfect fillets is to buy a whole fish from a reliable seafood market (such as Russo's or Mathews' in Garden City) and have them fillet it for you. While commercially filleted flounder from other food markets may be acceptable, they won't be as fresh or as carefully handled.
They'll also still have a few fine, short bones along the cleft in the muscle at the spine, at the center of the thickest part just below the head. Removing these is too time consuming for mass production, so you'll need to do it yourself.
To find these bones, run your finger down the center from the thickest part toward the tail. Pull them out with tweezers, needle-nose pliers or just cut them out with a sharp paring knife.
If the fillets aren't skinned and you want to remove it, you'll need a very sharp fillet, cook's or slicing knife. Put the fillet on a cutting board skin down. Scrape the tail end skin loose with a paring knife, then holding the loosened skin slip the large knife along the skin toward the head end, being careful not to take any of the flesh with the skin.
Baked Fillet of Flounder with Capers
Serves 2
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 large flounder fillets, about 6-8 ounces each
Salt and whole black pepper in a mill
3 tablespoons nonpareil capers, drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
1. Position rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 500 degrees F. Generously butter a large gratin or other shallow baking dish. Remove any bones at thickest part of fillet (see above) and pat fish dry. Season all sides with salt and pepper and put in gratin dish, skin side down. Brush generously with butter.
2. Bake 4 minutes. Remove dish from oven and sprinkle capers over fish. Baste with butter, and bake 2-4 minutes longer, until fish is cooked through. Sprinkle with parsley. Transfer to warm serving plates, spoon butter from dish over, and serve with lemon.
Fillet of Flounder a la Meuniere
Based on Julia Child's Sole a la Meuniere in her masterwork, The Way To Cook (1989), this recipe works for a night when you want to pull out all the stops.
Serves 4
4 6-to-8 ounce skinned sole fillets
Salt and whole black pepper in a mill
1/2 cup Wondra or all-purpose flour spread on a plate
3 tablespoons clarified butter (see below)
3 to 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into chunks
2 tablespoons minced parsley
1 lemons cut into 8 wedges
1. Warm a large platter or serving plates in a warm (200 degree) oven. Remove bones at thickest part of fish (see above) and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper and roll in flour. Shake off excess.
2. Divide clarified butter between two 11-inch nonstick pans set over medium high heat (or if you only have one pan, work in batches, dividing butter). When hot, add fish and fry until lightly browned, about1-2 minutes, carefully turn, and continue until just cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes longer. Remove to heated platter in one layer. If working in batches, keep platter in warm oven.
3. Add whole butter chunks to skillet and heat until bubbly, scraping pan. Pour over fish, sprinkle with parsley, scatter lemons on edges of platter, and serve immediately.
Broiled Flounder I, with Butter and Lemon
Serves 2
2 6-8 ounce flounder fillets
About 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
Salt and whole black pepper in a mill
1 lemon, 1/2 cut into 4 wedges and 1/2 juiced
About 1/4 cup dry white vermouth
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1. Position rack 6-8 inches from heat source and preheat broiler 15 minutes.
2. Remove bones at thickest part of fish (see above) and pat dry. Smear a flameproof gratin dish with butter and put in fillets, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper and brush with butter. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Pour just vermouth around edges of fish to keep from drying out.
3. Broil until fish is just cooked through, about 4-6 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately, with lemon wedges.
Broiled Flounder II, with Olive Oil and Crumbs
Serves 2
2 6-8 ounce flounder fillets
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large clove garlic, crushed and peeled but left whole
3 tablespoons unflavored dry breadcrumbs
Salt and whole black pepper in a mill
1 lemon, 1/2 cut into 4 wedges and 1/2 juiced
About 1/4 cup dry white vermouth
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1. Position rack 6-8 inches from heat source and preheat broiler 15 minutes. Heat oil with crushed garlic until garlic is golden and turn off heat. Remove and discard garlic. Mix 1 teaspoon oil with breadcrumbs until evenly moistened.
2. Remove bones at thickest part of fish (see above) and pat dry. Smear a flameproof gratin dish with olive oil and put in fillets, skin side down. Season with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with lemon juice and breadcrumbs. Pour just enough vermouth around edges of fish to keep from drying out.
3. Broil until fish is just cooked through and crumbs are browned, about 4-6 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve immediately, with lemon wedges.
Baked Stuffed Whole Flounder
Serves 4
1 large 3-4-pound whole flounder, head on but gills removed
12 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups, tightly packed) picked crabmeat
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots or yellow onion
1/2 cup finely chopped green or red bell pepper
2 large cloves garlic, lightly crushed and minced
1 cup soft, stale breadcrumbs
Salt and whole black pepper in a peppermill
Ground cayenne
Worcestershire sauce
About 1/4 cup dry vermouth or white wine
1. Pat fish dry. Cut a slit down top (dark) side of the fish all the way to center spine. Carefully separate the meat from the ribs with fillet knife or paring knife. Snip through spine bone at tail and head and remove spine and rib bones. Remove long bones at belly with tweezers or needle-nose pliers. Lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet or casserole and put in the fish, cut side up. Pick through the crab for any lingering bits of shell. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees F.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons butter, shallot, and bell pepper in skillet over medium heat. Saute, tossing often, until shallot is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about half a minute longer. Turn off heat. Add crumbs and crabmeat and toss to mix. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne and Worcestershire, to taste. Mix well.
3. Sprinkle inside of pocket in flounder lightly with salt and pepper. Stuff crab loosely into pocket, mounding up in center. Dust lightly with paprika and pour vermouth around the edges of pan. Bake until fish is cooked through and stuffing hot and lightly colored on top, about 20 minutes. Serve with pan juices spooned over each serving.
Crab Stuffed Flounder Fillets: Don't want to deal with a whole fish? Substitute 4 8-ounce fillets. Butter a medium gratin dish. Remove bones at thickest part of fillets (see above) and spread skin down on work surface. Season with salt. Divide crab stuffing among fillets and roll each around filling. Put in gratin dish seam side down. Dot with butter and dust with paprika. Pour vermouth around edges. Bake 15 minutes, baste, and bake, until fish is cooked through and stuffing is hot, about 10 minutes longer (they will take a bit longer than whole fish). Spoon pan juices over each serving.
