To Boil Plaice or Flounders
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Clean and empty the fish thoroughly.
Make an incision in the back of the fish.
Poach and serve
Place the fish in cold spring water and add coarse sea salt and saltpetre in equal proportions.
Bring the water to a boil, then let the fish simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, or longer if needed based on size.
Serve the fish with plain melted butter.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Plaice or flounders
- The main fish, whose flesh becomes flaky and moist when gently simmered.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the fish and water while helping the flesh hold its moisture during cooking.
- Saltpetre
- Helps preserve the fish's colour and firms its texture when cooked in brine.
- Plain melted butter
- Adds richness and fat that complements the mild, delicate flavour of the fish.
The step that matters
Keeping the simmer gentle. A rolling boil breaks the fish apart and toughens the flesh. Once the water boils, the heat should drop so it barely simmers, and cooking time should be adjusted to the fish's size.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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