To Boil Plaice Ob Flounders
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Empty and clean the fish thoroughly.
Make an incision in the back of the fish.
Cook
Place the fish in cold spring water and add coarse sea salt and saltpetre in equal proportions to that used for cod fish.
Bring the water to a boil, then let the fish simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, or longer if needed based on their size.
Be careful not to break the fish while cooking.
Serve
Serve 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 fish is the main ingredient, cooked gently in salted water so its flesh turns firm and flaky.
- Coarse sea salt
- Seasons the fish and water, flavouring the flesh as it poaches.
- Plain melted butter (in the method)
- Adds richness and fat to the mild, delicate flavour of the poached fish.
The step that matters
Simmer gently without boiling hard. Vigorous boiling agitates and breaks delicate fish flesh, so the fish can fall apart. A gentle simmer cooks it evenly while keeping the fillets intact.
“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.
More boiled plaice recipes
You might also like
Tomato Soup526 recipes
Brown Bread461 recipes
Mutton Broth292 recipes
Yorkshire Pudding264 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.