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To Boil Flounders

A simple boiled flounder seasoned with coarse sea salt and served with plain melted butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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To Boil Flounders

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash and clean the flounders well.

  2. Cut the black side of the flounders as you would for turbot.

Poach

  1. Place them in a fish kettle with plenty of cold water and ½ cup of coarse sea salt.

  2. Bring to a boil, then skim the surface clean.

  3. Let them sit by the side of the fire for five minutes before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

Flounders
Provide the flesh that is gently cooked by poaching in the seasoned water.
Coarse sea salt
Seasons the poaching water so the fish is flavoured as it cooks.

The step that matters

Skimming the surface after boiling. Bringing the water to a boil releases foam and coagulated proteins that cloud the liquid and can cling to the fish. Skimming removes them, keeping the water clear and the flesh clean-tasting.

“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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