Flounder
Some years ago I was having lunch with a couple of friends, both of whom are knowledgeable, avid eaters. The chef, who knew us all, came out and told us that he thought the best dish he had that day was a whole Mississippi Gulf Coast flounder.
He then told us that, if we liked, he'd make the same dish using expensive, imported Dover sole instead of the flounder, at the flounder price.
We looked at each other. Frank said, "I'd rather have the flounder." Dick said, "I think the flounder's better." "Me three," I chimed in brilliantly.
Flounder is misunderstood and unappreciated, second only to sheepshead as the area's most underrated fish. For the few restaurants that specialize in flounder, it's the biggest-selling dish in the house. Its fans know where to go, and those who aren't fans are usually converted by the first experience.
But that isn't many places. There are two reason for this. First, lots of restaurants used to offer flounder, but didn't actually sell it. Instead, they sold some anonymous white, frozen fish. This is still going on in Mississippi. I once watched people gigging flounder through the windows of a Mississippi Gulf Coast restaurant, while eating a "flounder" that was flagrantly non-fresh and probably not flounder.
The second problem is that flounder seems to have been created to be cooked whole. It certainly tastes best that way. But many diners are put off by whole fish. And even more troublesome are those millions of little free-floating bones around the perimeter. Experienced eaters can get through those, but newbies might get a mouthful of bones. Indeed, this was exactly my experience early on. It took me years to get past my prejudice against flounder.
Flounder is lower in fat than any seafood we eat. This fact accounts for its subtlety of flavor. I find it has a slight nuttiness that's delicious. It may be the ultimate fish for preparing amandine style. It's good with any variation on butter sauce, particularly those involving lemon.
You can bake or fry flounder well, but to my mind the ultimate method is to broil it. This is, as I mentioned, best done with the fish cleaned but otherwise whole. All you need do is butter the pan, cut some diagonal scores in the skin on top, season and butter it, and run it under the broiler until the skin is crisp and the flesh is popping out. What a sight! For fish lovers, few things could be as appetizing.
The promise is fulfilled. Done this simple way, flounder is magnificent. And I would take it over a twice-as-expensive Dover sole, any day of the week.
