Text 36369, 94 rader
Skriven 2010-04-02 01:24:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av DAVE DRUM
Ärende: Fish 999
================
 DD> I have seen, at Robert's Seafood, a frozen example, using a relatively
 DD> thick puck of fish on the bottom and a mound of crabmeat & bread
 DD> (mostly bread crumbs, I suspect) stuffing surrounded by a couple
 DD> thinnish filets of fish attached somehow to the bottom puck of thick
 DD> flesh. I have considered a time or two giving it a shot. Then shrugged
 DD> my shoulders and gone on to other things in the store. The stuffing
 DD> looks a lot like the "crabmeat" stuffing served by the Red Lobster. I
 DD> haven't tried it to see of the tastes are similar.

The color of the "crabmeat" tends to give it away. Why is fake
crab such a lurid red? Because the only kinds of crab familiar
to many is the king/spider/snow axis, whose flesh has a red
inner skin that sometimes approaches that color. 

 ML> I always thought they tasted like clam stuffing, which is not
 ML> necessarily a horrid thing, either. Anyhow, you do note that
 ML> the relatively thick puck and the thinnish filets don't all come
 ML> from the same fish. Though you did get around this objection in
 ML> your earlier post by saying something like flesh/cavity ...
 DD> What we get around here as "stuffed clams" is a mostly bread mixture
 DD> moistened (maybe) with clam juices and containing (possibly) some
 DD> minced clams - stuffed into otherwise vacant clam shell halves.

The differences lie, as always, in the proportions, which
reflect the degree of chintziness of those making the dish.
A good clam stuffing tastes like Thanksgiving stuffing with
clams; a bad one tastes like, well, bread.

 DD> Where, BTW, did I say (or, for that matter, imply) that the puck and
 DD> filets were from different fish. Certainly I have seen filet strips cut
 DD> from the lower skirts of large fish. As, no doubt, have you. I don't
 DD> know that the fish is from the same critter. But, then I don't know it
 DD> is not. Since I stated that I gave it a pass after looking it over.

I was being inexact: I should have said "you should note that the
relatively thick puck and the thinnish filets shouldn't all come
from the same fish" - for anything resembling even cooking. As far
as the top and bottom being attached, I don't see any way of getting
rid of those weird little bones around the fins.

There are, I discover, on the Internet pictures of flounder with
stuffing actually stuffed into the cavity, so I guess it has
been done. But to get rid of the skeleton and the weird little
bones would be pretty fiddly, and in any case there's not much
space for stuffing (hence the much more standard and sensible
custom of just piling the dressing on top). I also note that
the descriptions of stuffing stuffing into the cavity don't
include what seems to me to be a vital step, the boning. You're
going to get some unpleasant surprises if you actually try to
eat this dish.

Flounder Ipswich style
cat: fish
serves: 6

2 1/2 lb lean white fish fillets
;s&p
4 1/2 Tb sweet butter; softened
2 Tb shallots; minced
2/3 c white wine
;water or fish stock to almost cover
4 Tb flour
1 c milk

Oven at 350.

Rinse and dry fillets. Score on skin side to prevent curling.
Season to taste.

Grease a 9x13" pan with 1/2 Tv butter. Sprinkle shallots over
the bottom. Arrange the fillets, overlapping a bit, over.
Pour wine and water (or fish stock) over. Dot with 1 Tv butter.

On the stove, heat the dish until the liquid begins to boil.
Transfer the dish to the oven and bake 8-10 min until fish
is opaque but not flaky.

Remove fish to a warm platter, cover, and keep warm.

Reduce poaching liquid to 1 c.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, melt 3 Tv butter and whisk in
the flour. Off heat, add poaching liquid and whisk well.
Return saucepan to heat and simmer until thickened.
Adjust thickness with milk.

Serve fish on hot plates with sauce spooned around.

Heather Watts & Jock Soto, Our Meals (NY: Riverhead 1997)
Posted to NCE 29 May 98

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