Yuck! What happened to my flounder?

Question

I love most any kind of fish, but flounder was new to me; so I don't know if this is normal or not: It had the consistency of something between fish and mashed potatoes (more on the mashed potatoes side).

I thawed it for 24 hrs in an airtight container. It was sitting in lots of "juice" so I gave it a quick rinse before coating it in breadcrumbs and other seasonings. I baked it at 425 for 12 mins.

Answer 1

My grandmother used to always lightly flour and pepper her flounder and pan-fry it in a little butter, browning it on both sides.  It doesn't take any time to sook flounder so once the side is brown - that side is done.  She lived right on Alki in Seattle, Washington.  When she opened her curtains - you looked right out onto Puget Sound and across to the Space Needle.  

I remember one time it was warm so her front door was open.  She has a nice covered porch and she heard a thump on the porch.  When she went to check, she found that a seagull had caught a flounder and accidently dropped it when it flew past her home.  The fish was still flopping around.  She picked it up and had it for dinner!  Can't get any fresher than that!  And the seagull didn't come back for it so why waste the fish.... :)

I would come home from work (my apartment was in her basement) and go across the street to fish.  I would catch the flounder and she would cook them.  We made a great team.

Answer 2

Flounder is a bit mushy.  Try pan searing in olive oil with pepper, salt, garlic powder and chile powder, cook about 2-3 minutes per side on medium-high heat, drizzle with lemon.  Also, pat dry before seasoning and cooking to get some of the moisture out.  

Answer 3

On oiled rack of a broiler pan broil about 6 inches from heat until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side, to dry out the excess liquid.

This probably happened because it was frozen and thawed left sitting in the "juice" to long, next time let it dry on some paper towels in the container you thawed it in and that might make a difference in the texture.

hope this helped.             good luck and enjoy.