How to properly clean flounder before frying, baking or stewing?

Flounder meat has a unique chemical composition and delicate texture, which sets the product apart from its analogues. At the same time, only a few housewives cook it - those who know how to clean flounder correctly and quickly. Contrary to popular belief, the process itself is not that complicated, you just need to follow a strict pattern.

It is worth considering that only fresh fish has beneficial properties and contains an impressive amount of vitamins, iodine and other microelements. But a frozen product can also pleasantly please with its taste, especially if you carefully approach its processing.

Features of cleaning flounder and its preparation for creating culinary delights

Before you start cleaning the carcass, you need to defrost the product, if necessary. In this case, you must be guided by the following wishes:

1. It is better to avoid the option of gradual defrosting in the refrigerator or at room temperature. This will take too much time, which can lead to the loss of most of the useful components.
2. Place the whole frozen carcass in cold water, add a little rock salt to it. We take at least a teaspoon of salt per kilogram of product, then the loss of mineral components will be minimal.
3. The use of warm water is prohibited. It will negatively affect the protein structure, which will lead to spoilage of the product.
4. If you need to defrost a piece of fillet, first grease it with salt, wrap it in cling film and follow the same procedure.

We wash fresh or defrosted flounder under running cold water, removing pieces of algae, salt crystals and sand from its surface. Fish can be with or without scales. Depending on this, you need to either clean the flounder with a sharp knife, removing the scales, or cut off a uniform skin, which can be very dense. Only very small carcasses of flounder varieties without scales do not require removal of dense skin. The main rule is how to quickly clean fish flounder - remove the scales along with the skin.

Tip: The skin can be removed very carefully without damaging the tender meat. To do this, we make a shallow cut on the back of the fish, grab the skin and remove it in one motion, like a stocking.

The next step is to cut off the fins. The last step is to remove the head. It must be remembered that the digestive organs of a specific fish are located immediately under the gills. If you do not clean this part of the carcass correctly, there is a risk of damage to the insides, which can add bitter notes and the smell of algae to the taste of the fish.

A V-shaped incision is made on the body of the fish, capturing the head, gills and all the insides. If during the manipulation the contents of the digestive organs end up on the meat, then it will no longer be possible to clean it; it is better to cut off the affected areas immediately.

Before frying the resulting meat, it must be rinsed again under cool running water, treated with fine salt and refrigerated for half an hour. This step will neutralize any remaining unpleasant odors and soften the texture of the meat.Only after this the required heat treatment of the component is carried out.

Small fish carcasses can be cleaned using the same principle, bypassing the process of removing the skin. But it is recommended to cut the workpiece into two parts along the ridge line and remove all the bones.

Tip: To make the flounder fillet even softer and completely get rid of the specific fishy smell or bitter taste, it is recommended to soak it in lukewarm milk for 15-20 minutes immediately before cooking.

How to properly separate tender meat from the base?

Fresh flounder fillets are sold quite rarely, and frozen ones after all stages of processing become like paper, so it is better to learn how to separate the tender meat yourself.

• It is best to purchase large fish for this purpose. Then the process will seem easier, and the fillet will end up larger.
• We take the carcass, rinse it under cool water, put it on the table, “back” up. Using a very sharp knife, cut the meat along the thick line that stands out, right down to the bones. The main thing here is not to bring the knife to the head, otherwise you can damage the insides and spoil the meat.
• Next, we make a cut perpendicular to the first one, along a line that is located immediately under the belly. Now we make a shallow cut strictly along the line of the lower fin. If everything was done correctly, then after this a piece of fillet will appear, which can be separated with careful movements, helping yourself with a knife.
• Using the same principle, we process the remaining larger piece.
• Carefully cut off the skin from the resulting pieces, remove all unnecessary unsightly elements, and carefully remove the seeds.

The resulting fillet does not need to be salted or subjected to additional processing.Most often, such preparations are fried in a small amount of vegetable oil. Salt is introduced already during the frying process, but it is better to serve this meat with a separately prepared sauce.

Regardless of the chosen approach, the final product is neat, clean, ready for use or subsequent dry freezing. Flounder meat is quite thin and transparent, which allows you to carefully check it for the presence of small bones. This point should not be neglected, even if the ridge came out easily and without visible damage.