Flounder Meunière with Lemon Butter (Printable)

Golden pan-fried flounder with nutty browned butter and fresh lemon sauce

# What You Need:

→ Fish

01 - 4 flounder fillets (about 5.3 oz each), skin removed
02 - 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
03 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

→ Dredging

04 - 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

→ Cooking

05 - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
06 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Sauce

07 - 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
08 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
09 - 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
10 - Lemon wedges for service

# How-To:

01 - Pat flounder fillets dry with paper towels. Season both sides evenly with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
02 - Place all-purpose flour on a shallow plate. Dredge each fillet lightly in flour, shaking off excess to ensure even coating.
03 - Heat 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until the butter becomes foamy.
04 - Add flounder fillets to the skillet in batches if necessary. Cook 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer to a warm serving platter.
05 - Wipe out the skillet. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Cook over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until it turns golden brown and develops a nutty aroma.
06 - Remove skillet from heat. Stir in lemon juice and chopped parsley. Immediately spoon browned butter sauce over the cooked flounder.
07 - Plate immediately and serve with fresh lemon wedges on the side.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • This comes together in twenty minutes flat, so you can serve something restaurant-quality on a random Tuesday.
  • The browned butter sauce is genuinely addictive and works just as well on asparagus or crusty bread.
  • Flounder fillets are so thin they cook in minutes, meaning there's almost no window for overcooking if you're paying attention.
02 -
  • Overcooking fish by even one minute turns it from silky to chalky—watch the fillets closely and pull them when they just barely flake because they'll keep cooking on the warm platter.
  • Browning butter is fast and easy to mess up, so never leave it unattended; the moment it turns from golden to brown is the moment you pull it off the heat.
03 -
  • If your butter starts to brown unevenly, pull it off heat and add a splash of white wine to stop the cooking—it also adds richness and prevents that slightly burnt taste.
  • Invest in a good nonstick skillet for this dish; it's the one place where non-stick actually makes a meaningful difference because you're not building fond and you want to avoid sticking delicate fish.
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