Why You May Want To Think Twice About Grilling Flounder

Even if you love fish with all your heart and sole and, in fact, are such an ichthyophile that you're even familiar with the word, you may sometimes flounder when it comes to knowing how to cook each type. For this reason, we at Mashed like to have a few go-to cooking experts on tap so we can pose them questions like, is it ok to grill a fish? We spoke with three grill masters, these being Weber Grill Academy Director Dustin Green, Shawn Hill of The Grilling Dad, and Joe Gurrera, the owner and fishmonger-in-chief of Citarella. While Green feels that most fish are grillable, Hill and Gurrera are a bit more skeptical. But all three agree that thinner fish, like flounder, are the least suitable for grill grates.

Hill waxes poetic on the subject of flounder, calling it, along with sole, "the introverted artists of the ocean" and warning that these fishes' delicacy "can make them fall apart faster than a cheap burger on a hibachi" if cooked on a grill. Gurrera concurs, stating more directly that "The least suitable fish for grilling is any thin filet, like a flounder because it will fall apart on the grill." Green, however, opts for a more equivocal admission, merely agreeing that "Thinner fish are sometimes a bit more difficult to cook than thicker fish," although he says it depends on how thick the piece is and what temperature it's cooked at as to whether it's ultimately doable.

If you've got the grill all fired up and a mobile fishmonger on speed dial, you may want to order up some nice thick salmon steaks ASAP. Salmon's firm, pink flesh grills to perfection, particularly if you leave the skin on for some extra-tasty crunch. Other types of dense, hearty fish that are great on grill grates include grouper, halibut, red snapper, and sea bass, while we can also offer recipes from our very own Mashed developers for grilled orange roughy and swordfish (as well as grilled salmon, of course).

Should you have your whole heart and soul set on flounder (or sole), it may be best to bake it, poach it, or pan-fry it. If you're bound and determined to try barbecuing it, however, Michael Symon has a fish-grilling tip that can help. He suggests that you try the en papillote technique, making a little parchment paper bundle with the fish filet, seasonings, and maybe some vegetables as well. Wrap the paper tightly in foil to make it fireproof, then put it on the grill grates or right on top of hot coals. After about 10 minutes or so you may open your foil-and-paper bundle to find an intact piece of founder gently steamed in its own juices. No hash marks, true, but you can dress your fish up with lemon slices and fresh herbs and never even notice the lack of this visual.