Winter flounder is the fish that first fueled my passion for saltwater fishing. As a young child in the late 1970’s, my earliest recollections of saltwater fishing were at the Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury, Massachusetts. While that bridge still remains the longest all-wooden bridge in the country, sadly, the flounder stocks that swim beneath it are a shadow of what they once were.

My obsession with fishing, both fresh and salt, became evident at a very young age. When I was six years old, my father bought his first boat. I cannot recall the exact make or model, but it was root-beer brown in color and had metallic sparkles in the gelcoat. It was a ski-boat style that, like sparkles, was popular at the time, but we never water-skied on it. That boat only had one purpose, which was to put my brother and I on fish.

I also recall that it had a cantankerous old Johnson outboard that emitted more smoke than Cheech and Chong. The engine was broken more often than not, and it led to my father teaching me many choice cuss words. But when it did work, it was glorious. We could get out on the open sea, far from the Powder Point Bridge, and catch pollock, bluefish, cod, and bucketloads of winter flounder.

I recall trolling up massive bluefish on hootchie rigs and being so terrified that I refused to reel them in, fearing they would pull me out of the boat and devour me alive. My job was to dispatch them with a Billy club, toss them into a large Igloo cooler, and then sit on top of it so the fish didn’t flop back out and terrorize the cockpit. 

Cod were so plentiful that we needed to go only about two miles off the beach to catch them.  Pollock were everywhere, but winter flounder were our favorite target. This was action-packed, fun, nonstop fishing, and a single drift along just about any beach yielded enough flounder fillets to feed our entire neighborhood for a week. 

From New Jersey to Maine, flounder fishing was a serious pastime back then; unfortunately, they have since fallen on hard times. While flounder still exist in all their old haunts, most anglers have given up on them. However, there are a few remaining strongholds where these fish have once again become bountiful. Boston Harbor, which once was the mecca of flounder fishing in the Northeast, has seen a resurgence. There are also areas in Cape Cod Bay where you can find them, and possibly catch your 8-fish daily limit. Even in New York and New Jersey, a handful of dedicated flounder pounders can scrape up a few fish in the back bays in May.

Ten years ago, I began a new tradition of fishing with Captain Jason Colby of Little Sister Charters for winter flounder on the morning of Mother’s Day. For a charter captain, Mother’s Day is tough on business; most sane men realize the perils of fishing on this date. Since it occurs early in May, it coincides with the arrival of flounder to their inshore hangouts, so Colby uses it as a chance to do some scouting before his season is in full swing. More often than not, the fishing is solid, and I am able to give my mother a bouquet of fresh flounder fillets.

I enjoy flounder fishing (and eating it) so much that I have also booked a second trip in late May with Captain Mike Fowler of Bad Dog Sportfishing, who runs out of Dennis, Cape Cod. Both Fowler and Colby have made a living chasing winter flounder, and both captains are exceptionally good at it.  While the fishing is not as lights-out as it was when I was a child, there is still a steady pick of quality fish. It’s fun and relaxing, and I think that winter flounder is one of the tastiest fish in the sea. In my opinion, both its taste and texture are superior to that of fluke, so when May rolls around, I find myself craving it.

If there ever was a fish designed for making the perfect fried fish sandwich, it’s winter flounder. The thin fillets and flaky texture make it the ultimate choice for a proper fish sandwich. This recipe uses a technique where you double-coat the fillets in a crust of cracker crumbs and then panko, which yields an extra-crunchy exoskeleton that I guarantee will make you say “Mmmmmm…”

4 sandwich-sized fish fillets
3 eggs, beaten
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups Ritz cracker crumbs
1½ cups panko bread crumbs
¾ cup flour
Peanut or canola oil for frying
4 slices American cheese
Lettuce, shredded
Spicy remoulade sauce (see recipe below)
4 brioche buns, buttered and toasted

Dry the fillets with paper towels and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the eggs to a shallow bowl and beat with a fork. Pulverize the crackers (I open the top of the sleeve slightly to allow air to escape and press it down right on the countertop to crush the crackers right in the package) and spread them out on a plate. On another plate, spread the panko, then place the flour on a third plate. Dip the fish pieces first in the flour, then in the egg, then in the crackers, back into the egg and, finally, into the panko. As you finish with each piece, place it on a wire rack set on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least a half hour (this helps the coating adhere to the fish while frying).

Add about a half inch of oil to a cast-iron skillet (or, even better, an electric frying pan) and heat the oil to 350 degrees. Fry the fish until cooked through and golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Drain the fillets on the wire rack and season with salt.

Butter up your buns and toast them in a frying pan, buttered-side down, until golden brown. Remove to plates and add a slice of cheese to the bottom half of each bun. (I put the cheese on the bottom because that is how McDonald’s does it on their Filet-O-Fish sandwich.)

To assemble, smear the inside of the top bun with remoulade sauce, place the fish on the bottom bun, top it off with shredded lettuce, and devour.

FISH SANDWICH SAUCE

1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
1 tablespoon pickle juice
2 teaspoons hot sauce
1 tablespoon horseradish
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon paprika

Place all ingredients in a bowl and blend until smooth. Chill until ready to serve.

One of my favorite recipes is an apple-and-corn-stuffed flounder with parsnip puree, shared with me by Matt Ryan, a former chef at Legal Seafoods. I like this recipe so much that I recently dared myself to come up with a stuffed flounder preparation to top it. Was it better than the previous recipe? Well, maybe not. I served it over a sweet potato purée, which I thought was inferior to parsnip purée, but it was still very darn good.

(Serves 2)

1 large flounder fillet
1/2 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 green onion, diced
1 tablespoon Sambuca
3 slices prosciutto, diced
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 lemon wedges
1/2 lobster tail, chopped
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, add the green onion, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the Sambuca and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and stir in the cracker crumbs, prosciutto, lemon juice, and lobster.

Cut the fillet in half lengthwise and season lightly with salt and pepper. Roll each half in a loose circle, skinned side in, and secure with toothpicks, leaving room in the middle of each for stuffing. Drizzle some olive oil on a metal baking dish and place the fish on top. Spoon the stuffing into the center of the fish roll. Bake for 12-15 minutes until it registers 145 degrees in the thickest part. Serve with a lemon wedge atop a nest of sweet potato purée and a vegetable of your choice.

SWEET POTATO PURÉE

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped 
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sour cream 
1/2 cup cream
Salt & pepper

Steam the sweat potato until soft, about 15 minutes (or cook in the microwave). Mash it up, add remaining ingredients, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

(Serves 4)

4 flounder fillets
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper

VODKA SAUCE

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces pancetta (or bacon), diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup vodka
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 (35-ounce) can whole peeled Italian tomatoes with their juices, chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
6 basil leaves, chopped
Salt & pepper
1/3 cup heavy cream

STUFFING

1 English muffin, diced
1 large shiitake mushroom, diced
1 link sweet Italian sausage
4 large basil leaves, diced
1 large clove garlic, diced
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt & pepper

FOR THE SAUCE:

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Sauté the pancetta, garlic, and red pepper flakes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden, about 4 to 5 minutes. Deglaze with the vodka, then add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Stir in the sugar and basil, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until it thickens and is slightly reduced, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add heavy cream and simmer uncovered on low heat for 5 minutes. (Note:  It’s important to use heavy cream here because it won’t “break” and get chunky like lighter cream will.)

FOR THE STUFFING:

Remove the sausage from the casing and saute it in a skillet on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, mushrooms, butter, and lemon juice, then cook for another 4 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the basil and bread crumbs, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and season the flounder fillets lightly on one side with salt and pepper. Place a heaping spoonful of stuffing in the center of the fillet and roll it up. Place the stuffed fillets, seam-side down, in a ceramic casserole. (I like to use individual-size dishes for this.) Spoon some vodka sauce over and around the fillets and then top them off with some Parmesan cheese. Bake on the oven’s center rack until the fish hits 145 degrees, about 12 to 14 minutes. If needed, fire it under the broiler for a minute or two to get some color on top.

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WATCH: Catch & Cook Winter Flounder | Living Off the Land and Sea – Ep. 11