Flounder Meunière with Lemon Butter (Printable View)

Delicate flounder pan-fried to golden perfection with a bright lemon-browned butter sauce. Ready in 20 minutes.

# What You Need:

→ Fish

01 - 4 flounder fillets (about 5 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 - Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
09 - 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
10 - Lemon wedges, for serving

# How To Make It:

01 - Pat the flounder fillets completely dry with paper towels. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
02 - Spread flour on a shallow plate. Lightly coat each fillet in flour, shaking off any excess to ensure a thin, even layer.
03 - In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil over medium-high heat until the butter begins to foam.
04 - Add fillets to the skillet, cooking in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding. Fry for 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown and just cooked through. Transfer to a warm platter and cover loosely to keep warm.
05 - Wipe out the skillet and add the remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Cook over medium heat, swirling occasionally, until the butter foams, turns golden brown, and develops a nutty aroma, about 2–3 minutes.
06 - Remove skillet from heat immediately. Stir in lemon juice and chopped parsley. The mixture will bubble vigorously—this creates the emulsion.
07 - Spoon the warm browned butter sauce over the plated fillets. Garnish with fresh lemon wedges and serve immediately while hot.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • The browned butter sauce creates an incredible depth of flavor that feels restaurant worthy but comes together in minutes
  • Flounder cooks so quickly that this becomes your weeknight secret weapon when time is tight but you want something special
02 -
  • Have everything ready before you start the browned butter because it goes from perfect to burned in seconds
  • The fish will continue cooking slightly as it rests, so pull it when it is just barely opaque in the center
03 -
  • Use a light colored skillet so you can actually see the butter changing color as it browns
  • Room temperature butter browns more evenly than cold butter straight from the fridge
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