Growing up, we had a fish poacher that sat on one of our kitchen counters. Primarily used for storing items, I was quite surprised the first time I saw my mother use it to cook fish. I had no idea it had any purpose beyond holding things–kind of like my dining room table. Given the way a fish poacher works, it’s a great tool for cooking fish and keeping it moist, something I sometimes have trouble accomplishing when baking fish in my oven. I don’t have a fish poacher, but I do have a slow cooker and while that is likely the last place one would expect to cook fish, I promise this works!
Following the philosophy that got me cooking clams in my Crock-Pot®, I set out to experiment with flounder. The process is simple; cook a base in the slow cooker for a few hours so the flavors meld, add fish at the end. Now the slow cooker is acting as a poacher! Part of me was surprised this actually worked so well on the first try, because that doesn’t always happen. Here’s what I liked best though; my house didn’t smell like I had just cooked fish; it smelled like a delicious buttery lemony meal was cooking on my stove, but without all the splatter.
Crock It! Poached Flounder
Ingredients:
4 flounder fillets
8-ounce bottle clam juice
juice from one lemon
1/2 yellow onion, cut lengthwise and sliced thin
1 sprig fresh rosemary
4 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste
What’s Next:
Place butter, clam juice, lemon juice, onion, rosemary, salt and pepper in slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or low for as long as you need to.
Add fish to liquid, cover again and cook for 30 minutes.
Discard cooked rosemary spring before serving.
Notes From My Experience:
If you need to set this up before having 3 hours to cook the liquid, then put the slow cooker on the low setting and turn the heat up to high about 15 minutes before you want to start cooking the fish.
The long cooking time of the poaching liquid creates onions that are almost caramelized and sweet. The butter sauce adds an incredible amount of flavor to the fish without being heavy or greasy. If only I had had bread for dipping that night.
This was incredibly easy and is great for a night when kids may be eating first and adults a little later, which occurs at least once a week in my house.
