Bacon-Wrapped Flounder

This recipe is another take on bacon-wrapped fish. We were entertaining friends, so I needed a meal for 6 people. When I went to buy fish, the wild flounder fillets looked great. Just be aware when purchasing fish fillets that they do vary in size. The portion size for this meal is one large fillet or two small. While I was prepping the meal, I thought I'd do myself a favor and precook the bacon just a little bit to speed up the cooking process later. Big mistake! Unfortunately, I did not account for the bacon shrinkage. In the end, I used the pre-cooked pieces to wrap some of the smaller fillets, but I will not repeat this process in the future. My stovetop griddle enabled me to cook 4 fillets at a time. I then transferred those fillets to plates I had set in a 200 degree F oven until all of the fish was ready. I served this meal with a mushroom asparagus saute. Enjoy!

Serves 6, but easily scaleable.

Ingredients
6 large or 12 small flounder fillets (or another mild white fish)
18 pieces uncooked bacon, or more (depending on fillet size)
freshly ground black pepper
toothpicks that have soaked in water for 30 minutes

Preparation

Cook fillets in batches
in skillet or griddle.

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place 6 oven-proof dinner plates on oven racks.
2. Season both sides of fish with pepper.
3. Wrap 3 slices of bacon around each fish fillet and secure each piece with a toothpick. If the bacon is too long, overlap the ends in an X pattern.
4. Preheat a large skillet or stove-top griddle to medium high.
5. Place fish on griddle and cook each side until bacon is cooked, about 10-20 minutes total.
   NOTE: The bacon doesn't have to be super crispy, just browned. The fish is likely to be done before the bacon, but the bacon fat will keep the fish from drying out.
6. If you are working in batches, carefully place the cooked fillets on the warm plates and leave them in the oven.
7. To serve, carefully remove the plates from the oven, add mushroom asparagus saute on the side, and transfer to a heat-proof surface (e.g., placemat) on your dining table.