This righteye flounder is caught in the North Pacific from Southern California to the Russian coast and down to Taiwan. The can grow to 23 inches and a bit over 4 pounds, but the photo specimen was 15-5/8 inches long and weighed 1 pound 1-1/4 ounces, typical in the markets here. Rex Sole and Gray Sole are often confused in markets, but the rex has a very long pectoral fin and the gray a very short one. The population is not considered threatened, Red List status NE (Not Evaluated).
More on Flounder Families.
Fish Page Fillet
Pan Ready
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The flesh of Rex Sole is white, tender, fine grained and mild. This fish is an excellent substitute for the once common Sanddab, a lefteye flounder that lives in shallower water, but is now scarce in markets due to fishery regulations aimed at protecting rockfish. Because it's inconvenient to fillet small fish, rex sole is usually sold either whole or "pan ready" (head, innards, tail and fins removed). Our Pan Ready Method covers making fish "pan ready" and cooking them in that form. For some uses a pan ready fish is fine if properly handled, but for other recipes a pan ready fish just won't work - it'll fill the food with hundreds of tiny bones. for these uses you must fillet. Rex Sole isn't difficult to fillet but get the biggest fish you can to make it easier - Fillet Method. Yield: A 1 pound 1-1/4 ounce fish yielded 8-1/2 oz of skin-on fillet (49%), 4-5/8 ounces from the eye side and 3-7/8 ounces from the blind side. This fish yielded 6-1/2 ounces skin-off. Don't attempt to skin fillets, you'll likely just break them up. The skin is very thin and normally left on. If you pan fry a fillet "skin-on" the skin will shrink a little but then relax as it cooks. Stock: The head bones and fins make a fairly substantial soup stock due to the gelatinous nature of the fin area. It is moderate flavored and usable There's a fair amount of oil which should be removed using your gravy separator. Fillet Method for Rex SoleNote that the photos in the left column are actually Gray Sole, but the Rex and Gray are totally interchangeable (and often wrongly labeled), so they are valid for both fish.
Pan Ready Method for Rex SoleNote that the photos in the left column are actually Gray Sole, but the Rex and Gray are totally interchangeable (and often wrongly labeled), so they are valid for both fish.
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