I'm pretty terrible at cooking fish. Every time I cook it on the stove, it breaks apart. Things are doubly bad on the grill. It's a delicate meat, and I am not a delicate cook. For a long time, my solution to this problem was the easiest one; I didn't cook fish. Of course, I could have just banged away at it, and I'm sure I would have gotten a handle on it soon enough, but while Wife is tolerant of the average screw-up in the kitchen, she isn't enough of a fish fan to try faulty flounder. Not wanting to ruin everyone's dinner, I stayed away from fish each time I went to the store, at least since my attempt at crispy battered cod the summer before last turned into a paste that smelled like cat's breath. I like a good piece of fish, but not enough to face down a horde of angry diners when I'm not on point.
At least not until I heard about pouch cooking. I was familiar with it from camping, of course, but somehow I'd never made the logical leap to the oven.
If you're not aware, you can cook any number of meats and/or vegetables together in sealed foil pouches; providing you've found the right balance of ingredients, they will come out of the oven as little bundles of perfectly cooked individual dinner portions, steamy and aromatic.
