Scholle Finkenwerder Art: Authentic German Pan-Fried Plaice with Bacon

Scholle Finkenwerder Art brings the taste of Germany's north coast right to your kitchen: golden, crispy plaice fillets, salty bits of bacon, and buttery brown shrimp, all ready in under 20 minutes. It takes you back to a seafood restaurant in Hamburg, where this dish originates. Simple yet satisfying sailor's fare. Let's learn how to make Scholle Finkenwerder Art.

Origin of "Scholle Finkenwerder Art"

This plaice recipe originates from northern Germany. The dish is named after Finkenwerder, a peninsula in Hamburg that was once a small fishing village on the Elbe river. Fishermen there would bring in plaice fresh from the boat, and bacon, which kept well without refrigeration, became the natural partner for it in the pan.

Plaice in German is "Scholle." "Art" means "style" in English. So this dish translates as "Finkenwerder-style plaice."

You'll find the plaice pan-fried and served with crispy bacon and brown shrimp. It can also be prepared using a whole plaice, stuffed with bacon and shrimp, and then baked in the oven. A variation on "Scholle Finkenwerder Art" is "Scholle Büsumer Art," named after the coastal town of Büsum on the North Sea, where the plaice is served with brown shrimp only, no bacon.

Before we get cooking, it helps to know a little about the star of the dish

What is plaice? 

Plaice is a flatfish that belongs to the flounder family. It lives on the seafloor and has a mottled brown top side to blend in with the sand below. Plaice is a popular fish in Germany thanks to its tender, white flesh and low fat content. You'll find it in the northeast Atlantic Ocean, as well as the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

What does it taste like?

I always tell American friends that plaice tastes nothing like "fishy" fish. It has a mild, slightly sweet flavour with just a hint of umami, and the meat has a soft, delicate texture. That mildness is exactly why it pairs so well with bold flavours like bacon and brown shrimp.

Is it a lean or oily fish?

Plaice is a lean fish. Its fat content sits under 2%, which also makes it fairly low in calories.

What can I substitute for it?

You can substitute plaice with another flatfish, such as flounder, lemon sole, Dover sole, or dab.

Meet the Tiny Shrimp That Makes This Dish Sing

Brown shrimp are a small shellfish, similar in appearance to prawns but with a smaller, flatter body. They're greyish-brown raw but turn pink once cooked. You may also see them called crangon crangon, bay shrimp, or sand shrimp.

They're cooked while still alive, most often right on the fishing boats, so you'll typically find them already cooked and peeled at the fishmonger.

In Germany, brown shrimp are called "Nordseekrabben," a name that comes from their home in the North Sea. They're eaten in sandwiches, salads, or omelettes, and have a distinct salty taste that's noticeably stronger than the Asian shrimp variety many Americans are used to.

If you're in the US, true brown shrimp can be tricky to track down outside of specialty European grocers or online importers. Small cocktail shrimp or salad shrimp are the easiest swap, and I've noted that substitution in the recipe card below.

How to Pan-Fry Plaice Fillets

Frying plaice fillets is simple. All you need is a frying pan, some butter and oil, flour, and a bit of lemon juice.

Start by rinsing the plaice fillets and patting them dry, then season with salt and pepper. Squeeze over some fresh lemon juice before tossing the fish in flour. The flour coating does double duty: it helps the fillet hold together so the delicate, flaky texture doesn't fall apart in the pan, and it gives the fish a nice crispy outside.

Fry the fish in a mixture of oil and butter rather than butter alone. The oil raises the smoke point, so you can fry at a higher temperature without the butter burning.

Storage Instructions

Let any leftovers cool to room temperature before transferring them to the fridge, then eat within two days.

If you'd like to freeze it, let the fish chill in the fridge for about two hours first before moving it to the freezer. That short rest in the fridge helps the fish hold onto its flavour once frozen.