crispy pan fried fish
Get ready for THE BEST fried fish you’ve ever tasted! Crispy. Crunchy. Salty. And, perfect with your chips, dill pickles and malt vinegar!
Recipe for Fish Fry
There is nothing tastier than a simple recipe for a fish fry! Living on the Hammock Coast, it’s pretty common to see charitable organizations holding fish frys. Folks flock to these events because they know they’re going to get the best fish and chips ever! Plus, some delicious coleslaw and hush puppies.
Pan Fried Fish Recipe
Now my pan fried fish recipe could just be the best! That’s because you’re going to be making it at home and you’ll be eating that fish as soon as it comes out of the hot skillet. Frying in a pan, a cast iron skillet, is the only way to go. Not much oil. Just enough to fry the dredged batter and make it crispy in not time at all.
For this recipe, you’re going to want a nice mild white fish, flounder, grouper, catfish, trout, cod.
Southern Fried Fish Recipe
Now a Southern fried fish recipe is all about the spices. And, my recipe uses the quintessential, it will not disappoint Old Bay seasoning mixture. Plus, we’re going to add some kick with smoked hot paprika, and, of course, sea salt and lots of black pepper.
How to Fry Fish with Cornmeal
If you’re going to learn how to fry fish, then it has to be with cornmeal. I like to use a cornmeal mix, like Martha White or White Lily. And, make sure your cornmeal mix is self-rising and white cornmeal. This self-rising will give you a little more of the puffy crunch that’s just so fabulous when you bite into that hot fish.
How to Fry Fish with Flour
Now you can batter your fish with flour, but, for me, that’s a little too heavy of a batter. So I’m going to suggest you learn how to fry fish with just a little flour. Yes, we’re going to use primarily cornmeal and just a little flour in this recipe. The flour will help bind the crust to the fish filet.
Fish Side Dishes
May I suggest some absolutely perfect fish side dishes! You don’t want your side dish(es) to compete with the crispy crunchy fish. And, all of these are winners!
Crunchy Blueberry Pineapple Slaw
Fried Fish Recipes
This is one of my two fried fish recipes. But, I have some other fish recipes that are equally as fabulous. Take a peek at some of these yummmies!
crispy pan fried fish
Ingredients
Instructions
New at Frying fish …….What should I coat the trout in if I want to fry it with Panko? What temp should I heat the grill if cooking on a gas grill? should it take about the same time as you mentioned above ? Thank you, Tiffany
Hi, Tiffany, frying fish, like fried chicken, is really an art and can take some time to master the technique. Not to discourage, of course. Is your trout whole fish? Fileted? When I put fish on the grill, I usually don’t coat w/any bread crumbs, Panko, flour dredge b/c it’s just so difficult to control well the heat level (at least on my grill). I love to grill whole fish or do whole fish in the oven. Here are a couple of recipes. Frying fish I think works better with fileted fish. You can pan sear. Or you can do a dredge/coating, heat oil and fry creating an outer crispy crust on the fish. You’re larger and thicker fish will need to cook longer. Once your fish reaches an internal temp of 135F, you’re fish is good to go. Wish I could just have you here in the kitchen w/me, luv! xoxx ally Here are some fish links. https://allyskitchen.com/blackened-fresh-fish/ https://allyskitchen.com/fresh-herb-mountain-trout/ https://allyskitchen.com/skillet-steamed-fresh-mountain-trout/
Hi Ally,
You said to add 2/3rds of the seasoning mix, so what do I do with the other 1/3rd???
OH, gosh, luv, awesome, catch. THANK YOU. After you dredge, sprinkle the remaining seasoning mixture on one side of the filets before frying! xoxx ally
Ally, a few questions:
1. what do you do with the oil after frying with it? Could you cook chicken in it after the fish? (With same buttermilk and cornmeal/flour)?? For fried chicken…
2. What sauce do you like on fried fish, if any- tartar, cocktail, etc?
3. How do you tell when fish or chicken is done frying? And do you put it on paper towel to catch some grease or what? Thx.
Hi, Alice!
1. You can do two things. One when it completely cools, strain, put in mason jar, refrigerate and reuse (I’d only do that once.) Or you can dispose, cool completely, pour into a pour it into a nonrecyclable container with a lid and throw it in the garbage. Common nonrecyclable containers that work well include cardboard milk cartons and similar wax- or plastic-lined paper containers. Since I use just about an inch of oil (avocado), I usually don’t have that much left after frying the fish.
2. I’ll do both. I don’t really need a sauce when eating this freshly caught fried fish. We prefer a medley of pickles, olives, chow chow, etc. Sometimes I’ll use my blue cheese dressing sauce! https://allyskitchen.com/buttermilk-mint-bleu-cheese-dressing/
3. The fish will begin to gently show ‘crevices’ and cracks. Also if you’re using thin filets, they fry pretty fast. If it’s a whole fish or filets, use this technique, place a fork at an angle in the thickest part of the fish. Gently twist. If it flakes, it’s done. Also look at the fish, it shouldn’t be transucent. The meat should be white and flaky (if white fish).
Chicken is a different creature. You’ll need to use a meat probe (digital). Place it in the thickest part of the meat. The temperature should be 165. Here’s a great meat probe. We use for frying or grilling meat.
Use code: FinalTouchx10 (extra $10 off) https://tinyurl.com/AllyDealCT
Hi,
A couple questions please:
Can you dip just once in the cornmeal mixture?
can you use regular(non self rising) corn meal?
thank you,
Ron
Yes, you can single dip. And regular flour will work. The self rising adds a little poof. Thanks, Ron!
Yummmmmmmm!
Now get Russ to go fishin!! XOXO