Frying Fish

[Kayser]

One measure Andy's Yellow, one measure Gilster-Mary Lee all-purpose breading (looks like corn flour/chicken fry), and one measure yellow cornmeal all in a gallon ziploc. Shake fillets dry, put in bag and shake in breading to coat. Shake off excess breading, deep fry at 325-340 until golden brown, or large bubbles quit coming from fillets. For catfish, add one measure of Andy's Red for the extra spice. (Side note- once fried catfish in peanut oil after a cajun spice-injected turkey, best catfish I've ever had.)

For pan frying, just flour, salt, and pepper, then pan fry in bacon grease until crispy. Fry hash-browns in leftover grease. Serve with a squeeze of lemon. Simply, easy, bacon-y. Works well for both fillets or pan-dressed fish (goggle eye, especially).

The other thing is to not fry too large a piece of fish- if it gets too thick, it may turn rubbery. For larger catfish fillets, I wind up cutting them into medallions or nuggets before breading (makes 20lb flatheads a lot easier).

Rob

[Gavin]

Its pretty hard to screw up fried fish if you pay attention to your oil...to cold and you get mush, to hot and it tastes burnt...and dont overcook the fish...I usually go with a 50/50 mix of Andy's Red & Regular and Peanut oil on the river. Cheers.

[snagged in outlet 3]

Oh yeah.

Several smallie fillets with Andy's Red. Fried in an iron skillet on an open fire.

MM MMM!

Pete

[Mitch f]

Oh yeah.

Several smallie fillets with Andy's Red. Fried in an iron skillet on an open fire.

MM MMM!

Pete

No room in my skillet for smallies, the easily fooled german browns take up all the room! :)

[rps]

So many great ideas, thanks!

I'm also looking to purchase a deep fryer from Emeril Lagasse with a device that filters your oil after your fish fry. I've always wanted a deep fryer but didn't buy one because I was always afraid of using it too much! Not good for the ticker ya know. Moderation is the key. The peanut oil and the panko crumbs sound pretty cool and believe it or not have never used straight corn meal before. I also think I don't pepper the crumbs as much as I should.

Every week I go to the chinese market to pick up supplies; I've seen at least 20 or so style of hot sauce there...I've tried most and agree that this is the final key ingredient for the fish. That market is unbelieveable, they have grouper heads (gigantic)and other fish heads you can purchase for cutting up and making soup I guess. As many wierd fish as you can find anywhere. They also have live Craws (seasonal), this is where I got the craw to use for making the craw lure. Also, as I have posted before on this forum but they sell largemouth bass legally. On the weekend it is pure chaos in that place, and a smell not soon forgotten!

Save money on the fryer. Buy a simple one and use the paper cone coffee filters to filter the oil. Also you do not need to clean out the machine's filter; you just throw the paper filter away.

The fish heads are used to make fish stock. You remove the scales, eyeballs and gills and discard. You remove the cheek meat and treasure it. The rest you submerge in cold water with a few pepper corns, a bay leave, a chopped onion, and a stalk of celery. Add a sprig or two of thyme and parsley as well. Slowly bring the mix to a gentle simmer. Do not stir. Skim any foam off the top. After 20 minutes of simmering, strain the stock through a very fine sieve or a coffee filter. The stock is called a "fume" in French and is perfect for a number of great dishes

[Chief Grey Bear]

Save money on the fryer. Buy a simple one and use the paper cone coffee filters to filter the oil. Also you do not need to clean out the machine's filter; you just throw the paper filter away.

I agree save the money. A cast iron dutch oven works just as good and a huge plus is you can take it on a float trip. No electric required! I like your idea of the coffee filters. I have always used cheese cloth and a funnel and put it back into a oil bottle. And just for info, I always use canola.

[ness]

I'm with Chief -- cut the cornmeal with some flour; paprika, salt and pepper and maybe cayenne. On a really mild fish like crappie, more flour. Rarely deep fry, but when I do it's the trusty Dutch oven.

[Feathers and Fins]

Cast Iron ALL THE WAY! Nothing beats it for all game and fish and wooden spoons, NO metal should ever be used in one, I have my grandmothers who was her mothers very old and full of flavor. Also something very nostalgic about cooking from something thats been used for family gatherings for so long.

[ollie]

Harold Ensleys fish batter from War Eagle Mill. Best I have found. Peanut oil is a must.

[rangerz21]

We like to use jiffy cornbread mix in azip lock bag and some creole seasoning. Sometimes we will even dip the fillet in 7-up gives it a sweet taste