So how do you fry your fish?

We just came back from a phenomenal family trip to Alaska that included dog-sled mushing, fly fishing (mostly pinks and chum), halibut/rockfish and king salmon fishing, whale watching (watching them breach in front of our little skiff), sea kayaking, cave exploring and more fly-fishing. Whew.

Anyway, there's about 70 pounds of halibut, 10 pounds of king salmon and 5 pounds of rockfish in the freezer. Oh and 25 pounds of pinks that are to be smoked on the Prince of Wales Island and dropped shipped directly to us.

I don't fry much but I couldn't resist frying the rockfish tonight for dinner:

2 lb fresh/vacuum packed/flash frozen rockfish filets
1 1/2 cup flour
3/4 cup yellow corn meal
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tbl Old Bay's Seasoning
S&P to taste
Oil for frying (I used 1/3 olive oil 2/3 vegetable oil)

Thaw the fish in the refrigerator. Soak in the buttermilk for an hour or two (actually unecessary because it was so fresh there was no "fishy" aroma whatsoever but I guess it helped the seasoning stick). Mix the flour and cornmeal with the old bays. Salt and pepper the filets then dredge the filets in the seasoned flour and let dry for a few minutes. Heat a cast iron skillet and add the oils. When it's hot but not smoking add the fish. It only takes a few minutes on a side until the coating turns a little brown and the fish is done (don't overcook).

Served with just a little fresh lemon, a salad and some roasted cauliflower. Mmmmmmmm

So how do you goormays fry your fish? Oh yeah, and does anyone have about 30 different ways to make halibut?

Well, the only fish I fry is flounder/sole/dab, hake, wolffish cheeks or skate wings.

In those cases I use a modified Tempura batter with milk instead of water, a little more flour than the usual 1:1:1 ratio as well as a bunch of paprika. Your recipe sounds much more advanced, I'll have to try it sometime.

Extra fish in the freezer is never a bad thing. I envy you.

Best,
Joe

I haven't fried fish myself in a long time, as there are several local taverns that specialize in haddock fish fries at very reasonable prices. However, when I do fry fish I give the raw fish a squirt of lemon juice, and dip them in a batter made of Bisquick, egg and beer. Serve with tartar sauce, made from mayo, lemon juice and dill pickle relish (sweet relish doesn't do it for me).

[Robin Garr]

So how do you goormays fry your fish? Oh yeah, and does anyone have about 30 different ways to make halibut?

Welcome back, Howard! Sounds like you had a blast.

Actually, Mary is our fry cook, and I usually turn the kitchen over to her for such tasks, but she generally uses a standard bound breading - flour dredge, egg wash and coating - lately we've been using panko a lot, but corn meal is fine, too. Salt and lots of black pepper in the coating mix, that's supposedly the Green River Kentucky style, which is famous around here - and fry in a shallow bath of decent vegetable oil, not olive oil. She says the secret step is to put the finished breaded fish on a rack and let them sit for a half-hour before frying.

[Jenise]

Number of ways:

Like you I tend to do the milk soak, and like Mary I tend to let any dry coating dry on the fish before frying about 30 minutes.

Several favorite coatings: a cornmeal mixture like yours, mustard in place of the egg bath and grated raw potato, panko but drizzled with butter and baked instead of pan-fried, panko with herbs, panko + ground star anise, and for thin slices of fish a wet batter of bisquick, beer and grated strings of asiago cheese.

Hi Robin,
I think the letting dry for a few minutes - 1/2 hour works to keep the coating on. I think I'll try the flour, egg, coating sequence next time. I've got plenty to experiment on!

Fish is meant to be BBQ'd...not fried.

[Jenise]

Fish is meant to be BBQ'd...not fried.

But some are too fragile for that. And--CRUST!

We grill fish on a non-stick grill topper that we spray with OO spray for good measure. Have no problem with fish breaking apart. We use a variety of wood chips on the charcoal. Just the other night we cooked gouper fillets quickly over white cedar chips, and they were fab. Works great for burgers too, specially those that are soft with various condiments. Much preferable to those long handled baskets that you can't close the grill over.

[Jenise]

Carl, would you grill dover sole? It's perfect for coating or battering, but would be very unsuitable for grilling. Not that I've ever tried, but you know what I mean. No matter how well your grill does, some fish are pretty delicate.

I'm not Carl (I don't even play him on TV), but I've fried fish, baked fish, broiled fish and I've grilled fish (have never poached, though someday...). I agree with you Jenise about how a fish is cooked depends on the type of fish, but I think it also depends on how it is cut. I would grill any type that is cut like a steak, such as salmon or swordfish. I would also grill a fillet or whole fish that has the skin attached, such as trout, perch or yellow pike. But would not grill any fillet that has the skin removed, as it would be to difficult to hold together.

[Jenise]

I'm not Carl (I don't even play him on TV), but I've fried fish, baked fish, broiled fish and I've grilled fish (have never poached, though someday...). I agree with you Jenise about how a fish is cooked depends on the type of fish, but I think it also depends on how it is cut. I would grill any type that is cut like a steak, such as salmon or swordfish. I would also grill a fillet or whole fish that has the skin attached, such as trout, perch or yellow pike. But would not grill any fillet that has the skin removed, as it would be to difficult to hold together.

Howie, you're right about cuts. Fact is there are all kinds of ways to prepare fish depending on a handful of factors like cut, delicacy, and your own inclinations.

I'm not Carl (I don't even play him on TV), but I've fried fish, baked fish, broiled fish and I've grilled fish (have never poached, though someday...). I agree with you Jenise about how a fish is cooked depends on the type of fish, but I think it also depends on how it is cut. I would grill any type that is cut like a steak, such as salmon or swordfish. I would also grill a fillet or whole fish that has the skin attached, such as trout, perch or yellow pike. But would not grill any fillet that has the skin removed, as it would be to difficult to hold together.

Howie, you're right about cuts. Fact is there are all kinds of ways to prepare fish depending on a handful of factors like cut, delicacy, and your own inclinations.

That "your own inclinations" part is the one I go with. Sometimes I feel like fish off the grill and sometimes it's fish out of the oven and sometimes it's fish from the stovetop. All can be excellent. (Of course, some methods work far better for some fish than for others.) Often, I'll pick the cooking method first and the type of fish second.

Mike