Crispy Fried Fish is our method of making any catch of the day extra special. The flesh is always tender and tasty while the coating is crispy, crunchy, and never greasy. It's very easy to do and it doesn't require an egg bath. There are a few tricks we use to ensure the fish is always delicious, well-seasoned, and tasty.
How to make crispy fried fish
Every now and then we treat ourselves to a crunchy fried catch fish. . . and the best we have ever come up with is the All Our Way method of seasoning, breading and frying.
The end result is a tidbit that is crispy and golden, bursting with flavor and with no oily taste. You can hear a distinctive crunch with every bite. This is a wonderful method for frying various foods and I will go into details and further explanations in a later post.
Can you fry all fish this way?
We had several different fish fillets that we prepared and fried and they all turned out light and delicious. The fillets that we had were of Black Drum, Flounder, and Sheepshead.
They were truly wonderful. There are many out there that say they don't like that "fishy" taste and I can truly say that these fish were so flaky and mild with the crunch I mentioned before.
Fry oil temperature
We are particular about the oil we use . . . it is either Peanut Oil or Sunflower Oil. And it is so important that you monitor the temperature of the oil. The frying temperature we used for this is 340F. You may need less . . . it does not take long and you don't want to burn the panko crumbs.
How do I know my fish is done?
The best way to tell if your fish is done is by testing it with a fork at an angle, at the thickest point, and twist gently. The fish will flake easily when it's done and it will lose its translucent or raw appearance. A good rule of thumb is to cook the fish to an internal temperature of 140-145 degrees.
The recipe is very flexible because you may select whatever type of fish you enjoy.
The Sautéed Baby Spinach and Grape Tomatoes makes a wonderful accompaniment.
📖 Recipe
Crispy Fried Catch of the Day
Ingredients
- 6 fillets of your choice white fleshed fish about 6 oz. each
- 1 cup all purpose flour or more in a plastic bag
- 2 cups buttermilk or more if needed poured into a wide Pyrex dish.
- 2 cups Panko Crumbs or more if needed- we found Italian seasoned and used those. Sprinkle them on wax paper and spread them out evenly. Add more if needed.
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 to 3 inches of Peanut or Sunflower Oil in a Dutch Oven or if you have a deep fryer follow the instructions as to how much oil to add.
Instructions
- Blot the fish with paper towels -- you don't want them too moist.
- Season them with salt and pepper and any other seasoning you like.
- Put two fillets in the bag with the flour. . .shake and make sure the fillets are well covered. Shake off the excess flour.
- Put the fillets in the buttermilk so that you can coat the fillets. Drain the excess buttermilk off of the fillets.
- Dredge the fillets in the Panko crumbs and with your hands press the crumbs on to the fillets making sure the fillets are completely covered. Let the prepared fillets rest on another piece of wax paper. Continue until you have breaded all of the fillets.
- Heat the oil, and once the oil reaches the desired temperature of 340 F in the Dutch Oven or fryer, add two or three fillets at a time. You won't have to turn the fillets in a deep fryer but you may have to in the Dutch Oven. If you think that the fillets are browning too fast turn down the heat a little. The end result will be a beautiful golden brown.
- Place the fried fillets in a 170 F oven to keep warm.
Notes
- To finish the meal we made Sautéed Spinach with Grape Tomatoes over Pearl Couscous. A simple meal with rich flavor. I will post the recipe for this side next.
Nutrition
Sign up for the emails and never miss another recipe!!
We'll never share your email or send you spam. Promise
Joe
This is one of the best ways to fix fish! The coating stays on and the fish is crispy without tasting oily or greasy. I don’t fry any other way.
Marisa Franca
We agree with you, Joe!!