12 Essential Tips For Frying Fish

Spring is the time of year when flowers bloom, the sun reemerges, and fish fries pop up all over the place — at least they do during Lent. Religious practices prevent Catholics from consuming warm-blooded animals on Fridays during Lent, and there is a long-standing tradition of eating fish in its place. Friday fish fries are a popular Lenten activity all over the country.

You don't need to be Catholic, however, to enjoy fried fish. It's a common comfort classic food for a reason. Crispy fried fish often paired with fries just hits a spot like nothing else. You can certainly find restaurants that will give you that perfect platter of fish and chips, but what if you want to make fried fish at home? Frying your own fish is not an overly difficult task, but you want to get all the details right so that you end up with crispy golden brown, tender fish instead of a soggy or overcooked mess. Follow these tips and you will be on your way to the best fried fish of your life.

Frying can be a messy and dangerous activity. You want a cooking vessel that minimizes splatter.

First, you need to decide on what style of frying you want to do. For deep frying, a 6-quart to an 8-quart dutch oven or stock pot will be your best choice. You'll have room for at least a few inches of oil, plus it'll be deep enough for a thermometer to sit in it to monitor the oil temperature. Be careful to not fill the pan too high with oil, or it will bubble over when you add fish to fry.

For pan frying, find a pan with some depth such as a cast iron skillet or a deep-sided sauté pan. With deep frying, the food gets fully submerged in oil, but for pan frying, you only need a small amount of oil, negating the need for such a deep pot. However, you still want to make sure your pan has high walls and is not a shallow-sloping pan. You are still putting a layer of oil in the pan, and you won't want it to splatter all over yourself as the fish fries. Hot oil burns can lead to serious injury.

When you bite into fried fish, you shouldn't see more batter than fish, but this is a common mistake. The best battered fish will have a light coating that crisps up in the fryer. It provides texture and satisfies the cravings for fried food, but the highlight should still be the fish.

There are two major types of batters used in frying fish. Beer batters use beer (traditionally a lager or pilsner) as the liquid component. Tempura, which is a batter in Japanese cuisine, uses club soda. In either case, the batters get their lightness from the carbonation in the drinks.

The issues arise when people think that batters need to be thicker than necessary. If your batter looks like pancake batter, it is way too thick. You can thin the batter by adding more beer or club soda. The proper texture for a fish batter is roughly the consistency of heavy cream. Not so thin that it will slide right off the fish, but not so thick that it puffs up like a pancake. That sweet spot will leave you with an irresistible crunch but you'll find you are still mostly eating fish. Fish is not a cheap protein. You don't want to bury it in breading. Let the flavors of the sea shine by getting the proper consistency for your batter.

The same age-old wisdom about seasoning the flour for fried chicken also applies to frying fish. Whether you are using a batter, breading, or a simple dredge, if your coating is not seasoned, the first thing that interacts with your taste buds will be lackluster.

Make sure to salt your coatings whether wet or dry. Salt is the one component that will ensure that every layer of your dish is properly seasoned. You can add other seasonings to your coatings, such as pepper, paprika, or cayenne, but don't skimp on the salt. You should still season the fish itself before applying the batter or breading, but be careful not to season it too heavily or too far in advance. Salt draws out moisture, and it can dry out your fish. A dry surface may seem ideal for getting the batter to adhere to the fillets, but when you go to eat them, you still want to enjoy a moist piece of fried fish.

One of the ways that your oil temperature can drop too quickly with deep frying is when you overcrowd the pan, which is a mistake everyone makes when frying food. You have very hot oil, and then when you throw in a bunch of fish at room temperature or colder, that is going to drive the temperature down rapidly. Plus, the colder the fish is the further the oil temperature will drop.

To avoid lowering the temperature too much, fry your fish in batches. Depending on the size of your fillets, start with two to three pieces at a time and see if the temperature remains stable. If there is still room in the fryer, you might be able to add another piece to the next batch. If you are frying much smaller pieces, such as the fillet cut into little chunks, you can fit more into the pot, but still, be cautious of how much you put in that first batch until you know how much the oil can handle.

How many times have you read a recipe for fried food and one of the last steps is to drain your finished product on paper towel-lined plates? This advice at one time seemed as ubiquitous as the internet itself. However, we question this long-trusted guidance.

The intention behind this practice is to drain the excess oil from foods as they come out of the fryer so that they are less greasy. The unintended consequence is that the paper towels sitting under the piping hot food create pockets that trap the steam, leaving the crust soggy. The best way to drain the oil without making your fried fish soggy is to lay a wire cooling wrack on a sheet tray. As pieces of fish come out of the fryer, lay them on the wire rack. The oil can drip, but there is room for hot air to escape.

You've done all the right steps to make sure you get the perfect fried fish, so don't let your hard work go to waste. Fried foods shouldn't sit around. When your fish is piping hot out of the fryer, that's when it's at its best. You should serve your fried fish as soon as it's cooked, or at the very least while it is still hot and crisp.

Plan your meal prep accordingly. When you are serving fish to a crowd, try sending it to the table in batches. If you don't want to send the fish out in rounds, at least make sure the fried fish rests on wire racks while the rest of the pieces cook. Remember to skip the paper towels, have your side dishes all ready to go, and make frying the fish your last task. That way when the fish comes out of the fryer, everyone can be ready to eat.