For The Absolute Best Fried Fish, Reddit Suggests Going Heavy On This Ingredient

We've all been there. You attempt to make your favorite dish at home and it just doesn't compare to what you've eaten at a restaurant. Rather than accepting that's just the way things go, one home cook turned to Reddit to find out what was going wrong with their fried fish.

While there were plenty of answers, the top comment was simple. Use more salt. This might seem like an unnecessary bit of advice, as most of us would add salt to fried fish before eating, but it goes beyond that. This user recommended salting at every stage: Salting the raw fish, adding salt to the batter or breading, and salting the fried fish as soon as it comes out of the oil.

The addition isn't just to bump up the seasoning, but because salt acts as a flavor enhancer, it's going to enhance the taste of every part of the dish. As well as bringing out the best tastes of the dish, salt can help to improve the texture. Salting fish will help draw out moisture, which in turn helps the batter to stick. And if you're not using batter or breading, salting the fish before frying will help it crisp up nicely in the pan.

Salt will be the essential additive to a good plate of fried fish, but we have even more tips for getting that restaurant quality dish that's packed with flavor at home. It of course starts with your choice of fish. While there are plenty of tasty cuts out there, the fish that is best suited to frying is white fish with a firm texture and a mild taste. Cod is a traditional choice, but hake and tilapia are more sustainable options.

Then comes the fun part: Adding flavor to your fried fish. Despite just coming out of the ocean, the fish may do well with a soak before frying. You could prepare it like fried chicken and give it a dunk in buttermilk or treat it to a pickle juice brine – which will also provide the salt.

Whether you opt for a beer batter, cornmeal breading, or a simple flour dredge, the coating stage is the perfect time to add seasonings. For a light seasoning start with onion and garlic powder, but paprika, thyme, celery salt, cayenne pepper, and lemon pepper would all elevate the taste, along with that generous pinch of salt.

And while we're on the subject of flavor enhancement, acid is also a great flavor enhancer, which is why a quick squeeze of lemon is such a good accompaniment to just-cooked hot, fresh, salty fried fish.