The Catfish Mistake That Ruins Your Crispy Coating Every Time

It is hard to beat a good, crispy piece of well-fried fish. Sure, fried chicken gets a lot of love, but there's a reason that fish and chips is the most iconic British food in the world. A golden-fried piece of catfish can be as good or better than chicken any day of the week, when done right. But that's a big caveat, isn't it? Sometimes you get a piece of fish that's soft, squishy, and has no texture to it at all. There could be a few reasons for this happening, but generally it's caused by cooking fish that is too wet.

Moisture is the enemy of a crunchy coating. We detailed this exact point when we covered mistakes people make when cooking catfish. Fish tends to be very wet, and not just because it lives in the water. Often it's frozen or, if it's fresh, it may still be packed on ice to keep it cold. Both of those methods add a lot of excess water to the fish that you'll need to deal with before cooking. Frozen fish especially will release a lot of water as it thaws, and it needs to be properly dried before it's breaded. Otherwise, that moisture turns your crispy coating into a soggy pudding.

Luckily, this isn't a complicated step when it comes to frying fish. As long as your catfish is thoroughly thawed out, you can use some paper towel to pat the fillet dry. You just want the exterior to be mostly dry to the touch, which will allow your breading or batter to stick.

The interior of your fish should still be moist. That's the key to any good fried meat. You don't want dried out fried fish any more than you want dried out fried chicken. But if the exterior is wet, not only will it make it more difficult for your breading to adhere, but it also causes the water to react in the hot oil and create steam. As the moisture boils off, it causes the breading to pull away from the fish and increases your chances of getting burned. Not to mention the potential mess you'll be creating on your stovetop as it spatters everywhere.

Paper towels can do a good job of soaking up most excess moisture. However, if you want extra crispy fish, consider this simple trick. Put the fillets on a paper towel lined plate in the fridge for an hour or two before cooking. This allows them to air dry and dehydrate just a little bit on the surface. Your coating should stick much better, and you'll have an even crispier result in the end.

A light dusting of cornstarch could also help the batter stick after the fish has been dried. It shouldn't be done to excess, but just enough to help absorb any additional moisture that might escape and create a crispier end product. Follow a simple recipe like this salt and pepper catfish one and season appropriately, and you should have delicious fish in no time.