The Worst Frozen Fish Fillet In Stores Is From A Brand You Always See In The Freezer Aisle

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While fresh fish is often seasonal and expensive, frozen fish offers seafood year-round at an affordable price. Plus, you can keep it in the freezer for weeks and relieve yourself of the urgency of cooking it the same or next day after purchase, like you would with fresh fish. And there are numerous frozen fish brands to fulfill your fish fillet cravings. We sampled and ranked 5 frozen fish fillets to find the best option. And while there's a clear winner, there's also a clear loser, and that was Gorton's Crispy Battered Whole Fillets.

We ranked each fish fillet according to flavor and texture, and the worst frozen fish fillet is from Gorton's, an exclusively frozen fish brand, from mediocre fish sticks to these not-so-spectacular battered whole fillets. Made from wild-caught pollock, Gorton's crispy fillets may take all the grease splatter and dredging effort out of making fried fish at home, but they sure aren't worth buying. The batter was completely devoid of flavor and just tasted like fried crunch. We couldn't even pick up the taste of salt. And the fillets themselves were just as tasteless. These may crisp up well in the oven or air fryer, but a passable texture doesn't make up for flavorless fish, no matter how much tartar sauce you slather over it.

Whereas we were underwhelmed by the bland flavor of Gorton's crispy battered fish fillets, we found reviews in which many customers experienced plenty of flavor. It's just that none of it was good. According to one Amazon reviewer, "These smell up the house with a fishy smell and the taste matches!" Customers were also disgusted by the texture of the fish. Instead of a flakey, light interior, characteristic of good white fish, customers called the texture mushy and paste-like, with one customer saying, "It has a gooey oil when you eat it." Perhaps the most common complaint was the ratio of breading to fish. One person stated, "The piece of actual fish in these is about the size of an index finger. Sooooooooo much batter." Another customer cried false advertising, writing, "I purchased based on the picture of very thin breading and nice thick juicy fish." Unfortunately, what they got was "2/3 breading and 1/3 fish." 

You could opt instead for our favorite of the battered frozen fish filets we reviewed: 365 beer battered pollock, which came in second-place in the taste test. Trader Joe's branzino fillets came first, but these are uncoated. Or, instead, go for homemade after all. We've got plenty of scratch-made recipes like this fish and chips recipe or this beer battered fish sandwich. If it's your first time trying your hand at battered fish, follow our essential tips for frying fish.