Crispy Fried Fish – Review

We tried a new recipe I found online  –  Crispy Fried Fish. I linked to it via the 08.04.19 Weekly Menu and I couldn’t wait to give it a try.

It was a big hit with all the boys and a must add to the “keepers” list.

Crispy Fried Fish recipe is by EHIEBERT on AllRecipes.com

A couple things of note:

I try, really hard, to actually make the recipe as outlined by the author. It’s one of my pet peeves when someone leaves a review of a recipe they made for the first time telling about all the changes they made to it. It really frosts my cake when they leave a bad review after changing the recipe fundamentally.

What you should do when trying a new recipe –

• Read through the entire recipe from beginning to end. Twice.
• Note ingredients that you don’t/won’t eat, and think if omitting them materially changes the recipe
• Look to see if the ingredients are overwhelming – either because they aren’t in the house or if there are just so many of them
• Based on the first three items, decide if the recipe is worth a shot, or if it looks sketchy
• Note any changes you make or WANT to make the next time

Obviously you can change a recipe – that’s the gig, really, but getting a good idea of what a recipe is supposed to look and taste like in the end is always a good thing. That way you know if your changes are good or if they take the recipe to the dark side.

I used my trusty enameled cast iron Dutch Oven (affiliate links follow) to deep fry the fish in. We used to have a deep fat fryer, but it was a complete pain in the tukas to clean. Now we just use the dutch oven or heavy soup pot.

A few notes about the oil and deep frying:

I use vegetable oil for frying. We keep used oil in the pantry and will reuse it if cooking something fairly innocuous like french fries. I would not reuse fish cooking oil. We don’t fry very often, and oil can go rancid, especially if you hold it for a while. My recommendation is to plan on using oil one time only – and our cost includes that single use oil.

I put about two inches of oil in the pot before heating it on medium high heat. Use your Instant Read Thermometer to check the oil is up to temp – which always takes much longer than I expect.

Make the batter – mix the egg and beer in your Big Bowl. I used Natty Light Beer – because it was in the fridge. If you don’t want to use beer, substitute club soda or seltzer. 

The flour mixes in smoothly, making a beautiful batter.

I know fish don’t have fingers, but I cut the cod into thick strips anyway. The idea is to make sure they’re all about the same size so they cook uniformly. Toss them into the batter to let them coat while you crush the cornflakes.

I like to crush the cornflakes with our heavy Marble Rolling Pin in a plastic bag. Use a heavy skillet to smoosh them if you don’t have a rolling pin.

Dip the battered fish into the crushed cornflakes with your trusty tongs so you don’t get super big coated fingers.

Don’t crowd the fish in the oil – cook it in two batches, keeping the first batch warming in the oven while the second batch cooks.

We like them served with oven fries, coleslaw and mashed green peas.

Review

My rating scale is pretty simple – we use a best out of 5 for three different criteria:

Tastiness: this scored a 5 from me; the batter/dredge created a fantastic crusty exterior and the seasoning was spot on.

Ease: this scored a 4 for me; deep frying anything is a simple but messy process, and the house smelled like fried fish all night. I also take extra care to keep anyone out of the kitchen while I’m cooking because it’s hot in there. The batter and dredge are super easy to make though, and work the way they’re supposed to: they stayed on the fish and made it super crispy.

Cost: this scored a 5 for me; we spent about $22 on this including the fish and new oil. We used frozen fish. I actually doubled the fish but not the batter or dredge – which worked out fine. We served 5 very hungry (fried) fish lovers, but made with two pounds of fish, this should serve at least 8 people, so it’s pretty economical at $ 2.75 per person.

Overall score is a 14 out of 15 – no wonder it made it to the “Keeper” list! Definitely give this one a taste – it’s wonderfully filling and perfect for a cheat night on your diet when you’re craving something super crunchy, salty and delicious.

Batter up! (I know, I know. It’s a little out of context.)