Capt. Charlie's Fried Fish
Start with your favorite fish, skinless and boneless - catch them that way if you can - if
not, clean them to that point with a sharp knife, cut into "fingers"
1"x3", or squares, or leave them natural-shaped. It dont really matter,
just so they are all approximately the same size so they will take the same amount of time
to cook.
My favorite, grunts
Plain cracker meal Flour Salt Pepper 2 Eggs 1/2 Cup
Milk 1 or 2 quarts Peanut oil Frying or candy thermometer Three
rectangular baking pans, or bowls, or zip lock bags, or whatever Deep fat fryer or a
pot on the stove with high sides that will hold at least a gallon of liquid Paper
towels Fresh newspaper Tongs
(See Option 2 for Beer Batter recipe)
If any of you have ever heard of "mis en place" then you dont need to read
any more, because you already know more than I do about cooking. It means to get all your
s___(stuff, you thought I meant something else, right) together before you start.
Begin by heating the peanut oil - at least one quart, in your fryer or pot, at least three
inches deep, to a temperature of 375 degrees f. While the oil is heating, mix two eggs
with 1/2 cup of milk and beat till frothy. Take one of your baking pans or bowls or
whatever and put two cups of flour in it, salt and pepper it with one teaspoon of each.
Take another bowl or whatever and put two cups of cracker meal in it. Wash your fingers (
No, not your fingers - I hope you washed your whole hand) I mean the fish fingers, or
fillets and dredge them through the flour to coat. Dunk them in the egg and milk mixture
and then dredge them in the cracker meal. Yes, you can do all this with zip locks or brown
paper bags, thats why I said bowls or whatever. Place your breaded fillets or
fingers on a platter next to the hot oil.
Carefully, (Note: the oil should now be 375 degrees f, and that is HOT! and will burn the
you-know-what out of you.) drop your breaded fish into the oil until it is one layer thick
(guess at this, OK) If the oil runs over out of the pot and catches on fire on the stove
and burns your house down, then you know that you have tried to fry too much fish at once.
Use some common sense. Maybe if you are nervous you should only try to fry five or six
fingers at one time. When the fish floats to the top of the oil(see why it needs to be
three inches deep) it is done. Dont second guess me on this, dont go by the
color, just take it out of the oil and place on paper towels over newspaper to drain.
There is no set time to fry fish unless you know exactly how much it weighs, how thick it
is, and exactly what temperature it is when placed in the oil. So dont try to get
too smart, just take the fish out when it floats!
At this point you may want to taste your creation, but youd better wait cause
its still HOT dummy. By the time you wait for the fryer to come back to 375 degrees
f and put your next batch of fish in, it should have cooled down enough for you to only
blister the roof of your mouth a bit.
About that temperature - If you dont have an automatic fryer with a thermostat, you
should regulate the heat on your stove so that the oil re-heats to 375 degrees f and not
any higher . If you go to 400 degrees, it wont hurt, but the burner on your stove
should be turned off at this point and not turned back on until the temperature is below
360 degrees f. This is really the most important thing about frying fish; use the correct
temperature and Take it out when it floats!
Eat hearty - and if its good, save the leftovers for tomorrows lunch. It will
make great cold fried fish sandwiches.
Capt. Charlie
Option 2:
Beer Batter for your Fried fish
This one is really easy, using self rising flour and your favorite brand
of beer, mix the two until they are the consistency of pancake batter. Dip your fish
pieces into the batter and immediately drop into the hot grease...Take them out when they
float
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