Fried fish

Ok, I started off with frying fish because that's what my roommates had in mind when they got me the deep fryer. I do some freshwater fishing in NY on Lake Champlain and at a pond in Connecticut. I mostly catch bream and some yellow perch. Occasionally, I'll land a bass, but I didn't have any this time. I used to fry them up in oil on the stove, but that usually gets really smoky in our kitchen, and blackens the outside of the fish very quickly (although the inside is still delicious every time!).


So, for the fish, I normally mix about equal parts corn meal and flour (but a little more corn meal) on a plate. Then I beat a couple eggs in a bowl, dp the fish in the egg, then in the flour and cornmeal mixture. While doing this, I also liberally sprinkle both sides with garlic salt. I can't find the exact online recipe I used, but it suggested double dipping. That is, after I take the fish out of the egg wash and cover it in flour/corn meal, I put it back into the egg, and then back into the flour and corn meal again.

The fish cooked at about 375F for a few minutes. Since the fish float in the oil, I made sure to turn them over a couple times so both sides get cooked well. I also only cooked a couple at a time, so they didn't get to crowded in there

These fish were AMAZING! They got a perfect golden yellow-brown color, but not too dark, unlike cooking them on the stove. Also, the double dipping was a great trick to learn, as it helps more corn meal stick to the fish for cooking. So I could properly quantify how good the double dipping was, I cooked a few that were only dipped once as a control group. Those were still great, but I thought the second dip caused the fish to puff up a little more and become a lot fluffier.

So, all in all, this was a great first run with the deep fryer. The fish were delicious, and, not to ruin the surprise, but double dipping will turn out to be a useful trick for a number of deep fried treats that I'll be writing about in the future.