I've tried frying fish fillets in peanut oil using zacharins (i think that's what it's called) and it just wasn't crispy. I also tried double dipping before i fried them with no luck. Any suggestions?
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I've tried frying fish fillets in peanut oil using zacharins (i think that's what it's called) and it just wasn't crispy. I also tried double dipping before i fried them with no luck. Any suggestions?
Just have someone else to cook it...... that's what I do.
I can get mine crispy, but it's raw on the inside. But I can't fry anything worth eating.
You may need to get your oil hotter. I've been frying mine really hot lately and they've been coming out the way I like em. Extra crispy. Golden Brown all over. Crunchy on the edges.
Right before they catch the grease on fire take 'em out let cool and try to eat.
the best way is get a candy thermometer stick it on your pan and into the grease but dont let it touch the bottom of the pan.
heat the grease to 375 deg f before putting the fish into the grease.
hold temp. 375 degf to 400 deg f . for nicely done fish take them out when they float to the top.
for chrispy fish leave them in a while longer.
pat your fish dry before rolling them in meal.
i put salt , pepper, and a little curry powder on fellets and roll them in corn meal.
very tasty.
but if you dont have a thermometer you can heat the grease up then throw a kitchen match into the grease and let it float around till the match flares up then the grease is hot enough to add the fish.
if you add fish before the grease is hot enough it will be oil soaked and watery tasteing.
~ sticko ~
365 to 375 degrees is the key. Use a turkey frying thermometer. Control the temp of your oil. Too cool and you get mushy fillets. Too hot and you burn the fillet. Even hotter and the oil will begin to burn (blue smoke). Get your fire adjusted to where it will maintain the 375 and only put in a few fillets at a time. Don't put in more fillets until the oil is back to 375 again. I know it sounds picky and requires alot of adjustments, but once you get it down you can cook perfect fillets everytime and knock them all out in no time.
Put your fillets in an egg/milk wash first. Then dredge them in a mixture of equal parts flour/corn meal/cracker crumbs. Fry at 375 degrees. The fillets will be have a light but very crispy batter.
cut into fingers pat dry put on paper towels and put in freezer 'till just before freezing(10 min) only put what you want to fry in meal or batter, cook hot and eat a lot.--shu
[QUOTE=Darryl Morris]365 to 375 degrees is the key. Use a turkey frying thermometer. Control the temp of your oil. Too cool and you get mushy fillets. Too hot and you burn the fillet. Even hotter and the oil will begin to burn (blue smoke). Get your fire adjusted to where it will maintain the 375 and only put in a few fillets at a time. Don't put in more fillets until the oil is back to 375 again. I know it sounds picky and requires alot of adjustments, but once you get it down you can cook perfect fillets everytime and knock them all out in no time.[
DITTO
KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY:) :)
The temperature of the oil is key. 365 degrees is fine as long as you know it is exactly 365. That's why I use an electric skillet with a thermostat and fill it about an inch deep with fresh peanut oil. I use corn flake crumbs myself but will try some Panko bread crumbs and potato flakes tonight as an experiment. Yum yum anyone want to come over for dinner tonight?:)
Since we're on temp. I always have a problem with the first batch. I'll get the grease up to 350, put the fish in and the temp. go crazy. Sometimes up to 450. I turn the flame down and the fish goes out a little to dark. After that every batch turns out real good. Any thoughts on that???
Grease 375.
Try this little trick to find when the fish is ready done cooking and ready to come out. Take a knife with a blade about 8" long, poke it into the fish while cooking, lift it out of the grease and if it holds onto the knife blade and lifts clear of the grease, it's done. If it fall's off the knife blade when lifted it needs to cook more. This is a trick a old man taught me when I was a kid and we had fish Fry's on the creek bank. and I have used it for years and it hasn't failed me yet.
i start out about 360-370. drop the fish in and let em cook till they float. they come out crispy every time. one thing i do just before i bread em is soak em in warm water a minute or so, bread em then drop em in. the warm water will knock the chill off the fish so they wont cool the oil so much and helps em cook faster.
if you are not frying the crappie as crisp as you like,dip your filets in milk,then place them in a bag of corn meal,do not use fine ground meal or flour,cook for at least 5 minutes in not less than 350 degree oil,i cook with canola oil,but any good oil will work.the crappie will be done in about 3 minutes, but not crisp. question,which is funner???? catching,fishing or cooking,eating!:D :D :D
heat your oil, 365-375 works good, however this recipie works best on filets, shrimp, no skin on type sea food.
First you will need, fine corn meal, spices, spray butter, eggs, milk, regular corn meal or bread crumbs. bowl, zip lock bag.
thaw meat, pat dry, spray light ;) film of butter both sides, add spices, roll (or shake) in fine corn meal,
crack one egg into bowl, add milk equal to 1 1/2 egg. mix together.
Dip meat into batter,
dump some cornmeal or bread crumbs in zip lock bag.
drop battered meat into bread crumbs or regular corn meal.
Dip into hot grease.
This fry's up golden brown, however, the crisp crust protects the meat and when broken, releases the steam:eek: , so careful after you take it out the fryer.
Good eats
PS don't burn your lip:D
Panco crumbs are the way to go!!!!!!!
at the teezer tour. a catering outfit fryed the fish --prolly600 -- the ones that were to be crispy they cut in smaller pieces ---worked great :) :)
I agree with the hot oil also. I bread them as I fry them, don't get ahead or I've found they will be soggy.
your oil is not hot enough if they are soggy. 375. just before you drop em in the fryer, soak em a bit in warm water, drain, roll in your coating and fry till they float. the warm water keeps your oil from cooling so much. If you aint using a thermometer, go to the fish camp instead of cooking em yourself cause you can bet they are....:)
Slabsrus Has It Right! Exactly Same As I Do. The Crackers Seem To Be The Trick. The Bandit
I recently got a small deep fryer for x-mas and i love the thing.I use canola oil in it.To get a breading i just crack open an egg or two in a bowl,dip the fillet in there then on a plate my bread crumbs,cover the entire fillet in crumbs and just drop in the deep fryer for 2-3 minutes.You so have a crispy fillet everytime.
Stir the grease with something to get a more accurate reading before the first batch.Quote:
Originally Posted by crip47
Mix a little corn flour in with your meal.
sounds like your oil isnt hot enough, use thermometer if you cant judge by the bubbles and how fast things cook.
I liek to cook fish on the hot side , so i have to monitor it closely to keep it from burning and scorching the oil,.. My fish is done on inside and very crispy on outside..
if you like home made frenchfries extra crispy you'll love this trick.....>>>
the wife cuts fries and soaks in water to keep em from browning..I par-fry them about 1/3 to 1/2 done , remove them and place them in a bowl to drain.
Then cook them as we need them to get them really crispy, they will stay crispy and you have cooked out alot more moisture than just cooking once.!!
experiment and see how well it works!
I agree with Matt S above. I use a Fry Daddy from Walmart and the fish comes out the same everytime. Crispy and Golden Brown. Egg wash and dip in whatever batter you choose. Drop in after waiting the initial 15 minutes for oil to come to temp and stays at the right temp during cooking.
try this one take crackers and put them in a zip lock bag and pound them into a powder.
take 2 tablespoons of prepaired mustard and a teaspoon of sour cream mix together .
brush your fellets with this mixture. then roll them in the cracker crumb powder.
cut fellets in a bout 1 1/2 inch strips drop into hot oil heated to 375 degrees.
cook till golden brown.
Oil temp is critical and also don't put too many in at once. Adding them too fast lowers the oil temp. Also, I use this trick on chicken and I bet it would work on fish too. After you fry it to almost the desired done-ness, take it out, let it cool and drain. Then pop it back in the hot oil for a few. Makes my chicken super crispy. haven't tried it with fish though.
try dippin in bulgarian butter milk before seasoning them.
another crispy recepie is drag the fillets thru and egg and milk wash and roll them in a meal of crushed up corn flakes bake in the oven on 350 degrees about 20 minutes or till they flake with a fork.
Hey guy,
I've been cooking fish for over 30 years, including deep-frying.
If you want great results with your deep-fried slabs, check out the timely tips I've written about below.
You're sure to fry up a winning batch 'o calicoes, if you follow these simple rules :
Make sure your oil is practically smokin' hot (but not above 400 degrees).
Try peanut oil -- it has a higher break-down point than most oils, like canola, corn, vegetable, and the like.
Fry your fillets in small batches -- for example ; when using one qt. of oil,
just drop two or three fillets at one time. Don't overcrowd 'em, or you'll cool the oil down too much.
Keep your fillets refrigerated, right up until the moment you drop them into the hot oil. Cold fish -- plus hot oil equals best results. Less soggy, too.
Try some different types of crumbs and coatings. A product called Dixie Fry works really well, if you firsat soak your fillets in half-n-half.
Don't use milk for this -- the water content is too high. The proteins must get between the glutens in the wheat, and the fat content in the half-n-half works best for this.
Also, avoid egg for your coating in any form. It tends to make quick-fried foods mushy. Egg and breadcrumb combo coatings work better when frying foods that need more cooking time, like chicken and pork.
The biggest single factor in obtaining crispness when frying thin fish fillets,
is speed. Fry quickly ! Crappie fillets generally take just seconds to cook in hot oil ... yes -- seconds ! About 20 to 30 seconds is all the time you need.
Any longer and you'll over-cook them.
Once again, hot oil (I use 370 to 375 dgrees) is key, and if you've got a thin coating on your fish, the fillets WILL turn out crispy.
I soak my fillets in half-n-half for 10 minutes, then dredge them in Dixie Fry, (or similar, light coating) and immediately drop them into the hot oil.
They come out perfect every time this way -- no kidding !
Corn meal can work just as well, but you can't use too much as a coating.
A light dusting is all that's needed. Soak fillets in half-n-half first.
And egg wash -- as I said before -- will slow down the frying time, which will only make the fillets overcook, or undercook.
Plain cornstarch is another trick that can give you extra-crispy fillets.
Japanese bread crumbs are yet another product that does the same.
Drain your fish well, on paper towels. Nobody likes extra side of grease with their fish.
However, if you fry your fillets properly, this shouldn't even be an issue.
I've written many articles and a few short books on the subjects of handling, cooking, cleaning, and keeping fresh fish.
I am a freelance outdoor writer by trade, and live in Upstate New York,
north of Syracuse.
Any other questions, feel free to PM me.
Good fishing and good eating -- that's why I love to go slab-seeking !
Kaptain K
Sounds like you've done a little cookin' in the past, so.......what's your opinion on re-using oil to fry fish? There's another thread on this subject, and I like to hear other folks' ideas and opinions. Specifically, knowing peanut oil is ideal for frying fish, and that it's cost is much higher that other cooking oils......what is your opinion on re-using peanut oil multiple times? In other words, what's the "science project" answer for the question "when is it time to start using fresh"?
Gonna have to get you out next time we stink up the oil!!!! You know what town I'm in :)
I do my crappie in beer batter and keep the oil right at 350 - any hotter and the meat and the batter won't cook right - crispy golden brown batter, raw fish or cooked fish, burnt batter. Any lower, everything gets mushy.
I go hotter if I'm just breading my fish, but for batter - it took a lot of experimenting to hit just the right temp for the particular batter I made up - but it works to a T.
By the way... you mentioned you do freelance outdoor writing - any publications I'd recognize?
Joe
Panko Oriental Bread Crumbs. Available at any Oriental grocer and at most chain grocers in the Int'l Foods aisle.
Dip fillets in flour (seasoned if you like) first, then in egg wash, then roll in Panko & drop in oil.
I like to cook fish outside, so i use the ole turkey fryer and peanut oil. 375 is the temp that works for me. I use the peanut oil over and over. I store it in a new, plastic five gallon kerosene jug. I strain it thru cheese cloth. The crumbs and residue are caught in cheese cloth, that's discarded. Just top off the oil every couple of times you fry.
I like to use shortening and butter...Get it so hot its almost smoking.....Let the filets and the egg warm up to room temp or close.....
fish>egg>breadcrumbs>frying pan.....
only about a minute or so on each side.....nice and crispy
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaptain K
This man knows his fish frying!!
eggs cornmeal flour salt pepper and 360 hot lard
Hey all. To get really nice golden fillets, just make sure your oil is hot. Drops of water will dance when you flip in the iron skillet. I never have a thermometer of anykind with me when I go fishing\camping. I love this site and I am a girl!!!!!!
chatty cathy
Are you tring to get White Perch crispy? Forget it, that is whats so good about the sweet light meat of the White Perch, it stays sweet and moist. Try catfish, you can get it crisp without destroying it.
Yikess....do ya skin em first????