mushy

we fried up some crappies last night they were mushy. they supposed to be mushy or did we under cook them?

1) Oil was not hot enough?
2) Breader sat too long on fish before entering grease?
3) Fish was still cold or partially frozen?

vegetable oil wuz 350 - 400
a few shakes in the breader straight to the grease
fish were still swimming in my live well 10 minutes before going in the pan

Crappie do not have the same texture of say walleye, salmon, swordfish or even white bass. They seem to have a tendency to be somewhat "mushy", I guess. They are not a real firm fish. I much prefer a fresh crappie fillet to a frozen crappie fillet as they kinda 'puff up' a lot more!:D

Try putting them in ICE cold water to firm them up before cooking them.:D

HOTTER GREASE...Cook until golden brown. If filets are big, then cut them up.

thanks CrappieMagnet I'll try the ice water

sac-a-lait my frying pan only goes up to 400 I'll max her out next time

CrappieHusky I thought they must be more mushy than other fish... being new to crappie and all wasn't really sure

You should be able to drop a piece of white bread in the oil and it will inst turn into toast . Thats how I know when then the oil is hot enough , and after the first batch the oil will have cooled off a little because of the first batch you cooked .let it come back up to the right temp again . Take and dip your fish in an egg and then in the flour , fry till crispy on each side about 2min on each side add salt to taste. send me all the ones you don't want . Ha enjoy

If oil was 350-400 try patting filets dry with paper towel before breading with dry golden dip I don"t use any liquid with my dip and cook until golden brown. Just my $.02

fresh crappie are a little mushy. they will firm up after been froze.
thaw them out and pat dry.
heat grease to 400 deg. F

to tell the temp of grease once it heats up throw a kitchen match in it let it float till the match lites and goes out the temp will be right.

but i use a candy thermometer sold at most grocery stores. to keep the heat at the 400 deg f

cut your filets in to 1 1/2 in strips dont add to many to the pan about 8 pieces at a time so they cook thru fast and not soak up grease.

once the fish floats to the top they are done .

leave a little longer for more crisp.

~ sticko ~

Crappiemagnate is correct, I believe. I learned this decades ago. Screwed up some really good eating by cooking them too soon after cleaning live fish--thought I was really doing a great thing. I think the deal is that "rigormortis" needs to set in for a while. We used to put fish we caught into an ice chest in the boat, and would actually cook them on a Coleman stove while we were fishing, but they were D-E-A-D and COLD. Doesn't seem to matter much if they warm up to room temperature while you're frying the fish.

Try 365 degrees for the oil temp and don't crowd the pan so the temp drops. Then cook ten minutes to the inch, measured at thickest part. Good starting recipe for the breading is four cups cornmeal, three tablespoons plus one teaspoon salt, two teaspoons black pepper, and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. This is what I've used for years at my restaurant and at home except at home I use almost four tbs. salt instead of 3+. This is also most likely why I need blood pressure medication.

I have never found crappie to be mushy, and I have eaten them on the creek bank shortly after catching them. I think you must of not cooked long enough. We cook ours at 375 degrees until dark golden brown and they will float to top of grease when they are done.:)

All my crappie soak in icewater for at least 2 hrs b4 bagging or cooking. This firms the fillet up and your mush problem will be gone. Also make sure you dry the fillets thoroughly , that makes a big difference too.
good luck !! they`re the tastiest thing around !

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Originally Posted by CrappieMagnet

Try putting them in ICE cold water to firm them up before cooking them.:D

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I do this too, but sounds like to me they were either under cooked or grease was still too cold. Cold grease will make the fillets cook apart. When the fillets hits the grease they should boil instantly. Grease too hot smokes before putting in the fish and browns the fish too quick leaving them too raw inside. Even frozen crappie should be somewhat firm and flakey when cooked properly.

An old boy told me to soak them for a day in 7up before frying. The fillets actually come out light and fluffy. I guess the acid in the soda does something to the fish. It is wonderful and not mushy at all. Give that a try the next time you cook some up.

Make sure you pat the fillets off with a paper towel before you bread them.
I don't know that rigor mortise has anything to do with fish meat(it could?), but it does with red meat. I grew up eating fresh fish every weekend just a few hours after they're filleted... Other than that, it sounds like you may just be used to different texture fish?