FISH FRY
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James Norton/Heavy Table
The advent of Lent means it's time to get crispy in the kitchen.
BY JAMES NORTON
James Norton/Heavy Table
The annual fishtastic festival of Lent started this Wednesday and it runs through Thursday, March 28. A regular feature of Lent is hitting up church basements for ritualized fish fries of varying degrees of quality, but if you've got a deep fryer - and really, everyone should - you can consider bringing the celebration into your own home.
Frying gets a bad rap for both danger and cleanup, but as long as you're careful about not balancing anything on the edge of the counter and you give the oil plenty of time to cooldown before storage or disposal, it's not all that bad. And in its favor: it's a great way to feed a crowd, well, and in entertaining fashion. Dispatching plate after plate of hot, tasty food from the kitchen to the dining room accomplishes the mission of "dinner and a show," and once you're in the groove, it's not too much effort to pull off.
Perch or walleye are the classic frying fishes, but I tried this recipe with Greenland Cod from Eastside Coop and very much enjoyed the finished product - firm, crispy, and delicious. Likewise, the recipe calls for bread crumbs, but all I had on hand were panko (Japanese bread crumbs), and the substitution did no harm.
FISH FRY
3 lb Perch or Walleye (I used Greenland Cod from Eastside Coop)
.75 cup Lemon Juice
1 tsp Parsley
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
3 cup Flour
9 Egg (beaten)
3 cups Bread Crumbs
lemon wedges
Vegetable Oil (or your preferred oil for frying)
CUCUMBER TARTAR SAUCE
.75 cup Cucumber (finely diced)
1 cup Mayonnaise
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Dry Mustard
6 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
.75 tsp Garlic Powder
6 Tbsp Green Onion (minced)
1.5 tsp Salt
2 tsp Pepper
Mix together all Cucumber Tartar Sauce ingredients until thoroughly combined. Set aside to serve with fish.
In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, salt, pepper, parsley, and soy sauce. Add fish, and let marinate for 10 minutes.
Add oil to a deep fryer and eat oil to a high heat of 360F. If you do not have a deep fryer, you can also fry these in a frying pan with hot oil. Watch your temperature, and if it comes too far down from 360, pause before adding more fish.
Take three disposable pie tins, in one place the flour, the next place the eggs & in the last one bread crumbs. If desired, you can season the bread crumbs with salt, pepper, and parsley.
Bread your fish by (in order) dipping the fish into the flour, eggs, breadcrumbs. Make sure each filet is completed covered in breadcrumbs.
Drop breaded filets into the hot oil and fry them until they float and are golden brown. 4-5 minutes a side is typical.
Place fish and tartar on a plate and garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.