Fish Fry Recipe
Published February 26, 2020. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Try this delicious and easy to make Fish Fry Recipe with homemade french fries and an amazing tartar sauce recipe.
During the Lenten season, a lot of folks chose not to eat meat on Fridays for 40 days, so it’s fish fry or seafood season. You don’t need to celebrate lent to enjoy this recipe because it is absolutely delicious
If you love fish fry’s, then you’ll absolutely love my shrimp and clam boil. Serve it up with some cornbread or vinegar coleslaw.
What Fish is Good for Frying
There are quite a few types of fish to choose from when making this, but regardless of which type of fish you choose it still needs to be cut down into smaller pieces that are about 4 ounces in weight or else it will fall apart while frying.
The best fish to use is:
- Cod
- Walleye
- Mahi Mahi
- Halibut
- Sea Bass
- White Fish
- Crappie
- Bass
- Trout
- Perch
- Salmon
How to Buy Fresh Fish
I don’t know about you but I’m super picky about buying fish. It doesn’t matter what kind it is, I am always looking for exact characteristics to make sure it’s fresh.
- It should never have a fishy smell to it. Now, a specific type of fish may have a distinct smell to it or it may smell like the ocean, but it should never be fishy.
- All fish should be firm. If it’s spongy or overly soft, don’t you dare by it.
- There should be no slimy film on it. Grocery stores may spray a little water on it to keep it fresh and shiny, but it should not appear or feel slimy to the touch.
When you go to the grocery store or the fish market, as the person behind the counter if you can smell the fish. Ask him when was it brought in, as in, is it old or fresh? Ask if you can borrow a glove so you can gently press on it to make sure it’s firm and not slimy.
How to Make Fish Taste Better
If you don’t like the taste of fish, be sure to always properly season it with salt and pepper and try squeezing on some fresh lemon juice or serving it with a beurre blanc sauce or lemon butter like in my scallops recipe.
Fish Fry Batter Recipe
This is a simple classic fish fry batter that you can use for any seafood item and here are the ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Cornstarch
- Sparkling Water
- Dark Beer
- Sea Salt & Pepper
Follow these simple procedures below:
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined.
Chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes until you are ready to use it.
How to Fry It
When it comes to frying fish for your fish fry extravaganza you want to make sure that there is plenty of oil in the fryer so that it is completely submerged while frying. You do this so that it cooks evenly and it looks perfectly browned on all sides.
You could also just have a pan half with oil for your recipe and flip the fish over as well if a part is sticking out. The oil should be right at 350° which is a really solid temperature for this dish.
Place the fish in the batter and completely coat it
Next, simply place ½ of the fish into the hot oil waving it back and forth a few times to get it going so that it won’t stick to the bottom of your frying pot or pan.
Cook for 2 ½ to 3 minutes or until golden brown on the outside and cooked throughout.
Remove from the oil and let drain and dry on a paper towel or a rack over a cookie sheet tray.
Serve with tartar sauce, malt vinegar, and fries, but if you want to take this recipe up to the next level then replace the fries with my Parmesan Truffle Fries Recipe.
Make-Ahead and Storage
To Keep Hot: Place on a rack over a cookie sheet tray and keep in the oven at 225° until ready to serve.
Make-Ahead: You can fry the fish up to 30 minutes before serving, just be sure to keep them warm in the oven.
How to Reheat: Place on a rack over a cookie sheet tray and bake in the oven at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until hot.
How to Store: Place in between layers of parchment paper in a container with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
chef notes + tips
- Now it certainly helps to have a deep fryer, but you can still pull this off if you have a pot, a thermometer and plenty of oil.
- The cornstarch in the batter helps to make a thick outside crust if you want you can use 2 cups of flour and 2 tablespoons of baking powder instead.
- You can use just sparkling water or just beer or a combination of both if you choose.
- Fish is cooked all the way through when it reaches 145° internally.
- If cooking more than 1 fish at a time, be sure to keep the fish about 1″ to 2″ from each other or else they are going to stick together.
- To keep the fish hot without being soggy, place them on a rack on a sheet tray and keep hot in the oven at 225°.
More Amazing Fish Recipes
If you love this fish fry recipe then be sure to check out these recipes:
- Coho Salmon Recipe
- Smoked Salmon Dip Recipe
- New England Clam Chowder Recipe
- Homemade Gravlax Recipe
- Grilled Salmon Recipe
Be sure to follow me on Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Pinterest and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!
Video
Fish Fry Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds of fresh cod or walleye cut into 4-ounce fillets
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup sparkling water
- 1 cup dark beer
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
- oil for frying
- 1 tartar sauce recipe
- 1 fries recipe
- lemons and malt vinegar for garnish
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat oil to 350°.
- Fish: In a large bowl whisk together the flour, cornstarch, sparkling water, beer, salt and pepper until it is completely combined.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes or until ready to use.
- Next, dredge the fish completely into the batter 1 to 2 at at a time and add it to a fryer, or pot with oil at 350° for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or golden brown and cooked throughout.
- Once they are cooked, remove from the fryer and set on a plate lined with a paper towel or on a rack over a cookie sheet tray to drain any excess oil.
- Repeat until all of the fish is cooked
- Serve the fish with tartar sauce, fries, lemon wedges and malt vinegar.
Notes
- To Keep Hot: Place on a rack over a cookie sheet tray and keep in the oven at 225° until ready to serve.
- Make-Ahead: You can fry the fish up to 30 minutes before serving, just be sure to keep them warm in the oven.
- How to Reheat: Place on a rack over a cookie sheet tray and bake in the oven at 350° for 6-8 minutes or until hot.
- How to Store: Place in between layers of parchment paper in a container with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
- Now it certainly helps to have a deep fryer, but you can still pull this off if you have a pot, a thermometer and plenty of oil.
- The cornstarch in the batter helps to make a thick outside crust, if you want you can use 2 cups of flour and 2 tablespoons of baking powder instead.
- You can use just sparkling water or just beer or a combination of both if you choose.
- Fish is cooked all the way though when it reaches 145° internally.
- If cooking more than 1 fish at a time, be sure to keep the fish about 1″ to 2″ from each other or else they are going to stick together.
- To keep the fish hot without being soggy, place them on a rack on sheet tray and keep hot in the oven at 225°.
Made this tonight. It was very good. I always make recipes almost exactly the first time I make them so I judge how accurate the recipe contributes is. This is pretty spot on. Only thing I did was add some dill to the tartar sauce because I had it on hand. Awesome recipe Billy
thanks for giving it a shot!!
This is an amazing recipe and easy to make. I enjoyed it immensely. Since I live in a place where I can catch fresh fish daily, I will be making thos again very soon.
Thanks for trying it.
We lived in England for 3 years….I love this recipe it reminds me of great fish and chips in England….. don’t skip making this tarter sauce, Delish
I was wondering if you could use air fryer and if so: what temp and how long Thanks love your recipes
Possibly? I’m honestly don’t mess with them too much, so it’s a bit hard for me to give you a time and temp.
Made this tonight with cod. So good! Only problem was the better was peeling off during frying, probably because I was pan frying it. I just scraped up those bits and served it on the fish. So good and crispy!