It's the first friday of lent! (Fish question)

i n c u b u s

Which means no meat tonight, so I'm planning on doing a fish fry. Now I have fried many things (including oreos) but I don't think I've ever fried fish. So does anyone know what kind of fish would be suitable to fry without it drying out in the process? Also it has to be readily available at my local Wal-mart, I plan on doing some hush puppies along with it while I have the oil heated up (might as well right?). I appreciate the help guys!

matt has a problem

Tilapia works well. It's thin so it fries quickly.

Thanatos

Cod, haddock, tilapia, and halibut are what I've mostly seen used for fish 'n' chips.

thisisntwally

White fish are the traditional frying fish, cod, halibut, tilapia, whatever. But I hear salmon is good too, pick a fish you like, and fry it.. As your experience with oreos shows its hard for things which are fried not to taste good.

One thing with fish, is that if you're breading it, it can be hard to keep the breading from falling off. I recommend the following.

1. Clean your fish (or have a butcher do it). Have the skin removed, because no one like that scaly shit.

2. Assuming its already an appropriate thickness (1/4 to 1/2", it needs to cook through before the outside starts burning, if its too thick, use a filleting knife [sharp] to fix that) pat your fish in a pile of flour, making sure the whole surface is covered.

3. Beat up an egg or two. Dip each piece of flour coated fish into the egg, then pat it in a pile of bread crumbs, being sure to cover the entire surface.

4. Put pieces in fridge for half an hour or more, to solidify the coating.

5. Fry and eat.

bowen

^ that guy knows his fish-fry.

i n c u b u s

Simple enough, thanks guys and have a great weekend!

Endaro

Yeah, basically what that guy said. White fish are most common, I prefer Tilapia and Halibut.

Also, consider looking into a recipe for beer batter. It's excellent for fried fish, and quite simple.

Noquar

A few other things to consider.

1) Make sure your fish is not too moist. Pat it dry before you start using it. Soggy fish often results in..well..soggy fish.

2) A tip a lot of people use; if your fish is smelling, well, fishy, soak it in milk for a hour or so. Then dry it off and cook it up.

3) Skin is really a preference. If prepped and cooked right the skin can taste fantastic. It isn't half bad for you either, it will give you a nice glossy coat of fur..but seriously, at least with halibut scales aren't a factor. And another plus to halibut, if it has been cut properly, no bones!

Living up here in Alaska we get spoiled with fish. I feel like Bubba on Forrest Gump when I start reciting halibut recipes.

ihmmy

baking a whole fish:

take the fish (gutted already)
place it on a large piece of tinfoil
put some butter inside
season with lemon seasoning, or salt, pepper and lemon juice
spread some butter on the top too, for extra tendery goodness. Add more lemon juice
fold the tinfoil over the top of it and seal the edges, so it's in a tight package. Don't completely seal all edges (a little air is good, but mostly sealed to keep in the moisture)
Bake for 30-60min, depending on size of fish

I use this a lot for salmon and it's sooooo yummy, and easy too (no standing over hot sizzling oil, yay!)