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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

I made the fried fish last Friday -- first time for me, making fried fish!

not pretty, but sure was tasty!

And I was surprised by how delicious it turned out. I am not a fish lover, by the way. It's the rest of my family that loves fish. So, for me to say that this turned out delicious, that is pretty amazing. I kept eating waiting for that bite which would say to me, "yeah, this is why I don't like fish". But that never happened. It does make me wonder about the handling of fish in our local fish fast food joints, as it always tastes very fishy to me, at places like Ivar's.

This was my first attempt at making battered-dipped, fried fish. I went with a basic flour/vinegar/baking soda/salt/water batter. The recipe called for baking powder, but what I had was a combo of vinegar and baking soda. And although the recipe didn't mention dredging the fish in flour, before the batter, I did anyways, as that's how I fry most battered foods, to help the batter adhere better.

As usual when frying, I made a huge oily mess in the kitchen. I can't seem to fry without getting oil all over the place. I went through a couple of paper bags, as draining paper. And even with a lot of draining of oil, I put the fish in the oven to "hold" while frying the potatoes. There was still more oil in the pan that held the cooked fish. So, I drained on more paper, when I took that fish out of the low-temp oven.

With the leftover oil, it was about 1 cup, I put it into a plastic container and have it in the freezer for our next fish fry of the summer. I'll add some fresh oil to it, and use a blend of old and new oil. This will be the reserved "fish oil", only for cooking fish, as it likely picked up strong odors and flavors.

The box of cod fillets that I bought at Cash & Carry contains enough fillets for 4 nights of fish dinners for the summer. That should satisfy the fish lovers in my family!

16 comments:

  1. I don't like frying either for the same reason--oil everywhere! We don't eat a lot of fish as my husband is allergic to it but my daughter likes shrimp. We just have to wash the cooking utensils very well so we don't kill my husband with anaphylactic reaction. I won't cook/fry it but she did it and I got to taste it. She dropped it into seasoned flour, egg wash and back into the flour and fried. It was so good. I have done fried chicken in a skillet outside so my kitchen wouldn't have oil all over and the smell would be outside.

    I don't love fried foods because it just doesn't agree with me and I live with tummy issues for the rest of the day/night. I like eating fish/shrimp but rarely do. When I get it, it is from a restaurant, making sure they don't cross contaminate his food with seafood.

    Alice

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    1. Hi Alice,
      Glad to hear that I'm not the only one who seems to get oil everywhere, when frying!! I make such a huge mess, it's often a deterrent from frying.

      Good idea, to take your electric skillet outside. I may try that sometime. (I have a hot plate, but could use a skillet place on the hp, outside.)

      Delete
  2. I don't do a lot of frying either, despite being southern born and bred:) but when I do, I use a soup pot. The high sides help keep the oil where you want it and not everywhere else! Lynn

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    1. Lynn, this is excellent advice. I deep-fry a number of Chinese items, and when I do those, I use a tall pot. Makes a lot less mess than when I fry chicken or nacho chips or other things in a frying pan! Sara

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    2. Hi Lynn,
      I use a stockpot in fall/winter when I make donuts (and I store the oil in the stockpot, for future batches of oil or sweet potato fries). But I just didn't think to do that with the fish. Even so, I am a messy, messy fryer. I get oil everywhere, not just from spattering. (I'm also a messy baker, I get flour everywhere! LOL!)

      Delete
  3. Glad it worked out for you! I don't fry much at all at home because of the mess. Our local grocery store sells fried chicken that is very reasonable plus it is tastier than what I can buy, so if we feel the need for fried chicken that is where it comes from. We love fish but we like it grilled, so a fish fry is never an option here.

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    1. Hi Anne,
      I do want to try frying chicken someday. Our local Albertson's also sells good fried chicken, but it's a little expensive for my budget. We buy it for special occasions. I do think that would be a good use of some of our family fun money, though -- to buy some fried chicken to take to the park for a picnic. Hmmm, I think I just came up with our next family day out!!

      I don't even know what fast food places charge for fried chicken. But I'm sure it's high enough to make me think twice.

      Delete
  4. I think your fried cod fillets turned out beautiful, as well!! We rarely fry battered fish or chicken, for the same reason, messy and too much oil is retained in the batter. We like our fish sauteed with as little oil as possible. We keep the leftover fish oil in the refrig for use in bean burgers. I don't detect any fish odors and since it is a salmon/olive oil mixture, I'm assuming it may be a healthy addition. I don't think I'll ever tire of bean patties lol...so versatile. Instead of pre-making burritos for the freezer, I've found it is just as convenient to freeze the flour tortillas and bean patties separately, then put together in the microwave (heat the patty separately for a minute plus longer) when I want to eat a burrito, topped with some cheddar cheese, sour cream and salsa. BTW, I love the convenience of using canned tomato sauce/paste in the salsa, as you have done in one of your previous posts.

    YHF

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    1. Hi YHF,
      My family would eat fish any way I prepared it. The frying was so that I would actually try some! I will look into other recipes and ideas that maybe I'd like. But the fried fish was a hit (and my husband loves, loves, loves anything fried, and he needs to put on a few pounds, too).

      I've used leftover bean patties broken into chunks, in casseroles, as I would use meat chunks or mince, too. It adds a bit of extra protein to a rice or pasta casserole, without adding much in the way of fat.

      Delete
  5. I'm not a fried-fish lover, either, but my hubby and kids are--so they love the Saturdays when I work because dad makes pan-fried fish! From what my hubby has told me, how the fish is cleaned and filleted makes a big difference in the taste of the end-product, for whatever that's worth--you'd probably have to check online for different techniques. I know with salmon (which he grills) that you want the white meat and to trim off the darker areas as it reduces the fishiness. Glad you enjoyed your meal even if it isn't a favorite for you.

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    1. Hi Kris,
      what your husband says about fish and cleaning, makes sense. The fish that I bought is sold to restaurants, so maybe a decent quality? It was also individually quick frozen on the ship after being caught/processed. That could have helped, too. Or, I might have just gotten a very lucky piece without any fishy taste. Good to know about the salmon, trimming off the darker areas. Thanks for the info!

      Delete
  6. I thought I was in the minority because I don't like fish. But if I go with the comments on this blog, I may be in the majority. Or maybe frugal women with families are the ones who don't like fish that well. Maybe a study needs to be done. :)

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    1. Hi live and learn,
      I think I must have had a traumatic event with fish in a previous life! I am that adverse to it. But this is very interesting to note so many other folks who just don't like fish all that much. Living near the coast, you probably also get the puzzled looks when it slips out that you don't like fish. People assume that since I live close to the water then of course, I'd be a big fish-lover!

      Delete
  7. Fried fish....yum!!!!! Had to laugh at your "tastes fishy" comment. Shouldn't fish taste fishy?? :)

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    1. Hi Theresa,
      I guess that does sound funny. What if I complained that my hamburger tasted beefy?!

      Delete

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