Soul Food Staples: Fried Fish

Fried Whiting

I think it safe to suggest that within the culture of Soul Food that I observe and have experienced most, if not all of my life, that there are some foods that are commonly regarded to be static features. I call them, Soul Food Staples.  I'm planning a post in the very near future that examines what the hierarchy of dishes are that occupy the pantheon of foods found in Soul Food as I apprehend it.  And, I think I'll ask some of my friends from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities the same question.

But, that's not what I'm doing tonight.  Tonight I'm cooking fried fish and doing a heck of a job at it. (as you can plainly see)

I've learned that some version of breaded and fried fish finds its way onto tables in cultures all across the globe, so it's certainly not my contention that simply frying fish equals cooking Soul Food.  However, I'm also convinced by my own experiences that what many deem "Southern Fried Fish" i.e. one of a number of types of fish that is seasoned and coated in corn meal or a combination of corn flower and corn meal fall squarely onto the list of commonly accepted Soul Food dishes.

When done right, fried fish is crunchy on the outside and flaky on the inside.  The corn meal forms a crust that is golden brown and delicious, especially when its seasoned rather simply, omitting things like garlic and onion powders.  Simply seasoned, but not UN-seasoned.  Big difference.  

Season Salt, Black Pepper, Old Bay and Paprika

Frying fish can be tricky.  I for one don't like to use seasoning that will "fight" with the fish's flavor that perhaps the fish might have trouble standing up to like garlic or onion.  I've also learned that, like pork, it's much easier to over salt fish than it is beef, so I'm careful when I use salt and Old Bay together because Old Bay adds salt.  Seafood and Paprika are good buddies from way back so they do very well together.  I like to have my fillets still relatively wet and in a large bowl after I've cut them into the size pieces I'm going to fry them at.  Then, I add my seasoning to the wet fish creating a moist brine (as opposed to a wet or dry brine...we will discuss later)

Seasoned Fillets

The bowl in the picture above isn't dirty, I simply work the fillets around in the most brine to make sure all of the pieces are seasoned evenly.  (it also seems to coat the sides of the bowl quite nicely)

Again, fish can be tricky so I don't let it brine very long, mostly because it doesn't need to.  After no more than a half hour while I prepare the rest of my ingredients and get everything into place  (Mise en place) I'm ready to go.

On a side note, I'm completely open to soaking fish in milk in order to reduce/remove the "fishy" flavor.  I've done so in the past and found it to be effective if not time consuming.  But, I don't mind fish flavor for the most part.  Soaking in milk or buttermilk did actually work for me, by the way, so it's your call.  Because I don't subscribe to using an egg wash when I fry my fish, I make certain to make the moist brine good and moist.

Kev's Moist Brine For Fish

2 tbl spoons Season Salt

2 tbl spoons Old Bay

2 tbl spoons Paprika

3 tbl spoons black pepper

1/4 cup warm water

Place spices and water into large bowl and mix.  Add prepped fillets and swirl the fillets into the brine, coating them well.  Let sit for 15-30 mins

Now, as I said earlier I don't do egg wash for my fried fish.  Pork cutlets?  Definitely egg wash. But because the the fillets are wet from the brine, the seasoned corn meal/cornmeal and flour mixture will adhere nicely.  

 

I am a die hard white corn meal guy and for fish, I don't do flour in tandem with it.  I like the toasted flavor it gives when it's fried and it browns.  For me, it's also simpler to gauge doneness using white cornmeal vs yellow.  Season the corn meal with the same blend as the brine only, don't use as much.  I generally cut it all down by 2/3 for a cup of white cornmeal.

Finally, frying.  I cut my fillets into small pieces and often on a bias so that they cook quickly.  I use vegetable oil and a hot pan.  Heat your oil on medium high and when it's shimmering add coated fillets skin side up!  I leave my heat on pretty high for the whole frying but remember, deep frying is different than pan frying where the meat touches the pan and so it needs a different kind of attention to avoid burning or over cooking.

In a good hot pan, fillets this size only need to go a few minutes per side.  Remove and drain on paper towel and you've got something magical!

I think that fried perch is my absolute favorite, but I love walleye, snapper, cod and even cat fish when it's fried correctly.  When you nail it you know for sure because the coating is not a thick mess that takes away from the lovely fish underneath.  It's seasoned right and the fish flavor isn't wrestling with the spices.  Give it a try when you have some time. Total cooking time including prep was less than an hour.

Enjoy!