I love fishing. It's probably my main hobby with cooking coming in a close second. I'm not a huge fan of eating fish. Lake fish that is. Take me to the coast and I'll put away some serious seafood. The rest of my family are complete opposites. They would eat fried fish every night. So my fishing hobby and their eating hobby mesh up very well. Yesterday we celebrated my Dad's 88th Birthday. There was absolutely no question that the event would be a Fish Fry. I really only had to decide what kinds of sides to make and what kind of birthday cake we would be having. I know I talked about National Catfish Month, but what we ate yesterday was mainly Striper and Crappie. Occasionally when we're fishing for a big mess of fish, we will catch a catfish and go ahead a fillet it as well. The preparation is the same for all three species, and all taste equally delicious, although I think my family would unanimously agree the Crappie is the absolute best eating. Mr. Devilish Dish has evolved his own fish fry method, inspired by his brother the chef in New Orleans and my family will also agree this method is the tastiest. The running family joke is the preppy golfer I married over 30 years ago is now CATCHING, AND frying fish on the patio for all family occasions like my grandfathers and uncles did in the past. If you enjoy fishing, then give this method a try. And if you're ever at Lake Texoma or Lake Fork I will share the information for both our Striper Fishing Guide and Crappie Fishing Guide. We've gotten to know these guys pretty well and if you want to catch a mess of fish and host your own family fish fry, I highly recommend the experience. Not only is it rewarding to catch your own meal, but they even fillet the fish for you!
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| A proper Oklahoma meal. We even had Smoked Bologna (which is hilariously known as Oklahoma Prime Rib. I plan on sharing the recipe for that soon!) |
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| Place your fish fillets in a bowl and coat them with hot sauce. Just a light coating to help the breading stick. |
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| Place the breaded fillets in the deep fryer. |
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| Fry away! |
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| They will turn golden brown and float when they are done. |
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| Drain those golden, crispy fillets on paper towels. |
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| Enjoy with your family's favorite sides. |
-4 Parts Louisiana Fish Fry Breading Mix combined with 1 part Cajun Seasoning or Dry Cajun Boil Mix (He uses spicy breading mix and a secret dry Cajun boil mix that I do not have permission to share)
-Crystal's Hot Sauce (He uses this as a binder. You do not taste that heat of the hot sauce. It's just to help the breading stick. I've seen old timers do this same technique with yellow mustard but I'm a fan of this Cajun flavor)
-Peanut oil for frying (We use an electric deep fryer. You could totally do this in a big skillet but I love the ease of the deep fryer for this. It's honestly the only time we use it. And I'm sure you could use an air fryer too, I've never tried it that way. I'm just an Okie girl cooking fish the way my ancestors taught me.
Pat your fish fillets dry with clean paper towels. In a bowl toss together fish fillets with a small amount of hot sauce. Combine the fish fry breading mix and the Cajun seasoning or dry Cajun boil mix.
Toss the fillets in the breading mix, shaking off any excess.
Fry in peanut oil that has been heated to 350 degrees F. Depending upon the size of your fillets, you'll fry them anywhere from 2-4 minutes. Basically until they are golden brown and start to float.
Immediately turn the fried fish pieces out on to a paper towel to drain any oil. This will help keep them crispy. We like ours with more Crystal's Hot Sauce, but if you like cocktail sauce or tartar sauce feel free.
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