Friday Fish Fry

Growing up in a Catholic family meant that the beginning of Spring was all about Lent.  At some point everyone would have ashes on their foreheads, there was a portion that included palm fronds, and then there were Friday afternoons working in the church kitchen stirring large batches of cole slaw, dredging strips of fish for frying and being bossed around by the not-priest church boss Barbara.  She makes the best potato salad… she’s supposed to be bossing the Friday Fish Fry.  

In my experience, Friday Fish Frys are best enjoyed off of a paper plate, at a folding table with older church ladies most of whom are mistaking you 2for your sister… and you just go along with it… keeping one eye on the dessert table for the dwindling portions of the Sweet Potato Pie.  That’s how you know it’s Lent.  And it’s a good thing you gave up chocolate and not french fries.  

Let’s fish and fry! 

I used cod for our Friday Fish Fry.  It’s a solid white fish that maintains its moisture and flakes when bitten into.  

Set up three dredging bowls.  This is the path to success.  

•  All-purpose flour with salt and pepper.  
• Cornstarch, baking powder, creole seasoning, flour, milk, and sparkling water.  A wet batter.  
• Panko bread crumbs, for golden crispness.  

Here’s the gravy train.  That must be what Catholics call it, right?  

Fish pieces are lightly coated in flour, dipped into the wet batter, and covered in panko.  

Well coated fishy fish bites.  

It’s time for frying… and we’re talking deep-fat frying.  About 2 good inches of oil is heated to 375 degrees F.  Fish is fried for 2 minutes on each side.  Enough to be made golden and irresistible.  

I served our Friday Fish Fry with homemade sweet and sour vinegar cole slaw from this simple recipe, here.  Add extra carrots, less sugar, and purple onions.  It’s simple and satisfying.  Also, french fries… shoestring, baked from frozen because we have no shame in our game, and topped liberally with garlic butter, also no shame in that game.  

Friday is on the horizon and it’s looking mighty delicious.  

Friday Fish Fry

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• Author: Joy the Baker
• Prep Time: 30
• Cook Time: 20
• Total Time: 50 minutes

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Ingredients

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For the Fish

• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1/3 cup lemon sparkling water
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 pounds cod fillet, cut into 2-inch chunks
• canola oil for deep frying

For the Cole Slaw Dressing

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon celery seeds

For the Slaw

• 1 large head green cabbage (about 3 1/2 pounds), finely shredded by hand
• 2 large carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
• 1 medium purple onion, finely sliced by hand
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup kosher salt

For the Fries

• 1 bag frozen shoestring French Fries
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, coarsely chopped

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Instructions

1. To make the fish, you’ll need three shallow bowls.
2. In one shallow bowl, whisk together the cornstarch, baking powder, salt, Creole seasoning, and 1/2 cup flour. Stir in milk and sparkling water until smooth.
3. In another small bowl, whisk together remaining 1 cup flour, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper.
4. In the final shallow bowl, add breadcrumbs.
5. Heat about 4 cup canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Use a fry thermometer to bring the oil to 375 degrees F.
6. To prepare the fish, first toss in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in the batter, shaking off any excess. Finally, cover in panko and place on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet.
7. Fry the fish in batches, cooking for 2-3 minutes on each side.
8. Return to wire rack to cool slightly and drain.
9. To make the cole slaw, for the dressing, whisk together vinegar, sugar, oil, garlic, black pepper, and celery seeds in small bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds and whisk again, dissolving the sugar.
10. For the slaw, toss together the cabbage, carrot, and onion in a large bowl. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and salt and toss to combine. Let stand five minutes, then transfer to a large colander and rinse thoroughly under cold running water.
11. Transfer vegetables to a salad spinner and spin dry. Alternatively, transfer to a large rimmed baking sheet lined with a triple layer of paper towels or a clean kitchen towel and blot mixture dry with more towels. Return to large bowl.
12. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss to coat. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt, pepper. Chill until ready to serve.
13. To make the fries, cook the fries in the oven according to the package directions. While the fries bake, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the salt and parsley and remove from heat. Drizzle butter and garlic mixture over the baked fries to your desired butteryness. Serve warm.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 4