Saturday, December 1, 2007

My favorite fried fish recipe - Italian Crappie

Here is my favorite fish recipe because Shark Girl asked. I will give some variations that allow some leeway in the recipe. You need to start with mild fish fillets. I like crappie/perch/bluegill and mix the three. I'm the only one who can tell the difference in the fillets because I know their shape and color.

I call this one Italian Crappie because of the taste the breading gives the fish.

You need:

Fish fillets - mine are always skinless and the fillets should be a mild white fish.
3 eggs
Buttermilk - (You can use regular milk but the buttermilk adds to the taste.)
1 cup of Italian Breadcrumbs.
1 cup of Parmesan Cheese
salt and pepper
Olive Oil and butter or Peanut Oil - Use vegetable oil as a last choice.
2 one gallon freezer bags

You need two containers to dip the fillets in the breading process. I use gallon freezer bags because when I'm done I can just throw them away easily with little mess.

Start by beating three eggs in a bowl with a 1/3 of a cup of buttermilk add salt and pepper to taste. Combine the mixture thoroughly and pour it into one of the freezer bags.

Pour a cup of Parmesan Cheese and a cup of the Italian Breadcrumbs into a freezer bag and mix thoroughly by shaking the bag. This makes your external coating.

You now put some of your fillets into the egg mixture in the first bag. Shake the bag to coat the fillets with the egg mixture. Remove the fillets from the egg mixture and place one or two at a time in the coating bag. Shake to make sure the fillet is well coated.

On a stove top have a frying pan with the olive oil and butter heating. Watch you don't burn the mixture. Start placing your fillets in the oil and cook them several at a time to golden brown on both sides. Do not burn the fillets.

You can serve this with any vegetable you like and I really enjoy the taste of the fish prepared this way. I like to fry some peppers and onions together in a separate pan to serve with the fish fillets.

I vary the recipe in the second bag several ways:

1. The second freezer bag can have flour mixed with salt and pepper for a milder taste.

2. The second freezer bag can have crushed potato chips for a more kid friendly taste. My grand kids eat this one up.

3. The second freezer bag can have a crushed Ritz Crackers for an interesting taste variance.

4. The second freezer bag can have a crushed Saltine Crackers for another taste variance.

I'm sure one of the five variations will become your favorite.

3 comments:

The Film Geek said...

I'm not a great fan of fish, but I'm gonna give this a try. Sounds great.

Shark Girl said...

Awesome! Thank you for publishing this. I'm trying it out Monday night, I think. I'll let you know how I like it. I've been hungry for fish and keep thinking to ask you for this recipe and forgot until yesterday.

Shark Girl said...

I tried this recipe and I really recommend it. I made it last night, and it was awesome.

I had some talapia I needed to use up, and it was a great recipe and somehting I'm going to keep and use again.