Thread: fish frying temps .

Originally Posted by eagle 1

I hear folks cooking at 350-400 . I cook at 325 and never have a problem . I should also mention that all my fish are cut into small strips/nuggets . What do you do ?

When frying at home .... I'm running the temp up to 325deg before putting the fillets in. That's in a iron skillet with peanut oil. Couple of minutes on each side and they're on my plate !!! And I'm talking 5-6 fillets from 10-12" fish at one time. The temp will drop back down to around 300deg, when the fillets are added, but climbs back up to near 325deg by the time that side is done.
I think many people overcook fish ... some because they like them crispy/crunchy, some because of the heavy breading they use, and some because they just don't know any better or out of fear of undercooked fish. It don't take long to cook a fillet "done" (& safe to eat), it's all personal preference of the end results.

When I pan fry "whole" fish (head off/skin on) ... I do it the same way, but add a minute of cooking time to each side, and maybe a slightly higher level of peanut oil than I use for fillets.

I normally just coat the fish/fillets with Quaker yellow cornmeal, but if I'm out of that ... I will use Weisenberger Mills cornmeal (locally ground in Midway, Ky since 1865). Been eating fish with one or the other of these brands of cornmeal since my late Grandmother fried them, back when I was a child (mid 1950's).

... cp

I deep fry....375 for me......the faster the outside sears....the less oil it will absorb.... I fry until they float and then one more minute for average fillets....whole fish or really thick fillets get three more minutes. I use Andy's fish breading mix and add two table spoons of Tony Cachers Creole seasoning per bag of of Andys.

I'm with "G" I use Crisco Oil at 375 degrees. We tried something new to us the other day. I mixed in a can of beer in my wet batter Drakes Mix, possibly the best mess of fish I ever fried. It was a very thin batter.

I deep fry at 350 degrees..breaded with cornmeal.fillets I cook for 5 minutes and the whole fish for 7.. Always turns out good.

Deep fry mine at 350 to 360 for 3 1/2 to 4 min.

I fry at 360-370. i take 4 eggs and whip them good. Then add about a quart of milk to the eggs all in one bowl. I take all purpose corn mill (salt added) and blend in Lowery's steak seasoning to taste. its hard to add too much. i seperate my thick filets from the thin as they will cook different. Dip the fish into the milk/egg wash and then into a bag with the corn mill for a good shake. the small fillets cook in 2 minutes and the thick i will let go for 2.5 minutes. I use the 6.5 gallon Cajun Cooker so i do not have any drops in temp.

I like seasoned corn flour over corn meal after soaking in a egg/hot sauce/milk mixture. Fry at 375 until floating +1 minute or so.

Try dipping filets in mustard then in the corn meal. You'll stop using your milk and egg wash after you try this