Fried Fish
Author, Gullah Geechee Home Cooking: Recipes from the Matriarch of Edisto Island
"Every week, my husband, Jesse, would go out and fish. He’d walk over to the nearby creek, and he would come back with overflowing buckets of fish—anything from whiting to shrimp to spottail bass, and shark—it was enough to feed half the island! Fried fish Fridays are big in our culture, so Jessie would clean the fish, and I’d cook it right up and serve it with red rice. He loved it, and my children loved it, too. Whether you find yourself dreaming about fish or just love that crispy, flaky taste, this fried fish recipe will carry you through Fridays, baby showers, and celebrations beyond."
—Emily Meggett
Ingredients
Serves 6 to 9
5 pounds (2.3 kg) whiting, catfish, or fish of choice
2 tablespoons seasoning salt
2 cups (480 ml) vegetable oil
¼ cup (30 g) self-rising flour
¾ cup (90 g) cornmeal
Method
Clean, rinse, and fillet the fish. Season the fillets with seasoning salt and set aside.
In a large cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering.
In a brown paper bag, combine the flour and cornmeal. Place all the seasoned fish in the bag. Grip the top of the bag tightly, and shake the bag until all of the fish is well coated. Be careful to hold the bottom and top of the bag while shaking so flour and cornmeal don’t leak from the bag. The key here is to bread your fish, but not too much. A few good shakes of the fish and flour should do the trick.
Once all the fish are coated, place each piece of fish in the hot oil, one by one. Make sure that the oil is very hot; other- wise, the fish will break apart.
Fry the fish over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Line a plate with two paper towels. Using tongs or a large fork, place the fish on the paper towels so the extra oil can drain. Serve immediately.
Yield
6 to 8
