Valentine’s Day Dinner Run Through: Fish

Given the disappointing results of poaching frozen fish combined with a very limited choice of fresh fillets, flexibility occurred and the menu was changed to fried fish. This recipe, like most, is easy. The fish comes out as though it were grilled or baked rather than fried.

In this neck of the woods, in this time of the year, to get fresh fish a body has to walk onto a lake and chop a hole in the ice. Or so it seems. Thus the frozen walleye and frying instead of poaching. The walleye fillets originated in a local pond and fulfilled the cooking local challenge.

A comment about the shrinking fisheries could be repeated, but that would be a digression.

When buying the fish, any firm body fillets will do. The walleye fillets were barely ½ inch at the thickest, so they cooked very quickly. A thicker fillet will have to cook longer.

Ingredients:

The more flavorful the paprika, the better. If you prefer some heat, use a hot, rather than sweet paprika. You could substitute black pepper or another spice like dill weed.

To thaw, put the fish into a water tight bag. In most cases, frozen fish will come in a water tight bag. Put the bag containing the fish in a pan of water. The fish will defrost in 30 to 60 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillets.

As the fish thaws, prepare a breading. Use three dishes. Two of the dishes will contain flour mixtures, the third will contain beaten egg. You will want to coat the fish with the contents of each dish, so pick a size and shape to that purpose.

This may sound like too much salt, but remember, not all of it will get to the fish.

When the fish has thawed:

Let the fish cook for 3 or 4 minutes. (more if the fillet is 1 inch or thicker), then turn carefully. Do not try to turn the fish too soon as it will stick to the pan if you do.

When done, serve. You can test the fish by cutting into the thickest part of one of the fillets. The flesh of the fish should be opaque. If you the fish looks transparent in the middle, it needs to cook longer.

copyright 2006 Chromia Poetics