Best Fish Fry Recipes (2024)

I just love a good fish fry and here are several coating recipes below that will be perfect for any kind of fish you like.

Where I grew up in Utica, New York our family loved to go out for a haddock fish fry every Friday night.

The competition for making the best fish fry in local restaurants was everywhere in my hometown, we just rotated and tried just about all of them.

Our hometown also had a market-style fish place we would go to and they would fry the fish right there and we just had to bring it home.

Those are some fond memories of growing up and we all just love fish fries and looked forward to them.

Living in Florida we go ocean fishing often and are lucky to have some fresh fish to cook mostly snook which is seasonal and redfish which can be caught all year.

I like a crispy bread coating on fish, mom loved a beer batter-fried or Italian coating.

Dad loved the flour-cornmeal style coating.

So here is a roundup of different recipes from Italian style, batter, and more that we developed over the years after moving to Florida to season and fry fish with.

Every one of these is a different coating to try and hard to choose which one we like the best.

Our favorite fish to eat is still haddock but again, cod, and grouper are good choices and any coating you choose will work with just about any fish you like.

I love all kinds of seafood, some of my other family's favorite recipes, especially on Christmas Eve when we make more than 7 fishes celebration!

You may also enjoy my Baked Fish with Roasted Vegetables or a delicious Cioppino which is a fish stew.

Scroll down to the recipe card to print it off and try one of the recipes that sounds good to you too!

Fresh Fish

We are lucky here in Florida to be able to have fresh fish just about all year long.

When I lived in Upstate Utica New York, we always had haddock, cod or freshly caught bass and walleye.

We love to fish and bring home a fresh catch during snook season in Florida which is our favorite fish fry here.

Whichever kind of fresh or store-bought fish you like, there is a fantastic coating recipe below to fry or bake it in.

Ingredients to Have on Hand for Frying Fish

Flour
Eggs
Cornstarch
Seasonings
Cornmeal
Buttermilk
Eggs
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Kinds of Fish to Use:
Haddock, Mahi Mahi, Cod, Grouper, fresh-caught walleye, snook, redfish or any other kinds of hearty fish.
Oil

Frying Fish

When deep-frying, choose an oil with a high smoke point(peanut, grapeseed, safflower, soybean, sunflower, canola, and extra light olive oil) are all good

choices) and a flavor that is either neutral or appropriate to the type of food you're cooking.

Don't use unrefined oils for deep frying, as their smoke points are much lower.

If you have a deep fryer, great!

You can deep fry the fish with a basket to get the best-fried restaurant-style version at home.

The Results

Deep-fried fish and seafood should be light, crisp, and wonderful, not heavy, sodden, and awful.

Making the right choices and using the proper deep-frying techniques and tools can make all the difference.

For successful deep-frying, you will need a heavy, deep pot, oil, a thermometer, tongs to remove fried items and an area to drain the cooked seafood on paper towels

A deep skillet or pan is fine however you must wait until the oil reaches375 degrees, to start frying.

At the minimum, the pot should hold about 3 inches of oil

The best oil to use is a blend of vegetable and extra light olive oil for a great-tasting fish fry.

Best Fish For These Coatings

Haddock
Walleye
Tilapia
Alaskan Cod
Catfish
Halibut
Striped Bass
Trout
Perch
Shrimp
Scallops
Calamari
Lobster
Lump Crab Meat
Chilean Seabass
Trout
Snook
Redfish
Flounder ( very thin best batter fried)
Halibut
Salmon
Bass

Tips

Before cooking, make sure your filet is completely dry—inside and out— since excess moisture lowers the temperature of the oil and causes the oil to become more agitated, which leads to burnt fish and a messy splattered kitchen (I know from experience).
Always heat the oil first to heating instructions
Don't crowd the fish in the pan
Putting a lot of food into the oil all at once can lower the temperature drastically and allow the oil to seep into the food, resulting in greasy and heavy food.
Frying in small batches produces much better results.
A good rule of thumb is to not use more than half of the surface area of the hot oil.
Place fish on paper towels to drain the oil after cooking

Coating for Fish Recipes

There are several coatings to try.

Some with flour, cracker crumbs, and bread crumbs.

Favorite Recipes to Try

Florida Red Fish
Seafood Primavera
Coconut Shrimp
Apricot Glazed Salmon
Almond-crusted Haddock and Shrimp
Lemon Garlic Shrimp Pasta
Filet Mignon topped with shrimp and crab

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Healthy Fish

If you want to lower calories and bake the fish, no problem any coating can be air fried or baked on a baking sheet drizzle with a little olive oil.

The only recipe below that must be fried is with the batter although I have also air-fried the batter-coated fish.

Like its close relative, cod, this whitefish haddock hails from the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Sometimes sold under the name scrod, haddock has a slightly sweeter taste and finer texture than cod, but the two are often swapped in recipes.

A very low-calorie, low mercury fish to use is haddock and a favorite of mine.

The health benefits of haddock include: very low in calories (77 calories per 3 ounces), high in protein (17 grams per 3 ounces) and an excellent source of selenium, phosphorus and some of the B vitamins.

This fish is what I go out of my way to find and fry and my favorite to use and of course, if you want it healthier than try baking it, click here!

New York Fish Fry, fish batter, fish coating, fish fry, frying fish, fried fish recipes

seafood, fish, haddock, how to fry fish, coating fish, fish fry

American

Yield: 6

Author: Claudia Lamascolo

Best Upstate New York Haddock Fish Fry Recipes

prep time: 10 Mcook time: 9 Mtotal time: 19 M

If you have ever traveled to Utica New York, they have some of the best fish fried ever in local restaurants.
This is a roundup of coating recipes for fish that we love to make at home.

ingredients:

Fish for Frying:
Just a few ingredients you may need:
Flour
Eggs
Cornstarch
Seasonings
Cornmeal
Buttermilk
Eggs
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Kinds of Fish to Use:
Haddock, Mahi Mahi, Cod, Grouper, or any other kinds of hearty fish.
Note: Flounder is thin and tends to fall apart
Oil extra light olive oil, vegetable or canola
See All Recipes Below for Coatings

instructions:

How to cook Best Upstate New York Haddock Fish Fry Recipes

Cornmeal Coating:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 pounds haddock fillets
oil for frying (I use Canola, however, the best taste comes from a vegetable and olive oil blend)
Beat together dip the fish in this mixture.
Then shake into this one:
1/3 cup cornmeal
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper
dash of cayenne pepper
Add to a plastic zip lock bag, shake fish in and fry in oil.
Batter Fried Fish:
3/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup water
2 pounds fish filets
oil for frying
Mix together. Coat fish and fry till golden brown.
Breadcrumb Coated Recipe
2lb. fresh fish fillets, steaks or pan-dressed whole fish
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
pinch cayenne
1 egg plus
1 tablespoon milk or water beat together
1 cup Italian dry bread crumbs or buttery cracker crumbs
Dip the fish fillets in egg and milk mixture. Shake them in crumb mixture and fry in oil till golden brown.
Beer Batter Recipe:
2 pounds of whitefish of choice fillets snook, cod, haddock, walleye, perch, shrimp, scallops, tilapia, redfish.
Batter:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of each, parsley, oregano, basil
2 tablespoons of paprika
2 teaspoons salt
teaspoons black pepper
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 egg
1 - 12 ounces can or bottle of beer
2 quarts of cooking oil for frying vegetable and olive oil blends: heat to around 375 degree
Combine all dry ingredients, add egg then beer. Dip fish in batter and fry in hot oil.
Drain on paper towels.
Italian Style Coating:
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup romano cheese grated
3/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons seasoning salt
1 teaspoon each oregano, parsley, and black pepper
Mix all the above ingredients adding to a ziplock bag.
Dipping mixture:
1 cup milk plus one egg beaten
2 lbs haddock filets or any other white fish
oil for frying
Dip haddock filets into milk mixture into coating mix and deep fry in oil.
The Best New York Restaurant Style Coating (personal favorite recipe)
4 quarts of vegetable, and extra light olive oil or canola blend oils
6 large eggs
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour (such as Wondra) or sifted twice with regular flour
2 cups cornstarch
1/4 cup baking powder
3 tablespoons kosher salt, plus additional for sprinkling
1 tablespoon black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper ( less if you don't like spicy)
1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 pounds flounder, grouper, cod, or other white, flaky fish fillets
Lemon wedges
Heat oil in a large stockpot to 375 degrees over medium-high.
Whisk together eggs and water in a shallow bowl or baking dish.
Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, all seasonings salt, and both peppers in another shallow bowl, ziplock bag or baking dish.
Place half of the fish pieces in egg mixture, turning to coat completely. Shake off excess.
Dredge in flour mixture to coat completely; shake off excess. ( I use a ziplock bag and shake the pieces in the flavored flour).
Carefully add fish to hot oil.
Cook until golden brown and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes.
Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat the process with the remaining fish.
Serve with lemon wedges.

Calories
400

Fat (grams)
22

Sat. Fat (grams)
15

Carbs (grams)
21

Net carbs
12

Created using The Recipes Generator

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How to cook perfect Shrimp
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Fish Zucchini Parmesan

Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2012. It was edited and re-published in 2019.