Fried Perch

Fried Perch

Ingredients:

• 4 wild caught perch fillet, about 1 1/2 to 2 pounds

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• salt and pepper to taste

• 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup flour

• 2 eggs

• 2 tbsp milk

• 3/4 to 1 cup bread crumbs

• oil for frying - you'll need oil to be 2 to 3 inches in your choice of pan

• For serving: tartar sauce, lemon slices, optional

1. Heat oil in a deep fryer or pan to 325℉. Sprinkle lemon juice on fillets and season generously with salt and pepper.

2. Put flour in a shallow bowl, season with salt and pepper. In a second shallow bowl, beat eggs and milk together. Add the breadcrumbs to a third shallow bowl along with the parsley, salt and pepper; stir to combine.

3. Dredge fillets in flour, shaking off excess before dipping in egg mixture and finally dredge with breadcrumbs mixture. Carefully place in the hot oil and cook for 4 minutes per side. Fry fillets in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan.

4. Drain fried fish of excess oil on a rack placed over a platter lined with paper towels.

5. Serve warm with tartar sauce and lemon slices, if using.

Serves: 4

Notes&Tips:

• Fried fish is something I like eating but had never enjoyed cooking. Frying, on the whole, has always scared me as I have been burnt too many times. Nothing serious, thankfully. I used to clear everyone out of the kitchen whenever I fried, which wasn't very often. With that said, I have developed confidence and technique over the years. Although, frying is never my first option when deciding how to prepare a dish, I generally would use this method of cooking when I felt like eating something fried, which is a couple times a year.

• Because frying fish or chicken consists of layering, be sure to season generously as the taste has to come through the many layers.

• Perch is a yellowish-reddish skinned scaled white fish that can be found in lakes. A good substitute is walleye. White fish lends themselves well to frying as they are not fatty fish like salmon and tuna.

• Winter, as always, has been dragging its feel in the Midwest with cloudy and windy days that hovered below or near freezing. I wanted to serve a meal that would lift our spirits into feeling like its summer. Hence, Fried Perch.

• This Fried Perch was delicious with its light breading and flakiness. I served it with two summer sides: potato salad and coleslaw, along with my homemade tartar sauce. Tartar sauce is so easy to make and much more delicious than its jarred counterpart. Simply combine 1/3 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons relish, 2 teaspoon lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. If you'd like a tarter sauce with a punch, add some hot sauce. If you don't have relish on hand, and there's cucumber in your refrigerator, chop finely and substitute for the relish.