Alton Brown Pan Fried Fish Recipes

ALTON BROWN PAN FRIED FISH

Steps:

• Start by heating a heavy pan over medium-high heat.
• Next, go ahead and season your fish fillets on the meat side with salt and pepper.
• Now, lightly dredge the fillets in flour and shake off any excess.
• When the pan is good and hot, go ahead add Canola oil followed immediately by 1 tablespoon butter.
• As soon as foaming subsides, you want to place fish in the pan with the skin side down, then start jiggling the pan for the first 10 seconds in order to keep the fillets from sticking.
• Allow the fish to cook until you see a golden crust starting to develop on the meat.
• Go ahead and carefully turn the fillets away from you and jiggle the pan again for the first few seconds.
• Continue cooking the fish until the skin turns golden brown, when it is, remove the fish to a warm plate.
• Next, get rid of the cooking fat then add the remaining butter and quickly fry the capers.
• Now, remove the pan from the heat then add lemon juice to it and swirl.
• Finally, pour the sauce over your Alton Brown pan fried fish and serve.

PAN FRIED FISH

Steps:

• Heat a heavy pan over medium high heat.
• Season fish on meat side with salt and pepper. Lightly dredge fish in flour and shake off excess. When pan is good and hot, add Canola oil followed immediately by 1 tablespoon butter. As soon as foaming subsides, place fish in pan with the skin side down. Jiggle pan for the first 10 seconds to keep the fish from sticking. Cook until golden crust forms on meat. Carefully turn fish away from you and again jiggle pan for the first few seconds. Cook until skin turns golden brown. Remove to a warm plate.
• Pour out the cooking fat, add remaining butter and quickly fry the capers. Remove pan from the heat, add lemon juice to pan and swirl. Pour sauce over the fish and serve.

SOUTHERN FRIED CATFISH

Steps:

• Heat the peanut oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F on a deep-fry thermometer. Adjust the heat to maintain the temperature.
• Whisk the cornmeal and flour together in a shallow dish. Combine the seafood seasoning, kosher salt, paprika, and pepper in a small bowl. Season the catfish fillets evenly on both sides with the spice mixture. Pour the buttermilk into another shallow dish. Dip each fillet into the buttermilk, flip once to coat both sides, hold over the pan and allow the excess to drip off. Coat both sides of the fillets in the cornmeal mixture. Set the coated fillets on a cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes.
• Gently add the fillets, 2 at a time, to the hot oil and fry until golden brown, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the fried fillets to a cooling rack set over a newspaper-lined half sheet pan. Repeat method with remaining fillets. Arrange the catfish on a serving platter and serve immediately.

PAN-FRIED SMELTS

Steps:

• Rinse the smelts thoroughly and pat dry. Place the bread crumbs, salt and pepper into a large resealable bag and shake to combine. Place the lemon juice into a shallow dish. Dip the smelts into the juice and then place in the bag with the dry mixture and shake until the fish are well coated. You can coat 2 to 3 fish at a time, depending on their size.
• Place enough peanut oil into a 12-inch cast iron skillet just to cover the bottom of the pan. Place over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the smelts to the pan, 4 to 5 at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for 3 to 4 minutes per side until lightly browned and cooked through.