Best Pan-Fried Fish Ever

Summary

Yield0
Source

The TNH Test Kitchen

Prep Time15 minutes
RecipesSeafood

Description

Ingredients

  • Firm white fish fillets--basa, halibut, etc.
  • Masa de harina, aka corn tortilla flour
  • lemon pepper
  • lemon pepper
  • Coconut oil
  • Firm white fish fillets--basa, halibut, etc.
  • Masa de harina, aka corn tortilla flour
  • lemon pepper
  • lemon pepper
  • Coconut oil

Instructions

Melt enough coconut oil in a big, preferably cast iron, skillet to give you about 1/4 inch's worth on the bottom. Yes, coconut oil! it's good for you, honest! Do not substitute!

Meanwhile, have one cake pan partially filled with buttermilk, one with masa de harina. Season the masa liberally with lemon pepper, and I mean LIBERALLY. Mix it in well.

Dredge the fillets first in the buttermilk--let them sit a little bit in the buttermilk, a minute or two at least--and then in the masa. Fry till golden on each side, drain, eat. Now wasn't that fabulous?

If you have a goodly amount of leftover masa, make fritters: Beat an egg and add it to the masa, and add enough buttermilk to make a paste. Fry in small balls in the oil. Feed to your clamoring children to keep them from peeling off all the breading on the fillets before you can get them to the table.

Notes

This will work for any firm-fleshed white fish fillet. We use basa because it's cheap. Dover sole, as an example, is too delicate; it'll fall apart in this treatment.