April 11, 2011: Friday Fish Fry Recipe

Since we’re in the Lenten season, I thought you might enjoy a recipe for fried fish that my husband really loves. Occasionally we’ll go out to dinner on a Friday night at Torreon Golf Club and they serve a fabulous all-you-can-eat fish fry. It’s very delicious but I wanted to try my hand at making similar at home.

Last year when my church did the Secret Sister thing, my secret sister Margaret gifted me with a cookbook called America’s Most Wanted Recipes. It contains homemade recipes that are very close to the dishes you get in restaurants. One of the recipes was for Arthur Treacher’s fried fish. Now I haven’t been to an Arthur Treacher’s in decades; this chain is in the Midwest and we went every so often when I was a kid growing up in Wisconsin but they don’t have those restaurants here in the Southwest. Although it’s been a long time, I still remember how yummy their fish was.

So that’s the recipe I started with but – as you surely realize by now – I couldn’t just use it verbatim! So I made a couple changes and here is the recipe I developed. By the way, my husband thinks this dish is just as good if not better than the fried fish they serve at Torreon.

Fried Fish Fillets

1 pound cod fillets
1 egg, beaten
1 ½ cups flour
2 cups pancake mix
1 ½ cup beer
1 T. onion powder
1 T. seasoned salt (your choice of flavor; could also use Old Bay seasoning)
Oil for frying


Cut the fillets into pieces of equal size. Dip them into the beaten egg, then into the flour, completely coating. Let them rest on a piece of waxed paper for at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the pancake mix, seasonings, and beer, stirring just until combined. The batter shouldn’t be too thick or too thin; the texture of cornbread batter is just about right.

Place oil in a deep fryer or frying pan, enough to cover, or nearly cover the fish fillets. Heat to 450 (deep fryer) or 350 (electric skillet) degrees. When the oil is ready, take one fillet at a time and dip it into the batter. Let the excess batter drip off then carefully place it in the hot oil. Cook a few minutes per side (use the instructions for your deep fryer) until done.

Notes: the length of cooking time depends on what type of vessel you are using to fry the fish and the size of the fillets). I've tried making these in my deep fryer with a basket and the batter ALWAYS sticks so now I use an electric skillet instead.
I usually serve the fish fillets with homemade tartar sauce (mayo, horseradish, lemon juice, dried minced onions, garlic, and dill weed).