Plan Your Next Friday Fish Fry With Fetch

A good Friday fish fry brings friends and family to the table. Whether you’re preparing to eat less meat during Lent or are looking to add Friday fish fry to Taco Tuesday, fried fish is quick and easy, with quite a bit of variety. Fetch is here with your guide on how to fry fish and the best ways to reheat fried fish later.

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How to fry fish

Even if you’re a seasoned home chef, if fish isn’t common on your menu, planning a Friday fish fry might feel daunting. It shouldn’t be. Fetch is here with tips on the perfect fried fish.

• How to fry: Choose skillet or deep fryer, cast-iron on the stovetop or a deep enamel pot.
• Batter up: To batter or not to batter… there is no wrong answer, but you’ll need to make a decision. Some frying methods lend themselves better to battered fish, like deep frying.
• Choose your oil: You might get away with olive oil when pan frying, but if you deep fry, you may want a higher smoke point oil like vegetable oil or avocado oil.
• Find your fish: Cod and haddock are great for deep frying while catfish, trout and bass might be better pan fried. Not sure? Ask at the meat counter at your grocery store.

Steps to frying fish

After you’ve decided what fish you want and how you’ll fry it, it’s pretty straightforward:

1. Heat your oil to around 375°F.
2. Add your fish. Try not to have more than a few pieces going at a time so your oil temp doesn’t drop.
3. If deep frying, you’ll be done when your batter is a golden brown color (4-5 minutes). Expect to cook for 5 minutes per side when pan frying.
4. Be sure your fish reach an internal temperature of 145°F, so it’s safe to eat.
5. Transfer to a baking rack or plate lined with paper towels so it doesn’t soak in the oil and get soggy.
6. Making the classic fish and chips? Once you’ve finished your fish, drop your fries into the oil and you’ll have a full meal done in just a few more minutes.

Want your Friday fish fry without all that fuss? Snap your receipts in the Fetch rewards app and turn them into a restaurant gift card.

What temperature to deep fry fish

To deep fry fish, your oil should start at around 375°F. As you add fish, the temperature will drop some, and you will want to make sure your oil is always between 350° and 375°F. If it drops too low, hold off on adding more fish to the deep fryer until the temperature rises back up. 

How long to fry fish

How long to fry your fish depends on how you’re frying it and how crispy you want it. 

• When pan-frying fish, you should aim for about 5 minutes on each side (longer if your filet is thicker).
• Dropping them into the deep fryer? Then you’ll want around 4-5 minutes (batter will turn a golden brown color).
• However you do it, you should fry fish long enough for it to reach an internal temperature of 145°F.

How to fry fish extra crispy

To fry fish extra crispy, keep that oil temperature as close to 375° as possible. If you’re batch frying, give the oil time to heat back up after each batch, and don’t overcrowd your pan or fryer. Don’t cover your pan, as it can trap in moisture and make your batter soggy. And no matter how tempting it might be, don’t touch that fish until it’s time to flip or remove it. 

Can you use olive oil to fry fish?

Extra virgin olive oil is a perfect choice for pan-fried fish, delivering a crisp crust without batter (and making fried fish an excellent choice for your keto diet). Add it onto your Fetch app’s shopping list so you can be sure you stay on budget on your next grocery run.

Why Catholics eat fish on Friday

Christianity teaches that Jesus died on a Friday, and it’s common to fast in honor of his sacrifice. Some fasts require you to eat no food while others limit the types of food. Catholics eat fish on Friday because they are avoiding eating the meat of warm-blooded animals as part of their fast. While some might do this every week, it’s especially common for Catholics to have a Friday fish fry during Lent.

There’s another layer to Catholics eating fish during Lent, too: the Lenten diet of vegetables and fish was much more affordable during the Roman period, with meat considered a luxury of the upper class.

Can you eat fish on Good Friday?

You can eat fish on Good Friday, like all other Fridays throughout the year.

Can dogs have fried fish?

Dogs should not have fried fish. If your pooch takes a bite of your fish, you probably don’t have to worry about bacteria or sickness, but the oils used in frying the fish (and any batter) are going to leave you cleaning up messes until it’s out of their system. 

Your dog probably has a pretty resilient stomach, but that doesn’t mean he should have a seat at your Friday fish fry.

Can you freeze fried fish?

You can freeze fried fish. In fact, you can freeze pretty much anything. Cooked fish and raw fish have roughly the same shelf life once you drop them into your freezer: 4 months, give or take. If it’s an especially lean fish, you might get closer to 6 months.

Most of the time, the right question is should you freeze something. You can freeze fried fish, but it will be difficult, if not impossible, to get it back to the taste you were trying to preserve. 

How to reheat fried fish

You can reheat fried fish using pretty much anything you would cook with in your kitchen: skillet, broiler, oven, toaster oven, air fryer or microwave. But we recommend avoiding the microwave when reheating fried fish, unless you want something that’s soggy and pretty unpleasant.

• Whether you’re in the oven or toaster oven, preheat to 350. You’ll want to cook 8-10 minutes in a toaster oven, 10-15 in the oven.
• A skillet on high heat with a bit of oil lets you re-fry your fish. Just a few minutes, ensuring you flip your fish so both sides crisp up. 
• If you use an air fryer, preheat to 320 and place into the basket in a single layer. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side and let cool 2-3 minutes when done.
• The broiler might be your fastest way to reheat fried fish, but if you don’t use it often, we suggest one of the other methods. You’ll want to broil 1-3 minutes on each side, but keep an eye on it the whole time so it doesn’t burn.

What dishes go well with fried fish?

Fries might come to mind first, but there are plenty of other dishes that go well with fried fish.

• Hush puppies
• Onion rings
• Homemade dill pickles
• Zucchini fries
• Baked sweet potato chips
• Coleslaw
• Old-fashioned potato salad

Make Friday fish fry a regular event at your house and test what dishes go well with fried fish in your home.

Make a list of your fish fry ingredients in the Fetch App

Choose your fish, maybe a few different sides and get your next grocery list together using the Fetch shopping app. Snap your receipt in the parking lot to start racking up those points toward free gift cards, and then you don’t have to worry about remembering when you get home.