Fishing has been really good this summer here in upper Michigan, which has encouraged me to have fish on the menu at least once a week for supper. One of my favorite deep fried fish recipes is for Deep Fried Parmesan fish. This recipe creates a nice coating with a little bit of heat created by using the cayenne pepper which you can adjust easily to taste. When I first tried this recipe, my son, who owns Blogchef.net, prepared it to post on his Blog. My first thought was that the Parmesan cheese would overwhelm the recipe; it did not, and the end result was a delicious fish fry.
For fish, I used Crappies in this recipe because that is what we caught on the last fishing trip, but any kind of white fish would work out fine – needless to say, the fresher the better.
I think it’s hard to beat Shore Lunch for a fresh fish coating, but my wife likes this Deep Fried Parmesan fish every bit as well, and according to her, maybe even better.
Deep Fried Parmesan Fish with Lemon Sauce
Ingredients
- 6–8 medium fish fillets
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 cup dry bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
- 2 eggs (beaten)
- ½ cup white flour
- salt and pepper to taste
- Oil (for frying)
- Lemon Sauce ingredients
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon basil
Instructions
- In a small bowl mix together the lemon sauce ingredients; set aside in the refrigerator to chill giving time for the flavors to blend.
- Preheat deep fry to 350F.
- In a wide shallow dish mix together the bread crumbs, Cayenne pepper, and parmesan cheese. (I use a pie dish for this)
- Place the flour in another shallow dish and salt and pepper it to taste.
- In a small bowl whisk or beat the eggs until well beaten. (Not frothy but well combined)
- To coat the fillets, roll them in the flour to lightly coat, and then dip them in the beaten eggs; then roll them in the bread crumb mixture pressing lightly to coat.
- Deep fry each fillet until golden brown, drain on paper towels and serve with the lemon sauce.
