Southern style fish fry mix requires such simple ingredients, I bet you have most if not all of them in your pantry ready to cook up a fresh batch of crispy fish! I love making homemade versions of store-bought items but it is especially satisfying if you already own all the ingredients. What’s the point in buying a pre-made mix if you already have everything you need?
Making this fish fry recipe is as simple as mixing together the ingredients! You use th fish fry mix just like you would the store bought package. Just coat your fish and fry.
This recipe is not going to contain any of the additives or preservatives that you may find in the pre-made mixes. It’s also a great back-pocket recipe for impromptu meals because everything comes from the pantry.
The only down side to this recipe is that is doesn’t keep for months on end like a pre-mixed package (which I think is a sign of quality!). I like to mix up only small batches so that I use it up and it doesn’t go stale. You can certainly scale up the recipe to have enough mix leftovers to make fried fish again within a week or two, or to have enough to feed a large crowd.
Variations to the Southern Style Fish Fry recipe:
- Salt: I keep this recipe low in salt on purpose. You can add more salt to taste if desired.
- Make it spicy: Add cayenne pepper to taste.
- Lemon Pepper: Mix in lemon zest and extra black pepper to make a lemon pepper version.
- Type of fish: I use this mix for bluegill and crappie. I should work with any white fish type that you have, such as catfish. The larger the fillet, the less mix you will need per pound due to differences in surface area to volume ratio.
- How to store: Store any leftovers in an air-tight container. If you have dredged fish into the mixture, then store it in the freezer. If fish did not touch the leftover mix, then you can store it at room temperature. It will keep for 1-2 weeks.
- Don’t pat dry. I usually pat fish dry before baking so that it gets nice and crispy. If you pat the fish dry in this case the fish fry will not stick. You can also dip the fish in milk, buttermilk, or a faux-buttermilk mixture of milk (or soymilk) and vinegar to make it moist enough so the fish fry will stick.
- ⅓ cup yellow cornmeal
- 2 TBS all purpose flour
- 1 tsp each: paprika and garlic powder
- ½ tsp each: fine salt and fine black pepper
- Whisk together all the ingredients. Without drying fish, press them gently into the fish fry mixture.
- Makes enough to cover about 1lb skinless boneless fish fillets (I used bluegill).
- Pan fry in a shallow amount of oil over medium high heat until golden brown and crispy and the fish is cooked through. Alternatively you can deep fry the fish as well.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F. Place dredged fish on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spray with cooking spray (I use my misto) and bake until the fish flakes easily with a fork and is opaque, 10 minutes for thin small fillets like bluegill, or 20 minutes for thicker, larger fillets like catfish.
