Where I grew up in Utica, New York our family loved to go out for a haddock fish fry every Friday night.
The competition for making the best fish fry in local restaurants was everywhere in my hometown, we just rotated and tried just about all of them.
Our hometown also had a market-style fish place we would go to and they would fry the fish right there and we just had to bring it home.
Those are some fond memories of growing up and we all just love fish fries and looked forward to them.
Living in Florida we go ocean fishing often and are lucky to have some fresh fish to cook mostly snook which is seasonal and redfish which can be caught all year.
I like a crispy bread coating on fish, mom loved a beer batter-fried or Italian coating.
Dad loved the flour-cornmeal style coating.
So here is a roundup of different recipes from Italian style, batter, and more that we developed over the years after moving to Florida to season and fry fish with.
Every one of these is a different coating to try and hard to choose which one we like the best.
Our favorite fish to eat is still haddock but again, cod, and grouper are good choices and any coating you choose will work with just about any fish you like.
I love all kinds of seafood, some of my other family's favorite recipes, especially on Christmas Eve when we make more than 7 fishes celebration!
You may also enjoy my Baked Fish with Roasted Vegetables or a delicious Cioppino which is a fish stew.
Scroll down to the recipe card to print it off and try one of the recipes that sounds good to you too!
Fresh Fish
We are lucky here in Florida to be able to have fresh fish just about all year long.
When I lived in Upstate Utica New York, we always had haddock, cod or freshly caught bass and walleye.
We love to fish and bring home a fresh catch during snook season in Florida which is our favorite fish fry here.
Whichever kind of fresh or store-bought fish you like, there is a fantastic coating recipe below to fry or bake it in.
It's hard to choose but if you're a fish lover, you will find just what you were looking for in the roundup of fish coating recipes.
Ingredients to Have on Hand for Frying Fish
- Flour
- Eggs
- Cornstarch
- Seasonings
- Cornmeal
- Buttermilk
- Eggs
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Kinds of Fish to Use:
- Haddock, Mahi Mahi, Cod, Grouper, fresh-caught walleye, snook, redfish or any other kinds of hearty fish.
- Oil
Frying Fish
When deep-frying, choose an oil with a high smoke point(peanut, grapeseed, safflower, soybean, sunflower, canola, and extra light olive oil) are all good
choices) and a flavor that is either neutral or appropriate to the type of food you're cooking.
Don't use unrefined oils for deep frying, as their smoke points are much lower.
If you have a deep fryer, great!
You can deep fry the fish with a basket to get the best-fried restaurant-style version at home.
The Results
Deep-fried fish and seafood should be light, crisp, and wonderful, not heavy, sodden, and awful.
Making the right choices and using the proper deep-frying techniques and tools can make all the difference.
For successful deep-frying, you will need a heavy, deep pot, oil, a thermometer, tongs to remove fried items and an area to drain the cooked seafood on paper towels
A deep skillet or pan is fine however you must wait until the oil reaches 375 degrees, to start frying.
At the minimum, the pot should hold about 3 inches of oil
The best oil to use is a blend of vegetable and extra light olive oil for a great-tasting fish fry.
Best Fish For These Coatings
- Haddock
- Walleye
- Tilapia
- Alaskan Cod
- Catfish
- Halibut
- Striped Bass
- Trout
- Perch
- Shrimp
- Scallops
- Calamari
- Lobster
- Lump Crab Meat
- Chilean Seabass
- Trout
- Snook
- Redfish
- Flounder ( very thin best batter fried)
- Halibut
- Salmon
- Bass
Tips
- Before cooking, make sure your filet is completely dry—inside and out— since excess moisture lowers the temperature of the oil and causes the oil to become more agitated, which leads to burnt fish and a messy splattered kitchen (I know from experience).
- Always heat the oil first to heating instructions
- Don't crowd the fish in the pan
- Putting a lot of food into the oil all at once can lower the temperature drastically and allow the oil to seep into the food, resulting in greasy and heavy food.
- Frying in small batches produces much better results.
- A good rule of thumb is to not use more than half of the surface area of the hot oil.
- Place fish on paper towels to drain the oil after cooking
Coating for Fish Recipes
There are several coatings to try.
Some with flour, cracker crumbs, and bread crumbs.
There is even a batter-fried fish recipe below.
All of these coatings are wonderful, you will have to just try them all!
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Healthy Fish
If you want to lower calories and bake the fish, no problem any coating can be air fried or baked on a baking sheet drizzle with a little olive oil.
The only recipe below that must be fried is with the batter although I have also air-fried the batter-coated fish.
Like its close relative, cod, this whitefish haddock hails from the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Sometimes sold under the name scrod, haddock has a slightly sweeter taste and finer texture than cod, but the two are often swapped in recipes.
A very low-calorie, low mercury fish to use is haddock and a favorite of mine.
The health benefits of haddock include: very low in calories (77 calories per 3 ounces), high in protein (17 grams per 3 ounces) and an excellent source of selenium, phosphorus and some of the B vitamins.
This fish is what I go out of my way to find and fry and my favorite to use and of course, if you want it healthier than try baking it, click here!
Yield: 6
Best Upstate New York Haddock Fish Fry Recipes
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 9 Mtotal time: 19 M
If you have ever traveled to Utica New York, they have some of the best fish fried ever in local restaurants.
This is a roundup of coating recipes for fish that we love to make at home.
This is a roundup of coating recipes for fish that we love to make at home.
ingredients:
- Fish for Frying:
- Just a few ingredients you may need:
- Flour
- Eggs
- Cornstarch
- Seasonings
- Cornmeal
- Buttermilk
- Eggs
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Kinds of Fish to Use:
- Haddock, Mahi Mahi, Cod, Grouper, or any other kinds of hearty fish.
- Note: Flounder is thin and tends to fall apart
- Oil extra light olive oil, vegetable or canola
- See All Recipes Below for Coatings
instructions:
How to cook Best Upstate New York Haddock Fish Fry Recipes
- Cornmeal Coating:
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 pounds haddock fillets
- oil for frying (I use Canola, however, the best taste comes from a vegetable and olive oil blend)
- Beat together dip the fish in this mixture.
- Then shake into this one:
- 1/3 cup cornmeal
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper
- dash of cayenne pepper
- Add to a plastic zip lock bag, shake fish in and fry in oil.
- Batter Fried Fish:
- 3/4 cup flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 pounds fish filets
- oil for frying
- Mix together. Coat fish and fry till golden brown.
- Breadcrumb Coated Recipe
- 2lb. fresh fish fillets, steaks or pan-dressed whole fish
- 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- pinch cayenne
- 1 egg plus
- 1 tablespoon milk or water beat together
- 1 cup Italian dry bread crumbs or buttery cracker crumbs
- Dip the fish fillets in egg and milk mixture. Shake them in crumb mixture and fry in oil till golden brown.
- Beer Batter Recipe:
- 2 pounds of whitefish of choice fillets snook, cod, haddock, walleye, perch, shrimp, scallops, tilapia, redfish.
- Batter:
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of each, parsley, oregano, basil
- 2 tablespoons of paprika
- 2 teaspoons salt
- teaspoons black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 - 12 ounces can or bottle of beer
- 2 quarts of cooking oil for frying vegetable and olive oil blends: heat to around 375 degree
- Combine all dry ingredients, add egg then beer. Dip fish in batter and fry in hot oil.
- Drain on paper towels.
- Italian Style Coating:
- 3/4 cup flour
- 3/4 cup romano cheese grated
- 3/4 cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons seasoning salt
- 1 teaspoon each oregano, parsley, and black pepper
- Mix all the above ingredients adding to a ziplock bag.
- Dipping mixture:
- 1 cup milk plus one egg beaten
- 2 lbs haddock filets or any other white fish
- oil for frying
- Dip haddock filets into milk mixture into coating mix and deep fry in oil.
- The Best New York Restaurant Style Coating (personal favorite recipe)
- 4 quarts of vegetable, and extra light olive oil or canola blend oils
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cups flour (such as Wondra) or sifted twice with regular flour
- 2 cups cornstarch
- 1/4 cup baking powder
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt, plus additional for sprinkling
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper ( less if you don't like spicy)
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 pounds flounder, grouper, cod, or other white, flaky fish fillets
- Lemon wedges
- Heat oil in a large stockpot to 375 degrees over medium-high.
- Whisk together eggs and water in a shallow bowl or baking dish.
- Whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, all seasonings salt, and both peppers in another shallow bowl, ziplock bag or baking dish.
- Place half of the fish pieces in egg mixture, turning to coat completely. Shake off excess.
- Dredge in flour mixture to coat completely; shake off excess. ( I use a ziplock bag and shake the pieces in the flavored flour).
- Carefully add fish to hot oil.
- Cook until golden brown and crispy, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with kosher salt. Repeat the process with the remaining fish.
- Serve with lemon wedges.
Calories
400
400
Fat (grams)
22
22
Sat. Fat (grams)
15
15
Carbs (grams)
21
21
Net carbs
12
12
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More Recipes To Try
More Favorite Seafood Recipes:
Seafood Medley
Lemon Seafood Scampi
Cioppino
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2012. It was edited and re-published in 2019.