At-Home Fish Fry: 18 Recipes to Make During Lent (2024)

FAQs

What is Lent fish fry? ›

Across Wisconsin, churches, community centers, and charitable organizations fling open their doors on Fridays during Lent—when Catholics abstain from eating meat—to sling plates of fried fish, along with potato pancakes, coleslaw, bread, and drinks.

Chill fish filets in ice water. Pour Louisiana Fish Fry Breading Mix into a container, leaving enough room to cover the fish. Remove a filet from the ice water and let it drip dry a bit. Dredge the filet in the fry mix, making sure fish is completely covered.

Sides for fried fish can include a variety of options that complement the dish's crispy texture and savory flavor. Some popular choices include coleslaw, hush puppies, french fries, potato salad, and macaroni and cheese. These sides provide a balance of flavors and textures that enhance the overall dining experience.

The typical anatomy of a fish fry? First, beer-battered and deep-fried perch, walleye, haddock, cod or bluegill — and in some areas, you can also get smelt or catfish. Next, the potatoes — usually French fries or potato pancakes, although some restaurants serve hash browns, fried potatoes or buttery baby reds.

Fish, Fridays & Lent

It simply meant abstaining from eating the flesh of warm-blooded animals—since the thinking goes, Jesus was a warm-blooded animal. Fish, though, which are cold blooded were considered okay to eat on fasting days.

What Breading Ingredients Make the Crispiest Fried Fish? The base of the breading mixture will be a cup of all-purpose flour and a cup of yellow corn meal. This gives the fried fish the classic gritty breading texture. Corn starch is essential to fish breading.

Season both sides of the fish (since the salt doesn't get absorbed after frying) and drizzle the filet with olive oil (don't be afraid to keep adding more!), continuing to season with salt and pepper along every step of the way.

All it takes is some good, crispy fried fish, classic sides like hushpuppies, potato salad, and baked beans, and cool summer desserts. A refreshing sipper like strawberry lemonade doesn't hurt either.

Thanks to its neutral flavor, affordable price, and high smoke point, canola oil is the most popular oil for frying fish. Peanut, cottonseed, and coconut oil are also great fish frying oils. Keep reading to discover the benefits of each oil you can use to fry fish.

Cod is the most popular and first choice that comes to mind for many people when preparing a fish fry. Cod is mild and tender, and the right breading makes for the perfect complement to tartar sauce. Cod is the best option if you like to fish with a bit of crunch.

Where did Lent fish fry come from? ›

German and Polish Catholic immigrants settled in Milwaukee in the 1860s and began the tradition of the Friday fish fry. During Lent, they didn't eat meat on Fridays, instead eating the fish they caught in Lake Michigan.

Church reforms came in the twentieth century, which stipulated that warm-blooded meat only had to be avoided during Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent. This is why fish frys are particularly popular during Lent today, and why the first Friday of Lent was chosen as the date for Friday Fish Fry Day.

When they have developed to the point where they are capable of feeding by themselves, the fish are called fry. When, in addition, they have developed scales and working fins, the transition to a juvenile fish is complete and it is called a fingerling, so called as they are typically about the size of human fingers.

All fish, salt and freshwater, are good to eat and are among the most popular options to have during the time period. Here are some other options: Fish. Shrimp.