We had some fairly thick fillets (about one inch) of catfish that I decided to pan fry (or saute, but I usually reserve this word for food that will actually be constantly moved on the pan). I always use a large non-stick skillet whenever I want to pan fry fish, but I had four fillets of catfish. I decided to do an experiment and cook all four at the same time - two on my non-stick skillet and two on my traditional saute pan.
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I heated both pans at medium-high heat. While the pans were heating, I seasoned the four fillets simply with salt and pepper. I poured about a tablespoon of oil in both pans and watched the oil until it shimmered. Then I placed two fillets in the non-stick pan and two fillets in the traditional pan. I started with the skin side up.
Since the fillets were about an inch in thickness, I set my timer for 5 minutes. I let the fish sit there and cook, splattering oil everywhere for the duration before attempting to dislodge them. The non-stick was pretty straightforward. I picked up the pan byt he handle and gave it a firm jerk. The fish fillets slide about an inch on the pan. Then I flipped them over with a spatula and started another timer for five minutes. I then moved over to the traditional pan and gave it the same jerk. No movement. I prodded a little with my spatula and it seemed like the fish was pretty much sealed to the pan. I dribbled a little more oil in and let it cook for an additional thirty seconds. Then I tried the jerk again. Nothing. Not wanting to over cook the fish, I went in with my spatula and carefully wedged teh edge of the spatula under the fish. Working my way around the fillet, I managed to release it and flip it over. I did the same with the second. What surprised me was that the color of the fish on the traditional pan was a rich golden brown while the non-stick pan gave me a darker brown crust. It was kind of a pain to scrape the fish off the traditional pan without destroying the fillet though. I started a second timer for the traditional pan - also at 5 minutes.
Once the five minutes were up for each of the pans, I removed them promptly onto a serving plate. In both cases, the fish were perfectly cooked - crispy exterior with almost flaking (but not quite flaky) interior. Also, the color from the traditional pan was a little better than the non-stick (although I couldn't discern a difference while tasting). However, the non-stick pan provides that extra insurance that a flip will be quick, easy, and efficient. In addition, the extra oil used in the traditional pan made for a bigger mess to clean up. When I usually use a non-stick pan, I will actually brush the oil onto the fish fillet and then pan fry without additional oil. This creates very little sizzle or splatter and makes for quick kitchen cleanup.
Pan Fried Fish Fillets
| 1 Tbs. oil | heat | pan fry |
| Fish fillets | season | |
| Salt | ||
| Pepper |
Pan frying time
| Fillet Thickness | Cooking Time on each side | Fat |
|---|---|---|
| Thick - 1 inch | 5 minutes | 1 Tbs. olive oil |
| Medium - 3/4 inch | 4 minutes | 1/2 Tbs. olive oil & 1/2 Tbs. butter |
| Thin - 1/2 inch | 3 minutes | 1 Tbs. butter |
The olive oil should have a high smoke point - use either high quality extra virgin olive oil for more flavor or light olive oil.
Update: Some people have mentioned that you should never sear meat with extra virgin olive oil because of the low smoke point. This is generally true, but high quality extra virgin olive oil typically has a lower acidity than regular extra virgin olive oil. As one example, Bertolli brand extra virgin olive oil has a smoke point of 406°F. I would not use a supermarket brand extra virgin olive oil for any type of cooking because it would be too easy to exceed the oil's smoke point.
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I recommend you should use less or more oil, and reduce the temperature; please report back if you can.
Also, the splattering can be dealt with: there are lids for that.
I have seen for sale a spatter guard. Basically a fine wire mesh in a circular hoop that is designed to release more of the moisture and heat but keep the fat or oil in. It does help keep the spatter in the pan, but I have not experimented with the affect on cooking.
The spatter issue is one the reasons I prefer to cook outside on the BBQ :-). Although that requires a good climate ...
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As to testing different amounts of oil, I will do that - but you'll have to wait until the next time my wife is in the mood for pan fried fish. :)
This tended to ensure the fish did not stick. IIRC, we sometimes breaded the whole filet in a very light "blackened seasoning" (a mix of paprika, black & white pepper, kosher or sea salt, and several others. Various recipes for blackened seasoning are out there, and it's up to you. But this, I believe, may have also helped with preventing the fish from sticking. And with a fish that is not so delicate (like catfish) it adds fantastic flavor. Something like salmon, however, I wouldn't try like this.
I think it might be best to start skin-side down, possibly because it has a higher fat content.
There's good salmon recipe I use, if there's a place for me to post it.
Also, in my experience stainless steel pans are terrible to cook fish on - perhaps there's a reaction that happens, im not sure, but I would go with a well seasoned plain old steel pan myself. I find they rust less than cast-iron.
Oh, and you're right about not using the word saute too, when I went to school we were taught that it meant to toss over heat in butter.
Filet of sole, breaded with corn meal and pan-fried in a small amount of Crisco, with Mrs. Dash, salt and pepper. It was wonderful!
I never use a cover because there is too much steam but keep a dish rag handy and wipe the stove regularly.
Frank
Margarita
Sure, clarified butter is an excellent fat to pan fry fish in.
My question is, when cooking a large quantity of fish, how do you keep
it hot and crisp until you are ready to serve it all?
I suggest keeping it in the oven at the lowest setting (200°F or less) to keep it warm and crispy.
I suggest keeping it in the oven at the lowest setting (200°F or less) to keep it warm and crispy.
... and place the fish on a rack over a cookie-sheet or foil, and put the fish rack on an oven sahelf that is above the mid-point of the oven. you want lots of air circulation around the fish, and just warm enough to keep it from cooking more.
I love pan-fried fish, especially if done right (crispy outside, flaky inside). However, the last few times I've done it, I'd get it crispy and when I go to serve the fillets a few moments later, the crust has turned soggy. What gives? I usually use tilapia, patted dry, sprinkled with salt/pepper/garlic powder, dredge in beaten egg, then dredged in regular flour. I fry in nonstick skillet with 1/4 inch or more of canola oil. I don't move the fillets while cooking, don't put a lid on. In your blog, you don't use flour but yet still get crispy fish? Any tips? Thanks! Great site!
Cheers!
Ken Fischer
I have seen plenty of chicken recipes on the site which uses brining to give some flavor to the chicken. So barring marinades, has anyone ever tried brining their fish ?
Came across this forum because I've just bought uncooked salmon for the first time in my life and I am hoping to pan fry it. I am very scared of splattering oil and was intending to wear my mittens for added protection!! I like the idea given regarding coating the fish with a thin layer of oil and then putting it onto the non-stick pan without any further oil added on the pan. I hope this elminates the splatter - am I too optimistic to say it won't splatter at all? Here's hoping I come thru OK...
The key was keeping the oil at the right temp. It dropped when you put new fish in.
I can't wait to try it again. It was with bacon grease and canola oil and we topped the finished fish with bacon bits (real), fried parsley and lemon.
Steph
I have a few questions about this recipe (and seafood cooking techniques, in general)...
- What is the reason for placing fish either skin-side down or up?
- Should the fillet only be flipped once?
- Do you determine doneness using an internal meat thermometer or just by appearance?
- How do you choose a cooking method for different types of fish?
Thanks so much for this website. I am def not an engineer but I love that your methods are so simple and straightforward! I am a complete novice in the kitchen (first apartment!) and a microwave-chef extraordinare but your recipes and techniques and informative guides have encouraged me to branch out and try new things.
- Should the fillet only be flipped once?
- Do you determine doneness using an internal meat thermometer or just by appearance?
- How do you choose a cooking method for different types of fish?
There's are no easy answers to these questions. In the case of this particular article - I think I misfiled it under Recipe File when it should be Test Recipes. It is clearly a documentation of a particular attempt at pan frying fish and not a definitive recipe. Sorry about that. I'll move it to the correct category in a few days.
The skin side up or down doesn't make a difference except for timing. Crispy skin will usually require it to be the last step when preparing pan fried fish because if the skin side was cooked first then it could lose crispiness as it absorbed moisture while the other side was cooking.
Usually fillets are flipped only once to preserve the integrity of the fish. Some recipes call for double flipping - especially when glazing is involved.
For fish, I usually go by appearance and how the meat flakes (or in the case of salmon - is about to flake but hasn't yet)
Cooking technique for specific fish - I don't know... usually I choose by whatever sounds like a good idea at the time. It doesn't hurt to experiment, so go wild!
- or perhaps more accurately, skin side toward the heat - many recipes for broiling start out with place skin side up
not many make any suggestions as to "why" - but here's some rationale I've stumbled over in passing:
- skin acts as a heat diffuser cooking the fish more evenly
- on the assumption above: fish should be 90% cooked skin side down, 10% after turning
- skin protects the flesh from drying out
which doesn't exactly agree with:
- cook skin side up because the skin on top helps keep the fish moist
- cook skin side up / skin side down so when you flip the fish you have the presentation side
(one presumes the specified "up" or "down" relates to how the cook intends to present the fish...)
- the entire issue gets more complex if you're cooking a whole fish - there's skin on both sides . . . go figger . . .
- cook skin side down to prevent curling
- slash the skin to prevent curling
- slash the skin to allow heat to penetrate
one reason that does makes sense:
- when grilling, skin side down so if it sticks the skin may tear but the flesh isn't torn up
so up or down may be a function of how the dish is to be presented - example trout - I usually do the whole fish, but sometimes can only get filets, but they are still served skin up.
I buy salmon skin on, but never serve it skin up.
my personal experience supports the "heat diffusion" theory . . .
I used a heavy stainless steal skillet (not non stick) and lowered the heat after preheating. The fish came out very moist and had a wonderful aroma.
The "mess" was mediocre because I used the second posting recomendation of rubbing oil directly on the fish rather than the pan.
I'll do it again
Easiest way to make sure delicate fish doesn't stick - lightly flour the fish before placing in pan at FULL TEMPERATURE(not necessarily scorching) with enough oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan.
If you do not want to use flour at all, same procedure but make sure you lay the fish down very slowly, don't just toss it in.
Here's the science behind it - the idea is to keep the fish separate from the pan. You want the fish to almost INSTANTLY sear so that it does not become one with the pan. If the pan/oil isn't at full temperature, the fish and pan will come up to temperature together and fuse as one. The idea for turning the heat down as mentioned above is so that the pan does not continue to heat up with the fish in it - again, this would have both the fish and pan reach a higher temp together, FUSION.
The reason why lightly flour dredging works is because gluten protein is much more sensitive to heat than animal protein, therefor you get an immediate sear the second the fish touches the pan(or technically the flour).
The reason for laying the fish down slowly when you do not flour dredge is so that it has a better opportunity to sear from the hot oil before it touches the bottom of the pan.
If you follow these precautions and it still sticks a little bit just be patient, once it reaches 5-6 minutes, it will flip.
the test of the pudding say the english lies in the eating....