Pan-Fried Croaker – With a Twist!

Pan-fried Croaker with Tomato/Shallot Salad

I remember picking through fresh-fried Croakers as a child, savoring the crispy skin, the crunchy tail fins, and the succulent flesh.  Always one of my favorites, it somehow faded into the distant recesses of my memory because they weren’t easily available the way they were back east.  That is, until recently.

I’ve renewed my love of Croakers recently because some of my favorite Asian markets now carry them fresh, and I’ve been enjoying my reunion with them.

Well, the Sunday before Labor Day saw me at Market 168 on Jones at Spring Mountain here in Vegas, and they had a SALE on Croakers for $1.79 a pound. !!!!! I found two plump fish and had them cleaned and scaled.  Two beautiful Croakers for $2.00 and change. Yippee!

So how to cook them?  It’s been years since I’ve done anything out of my usual paradigm for cooking fish; that is, I broil, grill, bake, or steam.

“To hell with it,” I said.  “I’m gonna have me some FRIED fish!”

I looked at a variety of recipes and then decided to do my own.  Salt, pepper, corn meal, and fry. What could be simpler than that? Along with a tomato and onion salad and a nice Chilean Chardonnay, it was a satisfying, guilt-freeish dinner.  I did a couple of things a little differently – what a surprise – and ended up with a beautiful meal.

Pan-Fried Croaker

Keep the fins and tail on the fish.  They are quite crunchy when they come out of the oil and are worth saving.

Sprinkle damp fish with kosher salt and Trader Joe‘s Flower Pepper (Product of South Africa: Black Peppercorns, Rose Petals, Calendula, Lavender, Cornflower)

Roll in a light-textured cornmeal (I used McEwen & Sons organic stone-ground white cornmeal)

Place in a frying pan that has oil (I use Grapeseed oil … of course) pre-heated over medium high flame. I also use an old-fashioned iron fry pan that has been with me since the mid-70s.

Because these are small fish, the cooking time is short – about ten to twelve minutes total.  I remove the head if it wasn’t done at the market and butterfly the carcass (I hate that word).  When it’s coated in cornmeal, I put the inside side down first, and then finish with the skin side.  The skin should be very crispy, golden brown, and the flesh should easily pull away from the bones. Done correctly, this recipe doesn’t need a citrus or vinegar condiment because the flavor of the fish should shine.

My side was sliced heirloom tomato and chopped shallot drizzled with Pasolivo Rosemary Olive Oil and sprinkled with Bolivian Pink Salt, which added another dimension of flavor.

Not counting the Chard, the cost of this meal was less than $7.00.  The pan-fried fish was so good that I found myself almost licking the plate; the fact that there were so many bones kept me from doing so. The bones on the Croaker are many, surprisingly large, and can be treacherous if you’re not careful. That said, they make great handles while nibbling bits of fish from them. The tail fin was a delicious crunchy addition on its own.

The wine was a lovely (and cheap!) 2010 Santa Alicia Reserva Chardonnay from Chile.  It was only $7.99 at Trader Joe’s. In a nutshell, it was clean, crisp, surprisingly balanced, and tastes like a touch of French Oak.  Definitely not stainless. In a word, it’s good, especially considering the price.

So enjoy!