From Betty Crocker?  Probably.  I have so many Xerox copies of old recipes that I lose track of where I got them.

So here’s the thing:  I don’t love the smell of fried fish.  Oh ugh.  I don’t.  BUT, once a year, when I’m missing my grandparents, I “fry me up a mess of fish”….little white shreds of Indiana style fish that are so tasteless they need tartar to taste like anything at all.  This breading includes pecans, so don’t use a strong flavored fish….no salmon, for example.  There is such a thing as TOO much flavor, especially with fish, and a nice pecan breading really goes a long way in the taste category.

1 to 1.5 lbs of fish…whitefish, cod, blue gill, catfish fillets…take your pick.  I know many folks like tilapia, but I just can’t do it.  It taunts me with its flavorlessness.  Is that a word?

Dry bread crumbs

Cornmeal

Grated parmesan cheese

Ground pecans (I buy chopped and put them through my food processor because they must be fine.)

Salt and Pepper

Flour

Milk

Vegetable Oil

I’m sure this recipe has all sorts of measurements, and I am generally a SLAVE TO MEASURING…but not when I bread.  Breading and frying should be done with the heart…never the head.  I guess I use a cup of crumbs, cornmeal, and flour, and maybe 1/4 cup of cheese and 1/2 cup of pecans.  Salt and pepper to taste. I also have so much left over, but better to have too much breading than too little.

Mix the bread crumbs, cornmeal, cheese, and salt and pepper together.  Put them in a breading tray.  Flour in a separate tray, and milk in yet a 3rd tray.  Rinse and dry the fish.  Bread in this order: flour, milk, and then breadcrumb tray.

Fry in oil (I like mine to be as deep as the fish, or if it’s thick, half as deep as the fish, but not cover it).  I use a cast iron skillet for frying.  You just can’t beat cast iron for any kind of frying.  I have two cast iron griddles and they are used every single day for eggs, pancakes, grilled cheese…you name it.  Fry until a nice golden brown in batches, and drain on paper towels.  Tonight I used cod and decided I did prefer it with a little tartar on the side.  I have no idea why I even had tarter in my fridge because again…I don’t eat fried fish (shrimp excluded).  But this is Indiana, and sometimes you gotta have a fish fry.  It’s the law.

We ate ours with sweet corn on the cob and rice pilaf.

Sous chefs: Sara and Kelly shuck corn when shucking is required.  Breading is their favorite because they get to make a mess with the flour.  I let Sara measure the water for the rice pilaf.  She pours the rice, I help her measure, she pours some more.  No one is allowed in the kitchen when I fry.  Splattering happens to the best cooks.