Fried Fish -- The Wednesday Kitchen, One Last Season

Back to school and the final push. Six weeks until AP exams. Eight weeks until graduation. The numbers have gotten small enough to feel real, and the hallways have taken on the quality of places that know they are about to be left — the light seems different, the noise seems louder, every conversation feels like it might be the last version of that particular conversation.

I finalized the speech this week. The flood, the rebuilding, the roux. I read it to Mama Tuesday night and she cried before I got to the second paragraph, which is both a compliment and not useful feedback. I read it to Daddy and he listened without moving, which is how Marcus Robinson shows you that he is paying the deepest possible attention, and when I finished he said, "That is exactly right." Not "good" or "great" — "exactly right." I trust his judgment on this because Daddy is a man who does not waste words, and "exactly right" from Marcus Robinson is the equivalent of a standing ovation from anyone else.

MawMaw Shirley asked to hear it on the phone. I read it to her, standing in my bedroom with the door closed, and when I finished she was quiet long enough that I thought the call had dropped. Then she said, "You mentioned the red beans." I said, "Of course I did." She said, "Good. That is the part that matters." She is right. The red beans are the part that matters. The food is always the part that matters, because food is what people do when there is nothing else they can do, and doing something when you cannot do anything is the definition of love.

I made Mama's baked chicken Wednesday — the midweek standard, the recipe I could make blindfolded — and I thought about how many more Wednesday chickens I will make in this kitchen. The answer is not many. By August I will be in a dorm room at LSU and Wednesdays will be whatever I make them. The freedom of that is exciting. The loss of it is real. Both things can be true. I am learning to hold both things.

The baked chicken that Wednesday got me thinking about all the recipes I know by heart — the ones that live in my hands more than my head — and fried fish is right there alongside it. Mama’s kitchen runs on a short list of weeknight anchors, and this is one of them: simple, golden, done in under thirty minutes, the kind of thing that fills the house with a smell that means home even when you’re standing right in the middle of it. I’m writing it down now, before August, because I want to have it exactly right when I’m the only one in the kitchen.

Fried Fish

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 30 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs white fish fillets (catfish, tilapia, or whiting), cut into serving pieces
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons hot sauce
• Vegetable oil, for frying (about 2 cups)
• Lemon wedges and hot sauce, for serving

Instructions

1. Dry the fish. Pat fish fillets thoroughly dry with paper towels. Moisture is the enemy of a crisp crust, so take your time here.
2. Make the coating. In a shallow dish, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and paprika until evenly combined.
3. Make the egg wash. In a second shallow dish, beat the eggs with the hot sauce until smooth.
4. Heat the oil. Pour about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil into a large cast-iron skillet or heavy-bottomed pan. Heat over medium-high until the oil reaches 350°F, or until a pinch of cornmeal dropped in sizzles immediately.
5. Dredge the fillets. Working one piece at a time, dip fish into the egg wash, letting the excess drip off, then press firmly into the cornmeal mixture, coating both sides completely.
6. Fry in batches. Carefully lay coated fillets into the hot oil, leaving space between each piece. Fry 3–4 minutes per side, until deep golden brown and cooked through. Do not crowd the pan or the crust will steam instead of fry.
7. Drain and rest. Transfer finished fish to a wire rack set over a baking sheet (not paper towels, which trap steam). Season lightly with salt while still hot.
8. Serve. Plate immediately with lemon wedges and extra hot sauce on the side.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 380 | Protein: 34g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 28g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 740mg