Fish fillet is a very delicious, healthy, and nutritious dish that is also quite easy to cook. And since it can be paired with so many garnishes to serve on the side, fishy fillets are among our staples on the dinner table.
However, if your family consumes this dish often enough, you may feel the need to buy fillets in batches to keep them frozen until the next time. In this case, deep frying frozen fish fillets can become a handy cooking option. But how do we deep fry frozen fish so that it remains juicy and soft? Today we will teach you a few easy and useful tricks!
How Long to Fry Frozen Fish Fillets In a Deep Fryer?
Can you deep fry frozen fish? Of course, you can! And let us assure you, this cooking method will help you to avoid quite a lot of fuss connected with preparing the fillets for cooking. No more thawing that takes quite a lot of time, and no more worrying about how to prep the fish best of all for being cooked.
However, when we decide to deep fry frozen fish, most of us face the same issue: how much time will we need for this sort of cooking? Well, you might think that it will hang upon whether your fish is battered or breaded. Nevertheless, we can assure you that it doesn’t matter that much in fact. The average time needed for deep frying any frozen fish fillet is approximately seven minutes.
What matters most is how much you want that fish to be fried. If you like it to be really deep fried, then you will have to keep it in the deep fryer’s basket longer. But if you enjoy the fish fillets that are less oily and fat, we would recommend you deep fry them for a shorter period of time.
How Long to Deep Fry Frozen Battered Fish Fillets?
If you want to cook frozen battered fish (please note that we mean pre-battered fish exactly!), you should keep it in your deep fryer for no longer than seven minutes. During this time, your fish fillets will become thoroughly fried without turning too fat and oily.
However, if you like them to be fatty with a really crispy crust, don’t hesitate to let them deep fry for a bit longer until they are done. But in this case be aware that such food may not be very healthy for you because of the large amount of oil in it!
So at least combine your deep fried fish fillets with enough fresh greens and veggies to add more vitamins and raw vegetable fibers into your menu.
How Long to Deep Fry Frozen Breaded Fish Fillets?
Well, in fact, deep frying frozen fish fillets that are breaded will take you approximately the same amount of time that you would spend on cooking battered fillets.
For getting moderately fried fish pieces, we recommend you keep them in the deep fryer for six to seven minutes in general. Like this, they will not become over-fried and you will get soft and juicy fish with a crispy crust.
But of course, if you enjoy more fatty foods, feel free to let your fish deep fry a bit longer. Nevertheless, take into account that such a meal will contain quite a lot of fat and thus cholesterol!
So, as you can see, deep frying battered and breaded frozen fish has no difference in terms of time needed for making it ready. However, we do want you to pay attention to the fact that we were talking about the fish fillets that are commercially made and are being sold already breaded or battered!
Cooking Fish From Frozen. Methods And Tips
We don’t always have enough time to undergo quite a time-consuming procedure of thawing when we need to cook frozen fish. And let’s be honest, it is more often that we simply don’t want to defrost it. This is why most home chefs prefer cooking fish directly from frozen.
Nevertheless, this is when you may get stumbled because you start wondering how to cook fish from frozen correctly. It makes sense since nobody wants to cook their meal only to figure out later that it is totally ruined because of the improper cooking method we chose!
So grab a few handy cooking tips on how to cook frozen fish at home we have prepared for you. With them in mind, you will always enjoy delicious and soft fillet full of juice and aroma!
- Deep fry your fish in batter using the instructions on the package.
- Deep fry it with bread crumbs, but note that breaded fish fillets will be way more delicious if previously thawed.
- Frozen fish can also be grilled! However, it is possible only if the fillets or steaks are thin, maximum 3 cm. Thicker pieces must be defrosted first.
- Baking is another option, but it is available only for the thin (3 cm) pieces. Thick fillets and steaks must be thawed first.
- But if you wrap fish fillets in a tin foil, they can be baked straight from frozen.
- You can also make a stew using frozen fish fillets cut to size.
And do please take into account that, when shallow frying, defrost the fish first in terms of safety. See, the water within the fish may cause oil to spit out of the pan causing burns on your skin!
How to Fry Frozen Fish Properly. General Tips And Life Hacks
Most of us hate defrosting foods because it takes time. This is why people keep on wondering whether it is possible to skip this step when cooking, for example, fish fillets. So to solve this puzzle, check out the basic frozen fish frying tips that will surely be useful.
- It is completely acceptable to fry fish straight from a frozen state. However, you will need to increase the cooking time by adding a few minutes in the recipe to account for the lack of thawing.
- Frying fish steaks or fillets from frozen is absolutely safe for your health according to USDA!
- If you decide to thaw your fish prior to cooking, do it in the fridge, but never on the counter at room temperature!
- To fry frozen fish fillets, place them on a lightly greased baking sheet and cook for twenty minutes turning them halfway through bake time for better results.
- You can also deep fry frozen fish for five minutes in a deep fryer preheated to 350 F.
- To know for sure that frozen fish is properly deep fried, note that it must turn golden brown.
However, they say that the best way to cook frozen fish is to bake it in the oven. To do this, you need to preheat your oven to 450 F, rinse frozen fish under cold running water to remove ice, arrange it on a baking sheet in one layer, and bake until it gets hot and flaky in the center.
So now you know exactly how to deep fry frozen fish fillets and steaks correctly to get a juicy, soft, tender, and delicious seafood meal.
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