Simple=Better

As I was shopping today, I got to thinking that it has been a while since I’ve had some good fried fish. That got me started thinking about a friend of mine who passed away a few years ago.

His name was Jack also. Everybody I know called him Big Jack. I’m not going to get into statistics but this Jack was a big enough guy that when we were around each other, some people actually called me “Little” Jack.

Big Jack liked to fish. He was a good angler and actually dabbled at being a pro bass fisherman for a time. As much as he liked to fish, I believe that he liked eating fish even more.

I am a big fan of fried fish. I love fish and chips with good malt vinegar. In my travels I have eaten fried fish in all types of restaurants but I have found that the best fried fish is served at the old fashioned fish fry. I have made it a point to go to the small fish fry in every corner of the country.

I never did have much luck frying the fish myself so; when I was at these events I would always try to pick up some pointers. Sometimes the fish fry recipe and technique are closely guarded secrets. Everybody seems to have their own twist. Over the years, I have tried different formulas that involved a wide range of ingredients including, beer, 7-up, club soda, corn meal, cornstarch, corn flakes, flour, potato chips, eggs, milk and heavy cream to no avail.

So, I went to my friend Big Jack and said; “You have to show me how to fry fish”. Jack told me, “It’s no secret, next time I have a fish fry you’ll be right beside me”. Soon after, on a hot summer night, Jack called and said he was ready. I even brought a notebook to make sure I didn’t miss a thing. Big Jack said, “If you have your oil hot and follow this recipe exactly you can’t go wrong. You will never need another recipe.” Here is the recipe for Big Jacks’ Fried Fish.

1/2 Gallon of milk
1 bottle of Louisiana’s Hot Sauce
Corn Meal

Mix the milk and whole bottle of hot sauce in a large bowl. Put some corn meal in a bread pan. Dip the fish pieces quickly in the milk/hot sauce mixture and coat lightly (one pass) with corn meal. Fry ’till golden brown.

Now, when I saw him pour that whole bottle of Louisiana’s in the milk, I thought this is going to be spicy. It isn’t, not the least bit. You may want to get two bottles and use one to spice up the fish after cooking. The hot in the hot sauce burns out in the cooking. If you don’t use the hot sauce the fish won’t be as crispy. Maybe it’s the vinegar, I don’t know. All I know is, if I follow the recipe exactly, it’s always great. If I use Tobasco instead of Louisiana’s, it’s still good but different. The half-gallon of milk and whole bottle of sauce makes more of the mixture than you will probably need but the ratio seems to be important. I don’t even mess with 1/4 gallon of milk and half bottle of sauce. If I have too much, I discard the leftover.

This is the best tasting and by far the simplest fish fry formula I have ever tried. So, Big Jack taught me a lesson I have learned many times. Simple is better.