Fried Fish Crusted with Masa

The crispy, crunchy coating and amazing tomatillo salsa verde make this recipe a smash. I’ve never been able to get such a wonderful coating on anything I’ve tried frying but this mix of masa harina and rice flour did the trick. And because flounder doesn’t have its own strong flavors, you need to match it with something special and the tomatillo salsa was it.

Of course roasting the tomatillos unleashes tons of wonderful flavors and combining that with the pepper, garlic, cilantro and scallions makes a very special salsa. It was one of those where I found myself saying “oh there’s the tomatillo, oh, there’s the cilantro, oh, there’s the garlic.” We were happy to have some left over.

As far as the recipe goes, it’s pretty simple and straightforward. Of course the key is to keep the oil at the right temp but that’s just a matter of paying attention. This one’s a keeper!

This recipe has been on my “to try” list for a while but finding flounder around here was a challenge. When I was finally able to get my hands on some, I knew what was for dinner. We keep masa in our house because I make tortillas frequently (South Texas, ya’ll!) and finding other uses for it is always a bonus. I love the fact that masa gives that corn flavor without the “grit” of cornmeal so I had high hopes for this dish and it did not disappoint.

Additionally, I make a roasted tomatillo salsa verde regularly that is similar to this one so I was looking forward to trying a different version. I served this dish to my family (total of 5) and we had quite a bit of fish and salsa leftover so if you don’t have big eaters this will probably feed 8 people (especially if you’re serving it with tortillas and any side dishes). It took approximately 1 1/2 hours from start to finish due to the length of time to fry the fish in batches. If you have a larger fryer it might take less time.

I have a wonderful chipotle chili powder that might be wonderful here. It might help to also add a bit of cayenne in addition to the chili if you like more “heat”. Because of the thinness of the fish strips, breading them took a bit more time than if they had been larger pieces but they fried up beautifully. I salted and dusted some chili over them but again, the fish itself was slightly lacking in flavor. I used my “tabletop” fryer which does not hold a lot but is great for the occasional deep frying so it took 8 batches to fry all the flounder strips.

We served it hot out of the fryer with corn tortillas, the salsa, lime wedges, and some shredded cabbage (something I always serve with fish tacos) and had Cholula on hand for those who wanted hot sauce. My husband resorted to his atomic hot sauce stash for more heat.

All in all this was a very good dish and will please those who don’t like spicy foods but could have used a little more kick for those of us who do like things with a bit more heat. I think the solution to that is to use a hotter chili powder and/or add cayenne to the dredge plus add a bit more on when removing from the fryer. This dish is definitely one I’ll make again and may try it with a different fish as flounder is harder to come by, perhaps cod or haddock might work.

This fry method is a keeper. We are picky here in SC about our seafood so I was anxious to see if a gluten-free option really worked. I can say whether I’m cooking for gluten-free friends or not I will for sure use this dredge again. The fish came out tender yet crispy, never getting soggy. Husband actually ate leftovers with grits and eggs the next morning (yeah, a SC thing).

I make tomatillo salsa frequently and prefer roasting the vegetables at 425°F for 20 to 30 minutes over this method, which splattered oil all over my oven. The slightly longer roast still gives you a charred top and allows the veg to sweeten some. Seasoning with salt alone was ok but the addition of the juice of half a lime brightened it up.

Sometimes I get really hungry for a fish taco or a nice, lightly-breaded piece of fried fish but I’ve never found a good recipe to make at home until now. The mild taste of flounder is a great choice but can be hard to find. Other mild, flat fish such as tilapia would be a good substitute.

Tomatillo salsa is a fresh tasting addition to tacos or fried fish. My suggestions for this recipe is to reduce the amount of oil used to broil the tomatillo to 1 to 2 tablespoons and be aware of the recipe directions to place the pan in the middle of the oven so the tomatillos can brown but not burn. I like a little more onion flavor and found using a 1/2 of a small sliced yellow onion to be a nice substitute for the scallions.

We enjoyed the resulting crispiness of the masa harina (dried and ground corn dough which can be found in most grocery stores), cornstarch and rice-flour coating. If you prefer to fry the entire fish filet to save some time instead of cutting and breading slices—do it and take care not to overload your pan or fryer. The flavor of the fish is quite mild so the suggested condiments (salsa verde, hot sauce and lime wedges) plus the extra sprinkle of chili powder and salt are great additions.

The final dish? Well, my husband had seconds—which means he really liked this dish because he’s not typically a fish lover. I liked it too. I served it with Mexican fried rice but next time we’re going for the fish tacos!

I also suspect this recipe will adapt well to being baked instead of deep fried. I would use melted butter instead of the egg white, dip the fish in the melted butter, breading and bake at 400°F until flaky.