How to Make Easy, Fast & Delicious Fried Crappie

Crappie are excellent eating regardless of how they are prepared and cooked. That means anything short of delicious is likely due to improper care of the catch. Here’s advice from some friends of Bobby Garland Crappie Baits to help ensure crappie meals always get the Five Star Ratings they deserve.

Phyllis Adams believes she’s tried just about every imaginable way to cook crappie over the years, but her favorite remains the simplest of all – dusting fillets in cornmeal and frying on a stovetop. Her easy cooking tips follow, but she says the key to achieving great taste begins before the cooking starts. “We decide at the front of an outing if we plan to keep some eaters,” Phyllis explained, “and if so, we’ll take an ice-filled chest just for that purpose.”

It's a practice she and her husband, Leon, started long ago. I witnessed it firsthand recently on a trip with Leon and his longtime friend, Gary “Blue Duck” Ingram. (See Old Fashioned Crappie Fishing Success for more on the fishing part of the day!) There it was among their gear when we rendezvoused – an ice chest loaded with ice. “Most of my fishing is for fun, but when keeping some I’m really particular about their care from lake to skillet,” Leon told me. “Today, we’re in the mood for a few fresh crappie.”

As a result of the opportunity, I got to experience every step of the Adams’ ways of caring for, cleaning, prepping and cooking their catch. And getting my own plate of delicious fried crappie at the end was nothing short of amazing. Here are some lessons learned from the northeastern Oklahoma couple and their good ol’ homestyle crappie frying.

Leon says ice-kept fish have benefits at cleaning time that go beyond plate value. He’s found the deep-chilled fish to be easier to handle and fillet, and also make for a quicker cleanup. To do the job, Leon chooses a traditional thin-bladed fillet knife over an electric one. He’ll cut through the ribs as he fillets, and then de-rib each as he goes. The bone-free fillets go directly into a bowl of ice water. Here are the highlights of his process.

At the Lake

• Put crappie in an ice-filled chest at time of catch, always, and year-round.
• Don’t skimp on the ice. A combo of bagged and loosely scattered provides the best coverage and enables reapplications.
• Understand that stressed or dead crappie in water, including in livewells, can compromise fillet composition and taste in a matter of only a few hours.

At Home

• Keep fish on ice throughout the cleaning.
• Add more ice as needed, especially if cleaning is delayed.
• Place an unattended ice chest under cover and where critters can’t get into it.

Filleting

• Fillet on an elevated cutting board placed on a flat, solid surface.
• Put fillets immediately into a container of clean ice water.
• Place fish carcasses and remains in a bucket for later disposal.

By the time Leon has started the cleaning, Phyllis already has one side of her kitchen sink stoppered and filled with ice and water. The ice bath is hand-freezing cold when the fillets come in. There they will stay immersed for at least a couple of hours. The lengthy soak further cleanses and firms the fillets, ultimately making them look “white.”

Ice Bath to Bagged

Upon removal from the sink, Phyllis shakes water off and places fillets in a strainer for draining. She doesn’t pat dry or put them on paper towels, as there’s a reason for leaving “wet.” The fillets are placed in zippered baggies and kept in the refrigerator until next steps.

Coating Mix

One of the easiest to find and use dry coating options for fish is truly an Adams’ favorite – yellow cornmeal just as it comes right from the container. She simply pours a “fist-size amount” into a one-gallon zip-seal baggie – her “shake” bag – and seasons it to personal preference using only sea salt and black pepper. That’s it … ready for use!

The Adams do also like some of the spicey seasoned commercial breading mixes available, such as Louisiana Fish Fry Products and Zatarain’s. Even with those, Phyllis still supplements their mixes with her standard. She’ll usually go with one-half cup of yellow cornmeal to one cup of the branded fish fry coating.

Coating the Fillets

Phyllis preps all fillets before cooking any. Upon removal from the refrigerated baggies, each fillet is shaken to remove excess water but not dried because “wet” is what makes the coating stick. Once a few fillets are in the shake bag, but not overcrowded, the bag is closed and shaken until fillets are evenly coated. Coated fillets are removed and placed on a plate or cookie tray in wait for the others to follow. The process is repeated until all are coated and ready to fry.

Skillet and Oil

Phyllis’ favored cookware is a prized family cast-iron skillet of at least 100 years old. It’s heavy duty and sizeable, nearly a 14-incher with high sides. She prefers frying in peanut oil because of its quick-to-crispy cooking, high smoke point, and low-absorption properties. She adds enough oil to cover fillets during frying, usually a level that’s about one-third of her skillet’s height.

Fry Time

Oil is heated on high until the temp exceeds the desired 350 degrees mark. Phyllis knows it will cool some when fillets are added. From then on, she monitors and adjusts the heat as needed throughout the process of frying, adding and removing fillets. The skillet is never overcrowded so fillets can get to an even, golden-brown crispiness without turning. Fillets are typically done in about three minutes, perhaps a minute more for extra-large ones. Phyllis says a good test of readiness is to watch for their tendency to “break” or come apart when pestered just a little bit with a fork. Cooked fillets are further salted and peppered to personal preferences.

Enjoy Time

The Adams’ habit is to keep only enough crappie to be cooked fresh, not frozen, for one main meal. They also plan for sufficient leftovers to accommodate a couple more days of random snacking. That means once the frying has started, Phyllis cooks the entire prepped batch until finished. Hot-served crappie fillets rank right at the top in the best-tasting-fish category. Leftovers have their own reputations of deliciousness, too. Phyllis baggies them in smaller portions for snacking convenience. Leon likes eating leftovers right from the fridge and cold, whereas Phyllis usually prefers a reheat. Hot or cold – there is no wrong choice. And there’s really no wrong way to cook crappie that have been properly cared for from lake to skillet. Enjoy!

1. Respect your catch. Let a grip-and-grin photo represent your success, instead of spreading your entire catch across a tailgate or on the ground for pics. The latter runs the risk of jeopardizing your table fare due to potentially unfavorable exposures. Think ice, ice, and more ice for optimal care and quality eating.
2. Opt for quality utensils when stovetop frying. Cast-iron high-sided cookware is ideal for high-heat searing and deep frying.
3. Use a high-smoke-point oil, such as peanut, soybean, or sunflower oil for fish frying. Don’t overfill; a skillet level less than half-full is safest.
4. Don’t guess at cooking temps. Use a candy/deep-fry thermometer to stay around the 350 degrees target mark, the frying standard for many coating options. Too hot can overcook outsides and undercook insides. Too cool leads to excessive oil absorption and makes food “greasy.”
5. Don’t overcrowd fillets. Spacing helps with temp retention, browning evenness, and time ‘til done. Carefully add fillets to avoid dangerous splattering and getting burned.
6. Remove fillets with a temp-worthy slotted utensil to help drain off oil. Place hot fillets on paper towels for oil absorption.
7. Cool, clean and refrigerate cooking oil in a sealed container for reuse as appropriate. Otherwise, dispose of used oil according to approved practices. Never pour oil down plumbing drains or onto the ground.