I have shared at least one sandwich per week on this sandwich blog for a bit over 4 years and every so often I like to take a look back and see how far things have come. This is one of those situations. I’m writing today about a sandwich recipe that I shared almost exactly 3 years and 11 months ago on April 18th, 2021.
That was my attempt to make a good American-style fast-casual fried fish sandwich and my goal for this blog post is to see if I needed to refine my original recipe and whether it required adjustment. Also, I just happened to be craving a good crispy fried fish sandwich which happens about this time every year.
Bounded by Buns history:
Master Sandwich List
I didn’t grow up in an area with a lot of Catholics but that changed when I moved to Chicago. The Archdiocese of Chicago has approximated that 33% of the region’s population practices some form of Catholicism. From my perspective, that means that if you live in Chicago, you live near some people who mostly seem like normal folks. They occasionally talk about the Pope, they genuinely enjoy alcohol at every event and they pick up slightly weird eating habits on Fridays during the late winter and early spring.
A totally unrelated issue happens to me during this period of time. Someone who lives in my house watches a lot of live sports during late February and March which means that I end up seeing television advertisements this time of year a lot more often than other times of the year. This extra ad viewing overlaps with the beginning of the Lenten season and since Catholics do not eat meat on Fridays—and someone years ago decided that fish isn’t meat—all of the fast food chain restaurants start promoting their fried fish sandwiches in ads to hit that hungry practicing Catholic demographic.
This specific two-factor situation usually has me craving a fish sandwich about a week into March.
Trip to Hagen’s
To get ready for this sandwich I took a little trip. I recently saw a friend post online about their trip to Hagen’s Fish Market and it reminded me that Hagen’s has been on my list of places to visit for a long time but neither my wife nor I had gone the 20-ish minutes north to visit.
Hagen’s is on the northwest side of Chicago and has built up a smoked fish reputation that seems to rival the very popular and tasty Calumet Fisheries on the south side. Other than smoked fish, Hagen’s also sells fresh fish by weight, sandwiches, and side dishes like fried calamari and clam strips. The small store also has a refrigerated area where you can buy housemade fish or crab dips/spreads, as well as prepackaged sauces like tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, or even a few dry goods like crackers, packaged risotto, canned tomatoes, and tomato sauce.
The Hagen’s fried fish sandwich wasn’t the best. I was sort of expecting a fresh fried piece of fish but I guess I didn’t do my research because when I opened the sandwich it seemed like a pre-formed fish patty, instead of something made in-house. It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t as good as I was hoping. The sandwich was way better than a typical fast-food sandwich but I sort of hoped it was going to be a piece of fish that they coated in breadcrumbs or batter and fried up to order.
It does appear that you can special order a fresh filet of fish to be fried up though. I heard at least one person make an order like that after we’d already placed ours. I never saw their sandwich though, so I’m not 100% sure.
I enjoyed this sandwich but I didn’t love this sandwich and this encouraged me to focus on an even better attempt to make a really good at-home version of a fried fish sandwich.
So I bought 2 pounds of fresh Atlantic cod loin and headed home. As for fish-related math, you can easily get 6 sandwiches out of two pounds which translates to about 5 ounces per sandwich. Depending on how thick the fish is that you buy, you may need to do a little butterflying, which I get into a bit lower in this blog post.
For now, though, we’re talking fish sandwiches.
What is this sandwich?
This is an American-style fried fish sandwich. It’s crispy on the exterior, and soft and lightly flaky in the middle. The fish used in these sandwiches is typically not very fishy or flavorful, but we bring flavor in the way of a sandwich sauce, cheese, and veggies. Yes, I said cheese. Get over it. This is how this sandwich is done, but you can leave it out if you want.
Way back in 2021, I also created the following really fun and spicy recipe for a Nashville Hot fried fish sandwich in that original fish sandwich blog post. Give it a shot if you’re ready for an addictively heat-filled adventure.
Nashville Hot fried fish sandwich
You'll find spicy and addictive flavors in this crispy and flaky fish sandwich. Bring extra napkins because things might get messy along the way on this fantastic sandwich adventure.
Get RecipeBack to the task at hand
First, before we can make a fried fish sandwich we need to procure our super soft buns. So that’s next on the list.
Split top burger or sandwich buns
These are just regular buns with an inverse mohawk. The process for making these buns is the exact same as my normal simple burger buns right up until the point of baking the buns.
Normally, I do not use an egg wash on my simple burger buns, but this recipe does require that egg wash to make the buns extra shiny and browned. Once the buns have risen and been painted with egg wash, you carefully score the top of the buns in one slash from one side of the bun to the opposite side.
It’s important that you paint egg wash on the dough before slashing because this leaves the area inside the slash unwashed so that when the bun rises and stretches out in the oven, that area is a lighter color than the rest of the bun creating a visually pleasing piece of bread that’s perfect for a burger or fried fish sandwich.
The scoring on top of the buns is all purely for appearance. There’s no reason to make a slash like this in a normal burger or sandwich bun, but I do enjoy how it looks in the sandwich photos I took when making these fish sandwiches and I think a split-top burger bun is a popular style of bun to be used with fried fish sandwiches.
Split top burger buns
These split-top burger buns use seven different ingredients to create soft buns that are golden brown, and extra shiny, with a simple slash across the top.
Get RecipeCrispy fried cod
The first time I wrote about this recipe I used halibut and this time I used cod that we bought at Hagen’s. We enjoyed the cod a little bit better, but neither fish has much in the way of flavor. They’re both very basic white fish and as long as you get the thickness of the fish correct, you should be in good shape to make a sandwich.
The piece of cod that I purchased was a big filet, around 2 pounds, and it was pretty thick. Because of this, I ended up butterflying the pieces that I cut, to make several sandwiches. I think just under 1 inch thick is the perfect thickness for a fish filet that you plan to fry for a sandwich.
If you have a whole filet as I did, basically you need about a 5 to 6-inch rectangle of fish, so you can break it down into multiple pieces and then do the butterflying or halving to get down to the size of the filet that works for your sandwich.
But before we get to frying we need to talk about dredging.
What is Panko?
If you’re unfamiliar, Panko is Japanese bread crumbs that are made from crustless white bread which have been processed into dried flakes. They are different from regular breadcrumbs due to their size and their ability to crisp up and provide a nice crunch. You can use breadcrumbs instead of Panko but your fish will not turn out quite as crispy.
A three-stage breading process is an integral part of a lot of fried foods. Sometimes you will have two stages, but for crispy fried fish we need three. The first bowl/dish should contain all-purpose flour, salt, and black pepper. The second bowl has a whole egg and a splash of milk. You can use water or plant-based milk as well (mine is using oat milk). The final bowl contains the Panko breadcrumbs and a few seasonings like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika and I add a touch of cayenne powder just for fun.
Make sure the fish goes through each bowl and is fully coated after each stage of the process. That’s it. The worst part is the cleanup, so you should keep that in mind if possible and use dishwasher-safe bowls if that’s your thing. Make sure all the flour and breadcrumbs go into the trash. They can clog up your plumbing.
My fish sandwich recipe calls for you to fry the fish in peanut or another neutral oil set to approximately 350 degrees F (176 C). I strongly suggest you own a quick read or frying thermometer if you plan to fry food because it just makes things a lot easier. Fry the fish for about 2 minutes per side and everything should be golden and crunchy.
Once the fish is fully fried, you should move it to a cooling rack that is above a bed of paper towels because there should be a lot of hot oil that is going to drip off of the very hot fish.
Giving the fish time to cool is also a good thing for the roof of your mouth. You can allow the fish to cool for four or five minutes while gathering the rest of your sandwich ingredients. The fried filets will still be plenty warm.
Seriously, give the fish some time to cool which also could help to give the cheese some time to melt. Otherwise, you will be injured. I warned you.
American Cheese
This might be a controversial component, but it’s a commonly seen topping on this sort of fried fish sandwich. If you hate American cheese, you might want to select a different version of cheese, and if you hate fish and cheese paired together, then you can easily just skip the cheese altogether.
Just make sure if You’re using American cheese that you buy deli-sliced American cheese and not the individually wrapped slices. There’s a big difference between these two things. If you aren’t going to get your American cheese sliced at the deli, you might be able to find some deli-style sliced from producers like Kraft (pictured here). The individually wrapped slices are technically a “processed cheese product” and they typically have a different congealed almost plastic-y texture that is different than deli slices which are “processed cheese.”
If you don’t like cheese with your fish, it’s easy enough to just leave out of the sandwich.
If you do like cheese, make sure to add a slice on top of each freshly fried piece of fish as soon as it comes out of the frying oil to give it a chance to get a tad bit melty.
Remoulade sauce
I think a fried fish sandwich really needs a sandwich sauce.
I shared these fried fish sandwiches that I made in this blog post with my wife and while we both enjoy tartar sauce, she suggested that we use her favorite remoulade sauce for this sandwich instead. It was a good suggestion.
I do think that tartar sauce is probably the default so I have also shared my tartar sauce recipe below, but now you have options and options are better than no options.
Remoulade is tangy from pickled liquid and citrus which both sing when paired with fried fish.
Remoulade Sauce
Add a bit of zip to your next sandwich with this remoulade. This sauce will bring a slight bit of spice, a touch of sweetness, and a whole lot of tang to whatever you add it to.
Get RecipeOr tartar sauce?
I believe tartar sauce would be the default on a sandwich like this if you ordered it from a restaurant. Either that or mayonnaise. Tartar sauce brings a lot of zip to a fried fish sandwich due to the pickle-y liquid from pickles and capers and any citrus that might be in the recipe—in my recipe’s case, that’s lemon juice.
You can buy tartar sauce or make my recipe. I don’t know exactly how it tastes because I didn’t buy it and try it, but I especially like the label of this Kraft branded tartar sauce that I saw the other day because they’ve practically got a version of the sandwich that we’re making on the front.
Tartar sauce
Citrus and pickle juice provide a nice zing to this creamy sauce. Great on almost any seafood based sandwich.
Get RecipeLettuce, tomato, and other veggies?
Since this sandwich usually has some sort of remoulade sauce or tartar sauce, I don’t think it necessarily needs pickles but if you want more of that zippy, tart goodness, go for it. You could also choose to pair this sandwich with a nice creamy slaw. I chose to keep it simple for this version and just used some simple iceberg lettuce and a tomato slice.
“Art” or sandwich?
Want to see how talented I am? I traced the heck out of the photo below on a tablet and then colored in the colors, shaded, and shadowed. This is just like how Michelangelo did that ceiling over in Italy.
Crispy fried fish sandwich
If you hate fried fish, you left and stopped reading long ago so I don’t have to worry about you. This area you’re entering now is just for people who love fish sandwiches and we’re a strong, popular group that is very attractive. Keep reading.
This is a fantastic sandwich and my original recipe turned out to be pretty strong. I did end up updating the recipe to adjust the order of ingredients and I tightened up amounts. I added a bit of onion, garlic, paprika, and cayenne powders to the panko breadcrumb dredging station because I think they’re always helpful in the flavor of fried food.
Otherwise, I felt that the recipe I shared 4 years ago still stands up and I will continue making it for years to come.
Check out some photos of the sandwiches from my testing process and then get the recipe below. And keep being cool, popular, and attractive.
Crispy fast food-style fried fish sandwich
Things are gonna get crunchy. Pair this sandwich with some tartar sauce for a classic combination.
Ingredients:
Crispy fried fish filets- 2 cod or halibut fillets about 4 to 6 ounces each
- 1 large egg
- splash milk
- 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
- 3⁄4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 2 teaspoons salt (split)
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper (split)
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- peanut or canola oil for frying (at least 2 inches deep in your pot/pan)
- 2 American cheese slices
- 2 soft hamburger or sandwich buns
- 2 to 4 tablespoons tartar sauce, remoulade sauce or mayonnaise
- green leaf lettuce or iceberg lettuce
- 2 to 4 tomato slices
Directions:
Prepare a fish dredging station with three bowls. The first bowl will contain all-purpose flour, half the salt, and half the black pepper all mixed together. The second bowl should contain a splash of milk mixed with a beaten egg. The final bowl should be panko bread crumbs the rest of the salt and black pepper and all of the garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and cayenne powder. Mix up all three bowls to incorporate their ingredients.
Dry off your fish fillets very well. Season each one with salt and pepper. Using one fillet at a time, place in the flour mixture and thoroughly coat the fish, pressing the flour into all surfaces and any crevices on all sides.
Transfer the floured fish into the egg/milk mixture and make sure it gets wet and coated on all sides.
Finally, place the fish into the panko bread crumb mixture and make sure there are no visible areas where egg/milk shows through. Press panko into the fish very well, coating all around.
Repeat for all of your fish fillets and let each one rest after dredging on parchment or a baking rack while your frying oil comes to temperature.
In a large pot or skillet add peanut oil until it fills at least 2 inches deep in the vessel. On medium-high heat bring oil up to 350 degrees. If you do not have a thermometer, heat the pot over a burner for a few minutes and sprinkle a tiny bit of flour in the oil. If it starts to bubble as soon as the flour hits the oil it should be hot enough (make a mental note that you should get a thermometer).
Add each fillet into the oil, making sure to ease it in away from your body so that you do not splash yourself with hot oil.
Fry in the oil for 2 minutes per side or until the crust of the fish is nice and golden brown. Once the fish is all done, move it to a plate or cooling rack to rest. If you are using American cheese, add that now on top of each filet so that it will start to melt.
Toast your buns.
Add tartar sauce, remoulade, or mayonnaise to the bottom bun. Move your fish fillets onto the bun on top of the sauce. Top the fish filet with lettuce and a tomato slice.
Add more sauce to the top bun if desired. Close the sandwich and serve.
Check back next week
Next week we might be making bagels without holes. Sometimes things get crazy around these parts. Come back on Monday and see what we get into.
