# Whole Crispy Fried SPSPerch



## Desperado (Mar 12, 2007)

Hi all, caught some white perch at Sandy Point State Park (SPSP), Maryland, so I'm gonna fry'em up. This should work for just about any pan fish. 










Clean & scale fish. Any roe may be left intact, if desired.
Season fish with your favorite seasoning, then coat fish lightly with corn starch, by gently shaking in a plastic bag. 










Heat oil to 350 - 375 degrees. Gently drop fish in.










Let fish enjoy hot bubble bath 6 -8 minutes, or until golden brown.










Remove from oil, place on paper towel. If more seasoning is desired, add to fish immediately after removing from oil.










Serving Ideas:


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

Desperado, how's deep frying entire perch work out? Was there enough meat? I usually throw back perch but thought maybe I should keep them to deep fry them this year. 

thanks for the pics, looks delicious...


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## cygnus-x1 (Oct 12, 2005)

SeaSalt said:


> Desperado, how's deep frying entire perch work out? Was there enough meat? I usually throw back perch but thought maybe I should keep them to deep fry them this year.
> 
> thanks for the pics, looks delicious...


Honestly I don't think there is an angler on this board that would say a Perch was not worth eating. Many people rate Perch above or along side Striper and Trout as best fish in the bay to eat. It really just depends on how much work you want to do when you eat. During the summer months it is hard to catch big perch and ones smaller than 6 inches are a pain to cook but they are delicious. 

If you can get out and get some large perch this Spring give it a try I think you will think twice about tossing these tasty critter back into the water.

I have to tell you I am REALLY looking forward to the end of March for this little guys.


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

C, yup. I agree perch taste good. I like it better than croaker. But, I hate cleaning them and they have lots of bone. 

Maybe if I deep fry them, it would be less of a hassle to clean them and eat them. I like crunchy fish!


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## fishbait (Nov 11, 2005)

Seasalt,
If you come perch fishing with me, I'll show you how I prep these fish. It takes me about 30 seconds per fish for me to fillet these guys. It's pretty easy.


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## cygnus-x1 (Oct 12, 2005)

SeaSalt said:


> C, yup. I agree perch taste good. I like it better than croaker. But, I hate cleaning them and they have lots of bone.
> 
> Maybe if I deep fry them, it would be less of a hassle to clean them and eat them. I like crunchy fish!


They do have many bones but that can be a good thing. Frying them whole or whole w/o head is the ticket. Picking the bones makes you slow down while you eat. Many people, myself included, eat too fast. My daughter and I fight over the crunchy tails 

We do not deep fry but we do put about 1/2 inch of olive oil or Canola oil in the skillet and fry both sides till it is nice and crispy.

Oh boy .... now I am hungry


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## saltandsand (Nov 29, 2007)

This thread reminds me of a dish that some Greek friends used to make. Taking small fish caught with a seine net, slice to remove guts, rub the blade to remove scales, exactly the same as the perch. *Either way still need to remove the gills. * Place the tails together like a small fan while patting with fry and let them cook. Using small fish (like an inch or two) the bones are digested. Delicious. I bet those perch were very tasty!


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## Desperado (Mar 12, 2007)

SeaSalt said:


> Desperado, how's deep frying entire perch work out? Was there enough meat? I usually throw back perch but thought maybe I should keep them to deep fry them this year.
> 
> thanks for the pics, looks delicious...


Thanks, SeaSalt 

Yeah, like everyone's been saying, they're pretty good, but you gotta take the time to clean 'em out & scale 'em. Larger perch have a decent amount of meat. But I can see why some wouldn't want to bother, especially if they are small. However, some people do prefer small fish. My wife actually prefers the small perch over the sea bass, tog, flounder, striper, croaker, bluefish, spot, etc. that we caught last year. And although the perch are pretty good, I prefer the other fish if available. I think when I first posted this, it must have been after catching a lot of perch. And yes it might be quicker & easier to just filet them, but then it becomes a totally different dish. 

And if you rather not bother with perch, other fish such as sea bass, snapper, rock cod, croaker, talapia, etc.. are good as crispy whole fish.

For fish bigger than perch, I like to make criss cross cuts along the sides. Although this example, I went a little too deep:









Fry it up:









Add your favorite sauce & stir fry. This was an attempt at a spicy sweet & sour whole croaker.


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## SeaSalt (Apr 29, 2002)

nice granite Desperado!


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## squalus (Sep 26, 2007)

JEEZ! I just read about Crab Soup and now this!

Appetizer and Main Course.

Your presentation is fabulous. Are you a chef, or do you just have a knack for eye-appeal? WOW!

I gotta go see what's in the fridge now.


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## Desperado (Mar 12, 2007)

SeaSalt said:


> nice granite Desperado!


Thanks again SeaSalt, for reminding me how nice it is. Lately, I've been taking it for granite.


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## Desperado (Mar 12, 2007)

squalus said:


> JEEZ! I just read about Crab Soup and now this!
> 
> Appetizer and Main Course.
> 
> ...


I'm not a chef, but thanks for the compliment. I just like to cook for the fun of it. Used to read those cookbooks with the pretty pictures, watched a lot of tv cooking shows. Used to watch the original Iron Chef series all the time. Sweet & sour turtle, fried carp scales, live conger eel soaked in sake to make them "behave", and of course squid ink ice cream. Wow, that was fun to watch. Gave me some ideas too...


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## EugeneChoe (Aug 11, 2006)

that pic with the fryer looks yummy. ive always thrown my perch back or handed them to okimavich but maybe this year ill try to eat a few of those monster sized perch. maybe someone should bring a propane fryer to the fling


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