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Prep Time:5 minsAdditional Time:25 minsTotal Time:30 minsServings:6Yield:6 servingsJump to Nutrition Facts
Prep Time:5 minsAdditional Time:25 minsTotal Time:30 minsServings:6Yield:6 servings
Prep Time:5 mins
Prep Time:
5 mins
Additional Time:25 mins
Additional Time:
25 mins
Total Time:30 mins
Total Time:
30 mins
Servings:6
Servings:
6
Yield:6 servings
Yield:
6 servings
Jump to Nutrition Facts
Jump to recipe
ThisFried Porgiesrecipe works great for your fish and chips. Healthy fat-filled porgy gets a double layer of crunchy cornmeal coating that’s held to the fish with tangy buttermilk and fried to perfection. Spicy seafood seasoning and black pepper bring a subtle heat to the coating—feel free to use more of each if you want a spicier fish. Read on for expert tips, including what to serve with your porgies.
Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen
These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too!
Nutrition Notes
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients12 medium porgies, cleaned and heads and fins removed¼cuplemon juiceCanola oil for frying2tablespoonsseafood seasoning, such as Old Bay1cupyellow cornmeal½cupall-purpose flour½teaspoonsalt, or to taste½teaspoonground pepper, or to taste1cupbuttermilk
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
12 medium porgies, cleaned and heads and fins removed
¼cuplemon juice
Canola oil for frying
2tablespoonsseafood seasoning, such as Old Bay
1cupyellow cornmeal
½cupall-purpose flour
½teaspoonsalt, or to taste
½teaspoonground pepper, or to taste
1cupbuttermilk
DirectionsPlace 12 porgies in a large nonreactive bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup lemon juice. Cover and let stand while you heat the oil and prepare the coating.Pour oil to a depth of about 1 inch in a deep cast-iron skillet and clip on a candy thermometer; heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°F. While the oil is heating, pulverize 2 tablespoons of seafood seasoning to a fine powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Transfer to a brown paper bag (see Tip). Add 1 cup cornmeal, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; shake to combine.Place 1 cup buttermilk in a shallow dish. Working with a few fish at a time, add them to the bag with the cornmeal mixture; shake well to coat evenly. Next, dip the fish in the buttermilk to coat them all over, gently shaking off any excess. Return the fish to the bag; shake well to coat evenly again. Slide the coated fish into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd them in the pan. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain, then place on a warmed platter. Repeat the coating and frying process until all the fish are cooked. Serve immediately.Frequently Asked QuestionsYes, this East Coast saltwater fish is available from New England to Florida and is well-known for its many bones. We highly recommend asking your fishmonger to remove the bones to save time. However, you can also remove the bones using fishbone tweezers or a boning knife. Use your hand to feel for the bones as you remove them.Red snapper and tilapia have a similar sweet flavor and fry up nice and flaky. In North Carolina, red porgy is also known as pink or silver snapper.If you’re looking at a whole fish, inspect the eyes, gills and fins. The fish should appear clean with clear eyes and good coloring along with intact, moist fins. When examining a fillet, ensure it’s clean and free of blood. Also, it’s a good idea to ask to smell the fish and look for a mild scent. Any strong fishy odor is not acceptable.Remember to heat the oil in the pan before adding the fish, as this will help prevent it from sticking. Gently test the fish occasionally to see if it’s sticking, but avoid moving it around too much as this could tear it. The fish will naturally unstick when it’s cooked on that side, at which point you can carefully turn it over.EatingWell.com, June 2020
Directions
Place 12 porgies in a large nonreactive bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup lemon juice. Cover and let stand while you heat the oil and prepare the coating.Pour oil to a depth of about 1 inch in a deep cast-iron skillet and clip on a candy thermometer; heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°F. While the oil is heating, pulverize 2 tablespoons of seafood seasoning to a fine powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Transfer to a brown paper bag (see Tip). Add 1 cup cornmeal, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; shake to combine.Place 1 cup buttermilk in a shallow dish. Working with a few fish at a time, add them to the bag with the cornmeal mixture; shake well to coat evenly. Next, dip the fish in the buttermilk to coat them all over, gently shaking off any excess. Return the fish to the bag; shake well to coat evenly again. Slide the coated fish into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd them in the pan. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain, then place on a warmed platter. Repeat the coating and frying process until all the fish are cooked. Serve immediately.Frequently Asked QuestionsYes, this East Coast saltwater fish is available from New England to Florida and is well-known for its many bones. We highly recommend asking your fishmonger to remove the bones to save time. However, you can also remove the bones using fishbone tweezers or a boning knife. Use your hand to feel for the bones as you remove them.Red snapper and tilapia have a similar sweet flavor and fry up nice and flaky. In North Carolina, red porgy is also known as pink or silver snapper.If you’re looking at a whole fish, inspect the eyes, gills and fins. The fish should appear clean with clear eyes and good coloring along with intact, moist fins. When examining a fillet, ensure it’s clean and free of blood. Also, it’s a good idea to ask to smell the fish and look for a mild scent. Any strong fishy odor is not acceptable.Remember to heat the oil in the pan before adding the fish, as this will help prevent it from sticking. Gently test the fish occasionally to see if it’s sticking, but avoid moving it around too much as this could tear it. The fish will naturally unstick when it’s cooked on that side, at which point you can carefully turn it over.
Place 12 porgies in a large nonreactive bowl; sprinkle with 1/4 cup lemon juice. Cover and let stand while you heat the oil and prepare the coating.
Pour oil to a depth of about 1 inch in a deep cast-iron skillet and clip on a candy thermometer; heat the oil over medium-high heat to 350°F. While the oil is heating, pulverize 2 tablespoons of seafood seasoning to a fine powder in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Transfer to a brown paper bag (see Tip). Add 1 cup cornmeal, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; shake to combine.
Place 1 cup buttermilk in a shallow dish. Working with a few fish at a time, add them to the bag with the cornmeal mixture; shake well to coat evenly. Next, dip the fish in the buttermilk to coat them all over, gently shaking off any excess. Return the fish to the bag; shake well to coat evenly again. Slide the coated fish into the hot oil, being careful not to crowd them in the pan. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain, then place on a warmed platter. Repeat the coating and frying process until all the fish are cooked. Serve immediately.
Frequently Asked QuestionsYes, this East Coast saltwater fish is available from New England to Florida and is well-known for its many bones. We highly recommend asking your fishmonger to remove the bones to save time. However, you can also remove the bones using fishbone tweezers or a boning knife. Use your hand to feel for the bones as you remove them.Red snapper and tilapia have a similar sweet flavor and fry up nice and flaky. In North Carolina, red porgy is also known as pink or silver snapper.If you’re looking at a whole fish, inspect the eyes, gills and fins. The fish should appear clean with clear eyes and good coloring along with intact, moist fins. When examining a fillet, ensure it’s clean and free of blood. Also, it’s a good idea to ask to smell the fish and look for a mild scent. Any strong fishy odor is not acceptable.Remember to heat the oil in the pan before adding the fish, as this will help prevent it from sticking. Gently test the fish occasionally to see if it’s sticking, but avoid moving it around too much as this could tear it. The fish will naturally unstick when it’s cooked on that side, at which point you can carefully turn it over.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this East Coast saltwater fish is available from New England to Florida and is well-known for its many bones. We highly recommend asking your fishmonger to remove the bones to save time. However, you can also remove the bones using fishbone tweezers or a boning knife. Use your hand to feel for the bones as you remove them.
Red snapper and tilapia have a similar sweet flavor and fry up nice and flaky. In North Carolina, red porgy is also known as pink or silver snapper.
If you’re looking at a whole fish, inspect the eyes, gills and fins. The fish should appear clean with clear eyes and good coloring along with intact, moist fins. When examining a fillet, ensure it’s clean and free of blood. Also, it’s a good idea to ask to smell the fish and look for a mild scent. Any strong fishy odor is not acceptable.
Remember to heat the oil in the pan before adding the fish, as this will help prevent it from sticking. Gently test the fish occasionally to see if it’s sticking, but avoid moving it around too much as this could tear it. The fish will naturally unstick when it’s cooked on that side, at which point you can carefully turn it over.
EatingWell.com, June 2020
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Nutrition Facts(per serving)218Calories5gFat15gCarbs27gProtein
Nutrition Facts(per serving)
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.
Carrie Myers, M.S.
andLinda Frahm
Linda Frahm
SourcesEatingWell is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources—including peer-reviewed studies—to support the facts in our articles. Read about oureditorial policies and standardsto learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy.U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central.Wild-Caught Porgies.
Sources
EatingWell is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources—including peer-reviewed studies—to support the facts in our articles. Read about oureditorial policies and standardsto learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy.U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central.Wild-Caught Porgies.
EatingWell is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources—including peer-reviewed studies—to support the facts in our articles. Read about oureditorial policies and standardsto learn more about how we fact check our content for accuracy.
U.S. Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central.Wild-Caught Porgies.
