What’s your go-to crappie cooking technique? Do you use peanut oil, vegetable oil, lard, or what?

Please share!

JR

Mostly deep fry in Canola oil.

All of the above!! Deep fry in peanut oil. Blackened in a skillet or lately on the griddle. I brush the fillets with melted butter and season and coat the griddle in a little oil. They get more blackened in the cast iron skillet but I can cook them all at once on the griddle!

Peanut or canola deep fried. Mustard and a little milk and Tabasco for about 30 minutes then I like the Louisiana spicy fish breading or the one with lemon in it.

Crappie tacos!! I like to blacken the fillets in a cast iron skillet and then serve with fresh corn tortillas, homemade chipotle sauce, cilantro, diced purple onion, lime, and some good hot sauce for tacos.

No discrimination here.All of the above works for me.

This

Deep fry in peanut oil. Mustard as a binder then zatarans crispy southern cornmeal

Easter fish fry

Peanut oil , 365 degrees , Louisiana brand fry mix ( blue label)

If fillets are tough , your are cooking too slow , increase the heat.

MO

Yup and don't over load the fryer.

Usually deep fry in peanut oil. But we really like pan fried in Panko crumbs. It is a lot more work but crunchy good.

While I use all of those methods....beer battered and deep fried in peanut oil is my favorite.

Man!! I really appreciate everyone chiming in with their techniques!! There has been some really interesting input!!

I love fish tacos, and just about any way I want to cook crappie, they’d be delicious inside a double-layered corn tortilla! Up until I went to Cozumel several years ago, fish and tacos just didn’t seem to go together. Now, I just can’t get enough of them!

My wife, on the other hand, won’t eat crappie or any other fish, for that matter, unless it’s paper-thin and breaded heavily in corn meal. Anyway, I have a bunch of crappie in the freezer, and I’ve gotta thaw some out and cook it!

Thanks again for all the responses!

JR

I deep fry crappie. White bass are used for fish tacos. Catfish are either deep fried or blackened in cast iron skillet over a bed of dirty rice.

Yep. With malt vinegar for the win.

I've enjoyed them every way listed, but lately I've gotten to where air frying is my favorite. We have a small air fryer that has a rack about the size of a dinner plate. I run the fillets through olive oil and spread them out on a dinner plate, then cover the top side with the air fryer fish batter. Spray the rack with Pam or something, then arrange the fillets on the rack with the battered side down. Then sprinkle the batter on the top side and cook it 12 minutes at 400 degrees.

They come out crispy on both sides and look like they have been fried, but there is no taste of oil because no oil was used. I honestly didn't realize how much of a taste cooking oil gives it until eating crappie that seem to be fried, but aren't. It's an easy way to cook a meal for 2 people, but I wouldn't cook this way for more. Frying will always be easier when cooking for a larger group.

You guys are making me hungry!!!!!

Salmon Croquet recipe substituting chopped Crappie for the salmon. Cooking in real butter adds another dimension ! We prefer to deep fry or pan fry in good olive oil !

1) Deep fried for crappie tacos. 2) Grill or torch poblanos, cut in half length wise to create a ‘boat’, fill with filets, top with pico, cilantro and a bit of lime juice, wrap in foil and bake.

Zatarain Crab Cake Mix. Fried in an electric skillet. Only way I can eat leftover fish.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EIMC2...d=GOHGS9LR7F21&amp=&sprefix=zata

This didn’t come up for a long time in this thread but if you like crab cakes they are just as good made with crappie.

Beer battered in canola oil is how my family likes them. A lot of folks say you should use a light beer, but I use Guinness. The filets finish with a dark color, almost looking overcooked, but It really adds a nice flavor.

When frying I use peanut oil. One thing that I have started doing though is when I filet them, I keep the rib section on and freeze that way. That way, if I decided to grill/blacken, etc. I keep the rib section on which makes them easier to flip and take off the grill without breaking into pieces. If I end up frying them, I just cut that section off when they are thawed out.