Fried Fish

1.  In a blender or food processor, grind pork rinds.  The pieces should be uniform and small, so that the breading is consistent.

2.  Get three medium-large bowls.  This is going to be your breading station.  Fill the first bowl with coconut flour.  Fill the second bowl with beaten eggs.  Fill the third bowl with ground pork rinds.

3.  Dip the fish in flour.  Covering completely.  No bare spots.

4.  Dip in egg.  Covering completely in egg.

4.  Return to flour, covering completely in flour.

5.  Return to egg, covering completely in egg.

6.  Finally, place it in the pork rind mixture.  Make sure that every inch of the fish is covered in breading.

7.  Next, in a deep pan, fill with about 2 cups of safflower oil for frying.  You want enough oil for the fish to "swim" in it.

8.  Turn on medium-high heat.  A meat thermometer would work great right now.  You can check the temperature of the oil.  You want your oil to be 350 degrees.  If you don't have a meat thermometer, leave the pan on medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes to let it heat up.

9.  Gently drop the fish into the hot oil.  Make sure that as you drop the fish, you are dropping it away from you to prevent hot oil from splashing back at you.  Once you drop the fish into the hot oil, do not touch it at all for 2-3 minutes.  This will allow time for the breading to fry, which will help it keep its shape and prevent it from falling apart.  With tongs, gently flip the flip over (away from you) and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes.

For the sauce:

Combine sriracha or chili paste with mayonnaise.  If you would like a more traditional tartar sauce, you can mix relish and mayonnaise.

Tips:

Safflower oil is great for frying because the flavor is not too strong and the smoke point (temperature at which the oil burns) is very high.  For example, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil have lower smoke points and will burn much fast.  They also have much stronger flavors.

Never try to fry too much at one time.  This will bring down the temperature of the oil and the breading will stick and lose its shape which will ultimately lead to mushy breading that falls apart.  Try frying one fillet at a time until you get a feel for the termparture of the oil (this is a great time for a meat thermometer).

The macros for this recipe are an estimate, due to not knowing exactly how much oil will be absorbed during the frying process.  This recipe guessed that each 3 oz. fillet will absorb about 2 tablespoons of oil which is 28 g of fat!

You're not going to use all the ground pork rinds, but it is important that you have plenty for the breading process.