Wisconsin Fish Fry
Pack your warmest socks and strap on the long underwear, because we’re heading to Wisconsin for an fishy adventure. First we’ll ice fish for the highest-quality fish you can imagine. Once we catch de feeesh, we’ll defrost with a proper Wisconsin fish fry, where everything is golden, crispy, and drenched in tartar sauce (or malt vinegar if you’re a real one). Then it’s back to the crib to show you how to recreate that authentic fish fry experience without needing a parka or a hole in the ice. It’s part adventure, part cooking, and all delish. Let. Us. Fry!🤘🏼 Adam
(Left) The fishing shack. They had heaters but the 35mph winds were definitely cutting. All in all it wasn’t bad temp wise.
(Left-middle) The ice looked so cool when the sun came up. Look at that wild teal color. It was 12 inches thick!
(Right-middle) Using the classic “close-up photo trick” to make the whitefish look bigger, but really… it was big. We also caught perch and walleye.
(Right) After a long day on the ice we went to a local fish restaurant called River Street Pier to grab an authentic Wisconsin Fish Fry. Rye bread and all (read more about this below).
The sunset over Lake Michigan in Green Bay after 12 hours on the ice.
Big shout out to our guide Ryan for slicing these bad boys up for me after our day on the ice. I’ll trade a Spotted Cow for this any day.
The Fish & Fries
Fried Fish (Wisconsin-style)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oil to 350F.
- Pat the fish dry with paper towel and season with salt. Coat them first in the starch, then the eggwash, then the instant mashed potatoes.
- Carefully lower into the fryer and cook for 4-5 minutes until deeply golden brown. Drain on paper towels or a sheet tray fitted with a wire rack. Season with a bit more salt fresh out the fryer. Serve immediately.
Adam's Notes
- There are numerous good fresh water fish that can be fried up for a fish fry. My personal favorite are Walleye and Perch. You won't see whitefish at restaurants offered for fish fry as much, but we caught a bunch so I decided to fry them up. Whitefish are an "oily" fish related to salmon which doesn't make them ideal, but they're still great deep fried (what isn't?)
- Feel free to toss some seasonings in the instant mashed potatoes if you're going for a certain flavor.
- For the fries, use any good store-bought frozen fry. Frozen fries are generally blanched, cut to a uniform size and, in my experience, much better than my homemade fries. You can totally make your own fries, I don't want to stop you, but don't feel bad using frozen fries... most restaurants with good fries do this to. No shame in the game.
The Coleslaw
Creamy Coleslaw
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix everything in a large bowl. Season to taste. Serve chilled.
The Tartare Sauce
Adam's Tartare Sauce
Ingredients
Instructions
- Mix everything in a large bowl. Season to taste. Serve chilled.
The Rye Bread
Simple Rye Bread
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine water, bread flour, rye flour, milk powder, instant yeast, and oil. Mix until a shaggy dough forms. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Add salt to the dough, then perform a series of stretch and folds 3-4 times within the first 30 minutes of mixing, waiting 15 minutes between each fold.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and let it rest for 1 hour.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface, shape it into a boule, and place it into a bread banneton. Cover and refrigerate overnight for a slow proof.
- The next day, preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C) and place a large Dutch oven with its lid inside to preheat for at least 45 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and turn it over onto a lightly floured piece of parchment.
- Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven, place in the parchment paper with dough on top, cover, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove the lid and bake for 5-10 more minutes, or until the loaf reaches an internal temperature of 195-200°F (90-93°C). Let cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Bring it all together…
Serve with straight up (untoasted) Rye bread and raw white onion rounds for that real ‘Sconie feel.
There are many ways to serve this so serve this in a way that suits your situation. If you’re feeding a group, I prefer to serve things family-style so people can take as much (or little) as they’d like. In Wisconsin, the rye bread is buttered and served with raw white onion. The sharp, pungency of the onion is great at breaking up the heaviness from the fried food. That along with the tangy tartare, vibrant spritz from a lemon wedge and the mustardy coleslaw bring this whole thing together.
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