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By MYSTERY RANCH Brand Ambassador, Eduardo Garcia
Across the globe, fried fish has always held a crunchy yet fluffy soft spot in my heart. Here in Montana, we have abundant fish resources that are both delicious to our palate and in some cases necessary to be harvested. This recipe works well with any flaky fish be it trout, halibut, snapper or in this case, invasive Carp.
These golden, crispy croquettes are perfect as an appetizer or served larger as a fish cake. I use a dose of Montana Mex Jalapeño seasoning to add extra spice to this zippy curried yogurt, potato dipping sauce.
Carp Croquettes
Yield: 30 croquettes
Ingredients:
- 2 lb. poached, carp or other whitefish
- 3 cups leftover mashed potatoes, cold, divided
- ½ cup small diced onion, sauteed and cooled
- 2 ribs of celery, small diced
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 3 eggs, beaten, divided
- 3 cups panko or other bread crumbs
- Corn oil or other high heat oil, for frying
- Flaky salt or Montana Mex mild Chile seasoning to garnish
Method:
Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a small pan. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and celery, stir occasionally, and cook until they are sweating and translucent, about three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside to cool.
Using a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the cooked fish, onion celery mixture, parsley, salt, pepper, flour, and eggs. Mix this by hand until all ingredients are evenly distributed. The mixture should easily compress and hold a ball shape. Taste the croquette mixture and adjust the seasoning by adding salt or even Montana Mex Jalapeño seasoning to suit your taste.
Breading and shaping. For the breading, have ready three smaller bowls each holding one of the following. 1 cup of AP flour, 3 cups of panko/breadcrumbs and the third with one beaten egg in it. To shape the croquettes, prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Scoop or shape the croquette and compress with some force into golf ball sizes for appetizers or larger slightly flattened rounds for main dish portioning. To ensure even cooking time aspire to portion the croquettes in roughly the same size. Roll the ball through the flour, shaking off any excess; dip the ball into the beaten egg, then roll it through the breadcrumbs until evenly breaded. Gather croquettes on a plate or tray and repeat until all the croquettes are breaded.
While breading I encourage cooks to consider preheating 1.5 -2 inches of oil in a deep skillet or Dutch oven and preheat the frying vat over med-hi until a digital thermometer reads 375 Degrees F.
Test to see if the oil is hot enough for deep frying by sprinkling a few breadcrumbs into it. If it sizzles the oil is ready. If not, wait a moment for the oil to heat up.
Carefully add the croquettes to the hot oil with a skimmer spoon or with tongs until the pan is 80 % full in a single layer. While frying you don’t want to overcrowd the pan as this cools the oil down and could also cause the frying pot to boil over. Deep fry the croquettes until crispy and golden. Remove them from the oil using a skimmer or tongs, and place on a paper towel-covered plate. Repeat this process until all the croquettes are cooked.
Garnish with freshly chopped chives, a dusting of Montana Mex mild Chile seasoning or flaky sea salt and serve with the Curried yogurt, potato dipping sauce
Curried yogurt, potato dipping sauce
Ingredients:
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- ¾ cup mashed potato
- ½ teaspoon curry powder
- 2 cloves raw garlic, minced or grated
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon Montana Mex Jalapeño seasoning
- ½ a lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 Tablespoon freshly chopped chives