Pecan-Fried Fish and Hush Puppies

This may be the best fried fish you’ve cooked at home! The pecan flour works in beautiful concert with the cornmeal, creating a crispy coating on the fish. Add onion slices and hush puppies, and fry up everything fresh and hot in your favorite iron skillet.

Makes about 4 to 6 servings
Prep: 25 to 30 minutes
Cook: 25 to 30 minutes (total cooking for fish and hush puppies)

To soak the fish:
2 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
2 pounds red snapper, grouper, flounder, or cod fillets or pieces
1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and sliced into thin rings

Cornmeal Pecan Breading:
2 cups yellow stone-ground cornmeal
1 cup pecan flour
2 teaspoons salt or Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion salt or powder
3 to 4 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Hush Puppies:
3/4 cup yellow or white stone-ground cornmeal
1/4 cup pecan flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup minced onion or green onion
2 cups vegetable oil, for frying (or use the oil from frying the fish)

To soak the fish, place the buttermilk and egg in a large mixing bowl, and stir to combine. Add the fish fillets or pieces and the onion rings. Place in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the breading and heat the oil.
For the breading, place the cornmeal, pecan flour, salt, paprika, pepper, and onion salt in a shallow pie plate and stir to combine. Pour the oil into a 10- to 12-inch cast iron skillet or Dutch oven. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F.
Remove the fish and onions from the fridge, and working with a piece or two of fish and some of the onions at a time, dredge in the breading on both sides, then slide into the hot oil. Cook the fish until well browned on one side, about 2 to 3 minutes, then turn with a spatula to brown on the other side, 2 minutes. Remove with tongs to a rack or brown paper to drain. For the onions, when brown, remove to the rack with a slotted spoon. Let the oil come back to 350 degrees between batches, and repeat with the remaining fish and onions.
For the Hush Puppies, place the cornmeal, pecan flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the egg and buttermilk and stir until just the mixture just comes together. Fold in the onions. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill while the oil heats.
Heat the vegetable oil until 365 degrees F. Remove the hush puppy batter from the refrigerator and drop by 12 rounded tablespoons into the hot oil, and fry 2 minutes per side until golden. Drain on brown paper or a rack and serve with the fish and onion rings.

Easy Tartar Sauce: Place 1 cup mayonnaise in a medium bowl, and fold in 1/4 cup pickle relish, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons chopped green onion, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Fried Fish and Hush Puppies