Fish fry dinners are staple during Lent season

Fish fry-days

February 21, 2022

12:00 AM

Courtesy of Andy Wang

Fish fry dinners are a spring staple as many participating in Lent abstain from eating meat on Fridays. The tradition has roots in 19th-century Catholic immigrants that settled in Midwestern states near the Great Lakes. To supplement the missing protein from their Friday dinners, they opted for fish.

Bars and pubs are also partially responsible for the popularity of fish fries. During the Prohibition era, pubs turned to fried fish to make up for lost alcohol sales.

Fish fries continue today, particularly around Lent, which takes place from March 2-April 14 this year. As Lent is not only a period of fasting but a period of giving, many parishes use the dinner gatherings as a way to bring the community together and raise money for the church or another cause.

That’s true for St. Andrew Parish, where a fish fry tradition began in 1997.

“Eight very involved mothers at St. Andrew School decided to organize the fish fry dinners in order to raise money for our new church and parish hall, which were under construction at the time,” says Jen Wenzke, St. Andrew Parish secretary. “The success of the early fish fry dinners was unexpected. The crowd’s excitement and friendliness on these evenings provided a community-building atmosphere.”

St. Andrew’s Parish has kept the tradition going since this successful first dinner took place.

More than just a Catholic tradition, fried fish is an easy and crowd-pleasing meal to cook up with friends or family. If you’re looking to dine in this season, try this simple yet delicious family recipe.

Nana’s Fried Fish

Four servings

Ingredients

12 perch fillets
2 eggs
½ cup flour
1½ cup Italian bread crumbs
Salt
Pepper
Garlic powder
½-1 cup olive oil

Directions

Have ready three shallow bowls. In the first bowl add the flour. In the second bowl add the Italian bread crumbs and a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder. In the third bowl add the eggs and mix with a fork until the yolk is completely mixed in.
Next, add the olive oil to a stainless steel or cast-iron skillet. Let the oil heat over medium heat for about 10 minutes. While the oil is heating, dry the perch fillets.
Once the oil is heated, take a fillet of perch and place it in the flour bowl and cover the fillet completely with flour.
Dip the fillet in the egg bowl, then place the fillet in the bread crumb mixture. Make sure the fillet is covered completely with the mixture. Remove the fillet and place in the hot oil. Repeat with each fillet.
Cook each fillet for about three minutes on each side, or until lightly browned. Change oil between each batch of fillets if needed.
Place cooked fillets on a plate covered with paper towels to cool. Enjoy!

Courtesy of Joan Curran and Karen Anderson

Kate Anderson is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.