Fried Fish and Fried Fries. Fried.

Frying fish is easy and delicious. Enough said.  So turn your kitchen into a good ol' fashion fish fry…I'll show you how.

If you don't have uncles who consider February through November to be fishing season then you're probably going to need to pick up some white fish at the local grocery.  I'd suggest catfish or tilapia.  Or go to Wal Mart and grab a pole and a license and hit your local swimming hole.  

I like to prep a bit of white (sweet) onion and lemon before I do anything else.  Cut the onion into wheels, and the lemon into wedges.  Put that in a bowl with some ice water and stick it in the fridge.  The cool bold flavors are going to complement the shit out of the salty greasy fish and fries.

Peal some potatoes and then slice them into wedges.  As always, I recommend using Yukon Gold potatoes.

Pour vegetable oil into a pot a couple of inches deep. I used a smaller pot with less oil which meant I had to do multiple batches of fries. When the oil has been heating on high for several minutes, get the potatoes in there.  

Then put a few tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan on medium high for the fish.

Pour cornmeal into a container and sprinkle in some salt and pepper.  Wash the fish off and roll it around in the cornmeal.  When the oil in the pan is hot, get the fish in there.  Let it cook on each side for about 6 to 8 minutes.  You want the breading golden…not brown.  

Stir your potatoes every few minutes, and then take them up at the desired done-ness.  Some people like their fries yellow and a little soft…some brown and crispy.  

Take the fish and fries up onto two separate plates with paper towels on them, then cover with another paper towel on top.This will absorb excess grease. 

Sprinkle some salt over the fries and if you want to be like McDonald's…a little sugar too.  It's stupid good.  Put the plates in the oven at 200 to keep warm until serving.

Once all your fish and fries are ready, pull your bowl of iced onion and lemon out of the fridge along with some ketchup.  Other acceptable condiments are tartar, cocktail, or hot sauce, malt vinegar, and chocolate syrup.  

Squeeze some lemon over the fish, take a bite of straight onion, pound your chest and dive into the fried goodness before you.  Life doesn't get much better.

Side note: After tasting how good these fries are you might just want to deep fry some more later.  Buy a  cast iron pot and you can store and reuse the oil a few times before disposing it.  If you do reuse oil, make sure you are cooking he same thing in it every time, otherwise the flavor of the oil will change and soak into your food.   You don't want french fries that taste like fish or chicken!