For Crispier Fried Fish, Reach For One Classic Condiment

Fish fry is an American tradition celebrated during the dog days of summer in the South and on every Friday throughout the year in the Midwest. It's a meal that brings the community together around battered, or breaded, crispy fish, with sides like coleslaw, macaroni salad, and french fries. In backyards and corner dives, local taverns and community centers, tables are laden with hot sauce, lemon wedges, tartar sauce, and malt vinegar. Friends and neighbors gather to take shelter from the weather and dig into some fish at their establishment of choice — all of which claim to have the secret to the crispiest, juiciest, most flavorful fried fish.

The hearty ritual of fish fry became increasingly popular in the United States after the arrival of European immigrants and enslaved Africans, who brought their traditions of frying fish with them as they settled in America. The Catholic tradition of observing Lent and the practice of abstaining from meat, with an exception for fish on Fridays led to Friday Fish Fry. You'll see different sides, different frying methods, even different species of fish served at fish fry events throughout America, but the fish is always crispy, even at backyard family gatherings. Whether you're using frozen fish for an easy meal on a busy weekday or you're prepping to feed a group for a weekend fish fry, use mustard on your next batch of fried fish to make it extra crispy.

Extra crispy fried fish only works when the breading or batter actually sticks the meat as it's cooking. That's where a binding agent comes into the mix. Binding agents help hold your meal together, keeping the fish from crumbling apart during frying. They seal in flavor and keep the meat juicy, and they are part of the frying process for most proteins. You can use an egg wash as a binding agent for fried fish. Some people coat their fish in buttermilk before the rolling it in flour and baking soda or coating in toasted panko breadcrumbs, beer batter, yeast batter, or egg batter. No matter how you batter it, bread it, and fry it, you need a binder to make crispy fried fish that sticks together, and mustard is just the ticket.

French's yellow mustard, like the kind you see at hot dog stands and classic hamburger joints, is a perfect binder for fried fish. Not only does it lock in flavor, providing a barrier that keeps in the natural juices and fish oils, mustard lends its own flavors to the dish making it even more tasty. Ingredients in mustard provide an excellent marinade, tenderizing and injecting tangy flavor into the fish. Mustard is the ultimate binder, creating a sticky layer that holds onto batter and breading, which will lead to a more finished and put-together fried fillet.

Use mustard to make any kind of fried white fish and be prepared to use a quite a bit; depending on how much fish you're making, it can take around ½ cup of mustard to get the job done. Liberally coat your fish fillets in mustard before moving onto the next step in the process. Yellow mustard is standard for marinating fish, but you can pair different mustard styles with different kinds of fish. Mustard is a great marinade for oily fish as well and is a great way to flavor tuna. Ina Garten even uses mustard on her salmon, and mustard is great for masking the strong flavors in fish like bonito and cobia.

For lighter flavored fish, use yellow or Dijon mustard with their lighter flavor notes and bright, vinegar taste. Use stone ground mustard or spicy mustard varieties to infuse a little more flavor and spice into the fish. Mix your mustard with hot sauce before coating the fish to create an even spicier edge to your meal and then coat your fish in potato chips for an extra crunch at the dinner table. You can add lemon to the mixture as well and let it marinate for 30 minutes to 3 hours before frying to really saturate your fish with flavor. Make sure you choose the right pan for frying up crispy fish, and turn the heat to high for the best results.