How to Elevate Fried Fish with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Few dishes are as satisfying as perfectly cooked fried fish paired with a flavorful homemade tartar sauce. In this recipe and video, you'll learn techniques that take a simple fish dinner to the next level, from preparing fresh plaice to creating a rich sauce enhanced with homemade fish fumet.

Whether you're looking to improve your seafood cooking skills or simply want a better fried fish recipe, this tutorial walks through every important step.

How to Make Restaurant-Quality Fried Fish at Home

The secret to exceptional fried fish isn't just the crispy coating—it's also in the preparation. The video demonstrates how to fillet a whole plaice, prepare an intense fish fumet, and finish everything with a silky homemade tartar sauce.

For the fish, the fillets are coated with flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs, creating a crisp exterior while keeping the flesh tender and moist. The fish is cooked mostly on the breadcrumb side before being finished with butter for extra flavor.

The tartar sauce goes beyond the traditional version by combining a classic mayonnaise with reduced fish fumet, fresh herbs, capers, cornichons, and shallots for incredible depth of flavor.

Ingredients

Fried Fish & Tartar Sauce

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• Black peppercorns, fennel seeds & coriander seeds – 2 tbsp combined
• Capers, washed – 50 g
• Cornichons, diced – 50 g
• Dill, finely chopped – 5 tbsp
• Vegetable oil – 500 ml
• 2 large egg yolks
• Dijon mustard – 25 g
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• Panko breadcrumbs – 100 g
• 4 star anise
• White wine – 300 ml
• 1 whole plaice (about 800 g)

For the Fish Fumet

• 1 kg cleaned plaice bones
• 2 celery stalks
• 1 sliced onion
• Fresh parsley, dill and tarragon
• 1 lemon
• 2 star anise

For Coating the Fish

• Plaice fillets
• 100 g panko breadcrumbs
• 2 eggs, beaten with a small amount of chopped herbs
• 50 g plain flour
• Butter
• Olive oil
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Step-by-Step Recipe

Fillet the Plaice

• Lay the plaice dark side up.
• Cut behind the head down to the backbone.
• Slice along the backbone from tail to head.
• Carefully remove the upper fillets.
• Repeat for the opposite side and then the underside.
• Trim any remaining bones or membrane.
• Remove the skin if desired.
• Reserve the bones for the fish fumet.

Prepare the Fish Fumet

1. Wash the fish bones thoroughly.
2. Add them to a heavy stockpot with the onion and celery.
3. Bring to a boil, skimming regularly.
4. Simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the heat and add herbs, sliced lemon and star anise.
6. Let steep for another 20 minutes.
7. Strain through muslin and a chinois.
8. Reduce by two-thirds until intensely flavored.

Make the Tartar Sauce

1. Whisk together the egg yolks, Dijon mustard and lemon juice.
2. Slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil while whisking until a thick mayonnaise forms.
3. Thin the mayonnaise with the reduced fish fumet until it reaches a coating consistency.
4. Fold in the chopped herbs, capers, cornichons and shallots.
5. Warm gently before serving.

Cook the Fish

1. Coat each fillet in flour.
2. Dip into the beaten egg mixture.
3. Cover evenly with panko breadcrumbs.
4. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
5. Cook the fish breadcrumb side down until about 90% cooked.
6. Add butter and baste the flesh side.
7. Plate over the warm tartar sauce.
8. Finish with fresh lemon.

Watch the Fried Fish & Tartar Sauce Tutorial

The complete video demonstrates every stage of the recipe, including filleting the plaice, preparing fish fumet, making the tartar sauce, and cooking the fish for a perfectly crisp finish.

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Enjoy this elevated take on fried fish the next time you're cooking seafood at home. With a crispy panko coating and a deeply flavorful homemade tartar sauce, this recipe delivers restaurant-quality results while teaching techniques you can use in many future dishes.

Happy cooking!

— Olivia