Thu 26 Feb 2009
Substituting stone ground corn meal for flour when dredging fish you are going to fry is great as it give it a even tastier crunch. Can you figure out why it may not go over well some people? Answer in the comments.
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February 26th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
It is all about texture. Stone ground corn meal is decidedly grainier than flour but since you have bigger pieces it can also be perceived as chewy and stale (especially if it is stale). I personally like the texture and the sweetness brought in by the corn can not be found anywhere else. Remember you are just dredging the fish, not breading it so a little goes a long way. Make sure you get a good sear as this will make the texture much better. You can also always create a wet corn batter by making polenta which will soften the texture while keeping the sweetness. Batters are however a lot heavier than simple dredging and could overpower the fish.
February 26th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
Other fun things to try are chickpea flour and arrowroot starch
February 27th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Since I do a lot of cooking with no complex carbohydrates (only honey and whole fruit), I dream up and tap lots of resources to simulate cooking you only get with complex carbs.
Nut flour is an interesting alternative. We use a lot of blanched almond meal, it’s pretty much the best. However, it browns and burns a lot faster in oil than a carb-based dredging flour. It also doesn’t form any sugar lattices that a carb does.
However, if not heated enough, it does a similar gummy/chewy effect to what you describe for corn meal. Where you can crank up the the oil quantity and heat to defeat corn meal moisture, you really cannot as easily for nut flour.
It works much like a corn meal for a batter, with something similar to a hush-puppy in consistency. In this case, the egg gives it structure, but makes it hard to get crisp over soft.
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Whole fruit is often a great substitute for sugar because it imparts so much more than a sweet taste. My favorite is reducing balsamic with crushed blueberry’s. You can use it on salad (arugula with a round of dry cranberry encrusted goat cheese), ice cream or on a good piece of steak.
I need to start working with blood oranges too. I’ve never had one but hear they have amazing flavor.