Burgers, Dogs, & Pizza, Oh My!

Posts Tagged ‘Zatarain’s Crispy Southern Fish Fri’

I read labels meticulously in grocery stores.  Not out of some health concern, real or imagined, just curiousity.

I occasionally DO NOT read them when I grab something by impulse on the way out the door, and such was the case with Hooters Wing Breading “We Fix the Mix So You Don’t Have To!” I should have taken the time.

This stuff checked out at about 50 cents an ounce. Ingredients? Flour, salt, natural flavor and all those things you can never pronounce and have no idea what they are.

Result? A big fat zero. This product will add nothing to your “fry – day,” as it doesn’t have any distinguishable flavor.

A similar product, Zatarain’s Seasoned Fish Fry, has nearly the same  ingredients, but actually does have a flavor it imparts to your fry session. I do buy that, and it’s even more economical –  a mere 11 cents an ounce.

Same result, less grief, less of investment?  Buy flour – at about 3 cents an ounce. Add whatever you want, prefer, garlic or onion powder, salt and/or pepper, and I always throw in paprika which helps with browning. Feel like you want to spend more?

Buy a premium flour like King Arthur. There, do you feel better now?

The grocery stores are chock-a-block full of restaurant branded items these days; I’ve yet to find many that do justice to the product from the restaurant they represent.  And I’ve tried a lot of them! Leave a note if you’ve been impressed with one!

Hooters Wing Breading Review

Fish and Chips

Mrs. BurgerDogBoy had an urge to cook Saturday lunch (or maybe the cats talked her into it), and she pondered her choices and decided to go with fish and chips.   There being a distinct shortage of catfish in the house (there always is, I love it, she passes) she chose talapia filets, and from our wide assortment of fry potentials in the pantry, Zatarain’s Southern Crispy Fish-Fri.

Having moved here from New Orleans, I’m partial to Zatarain’s (tho less so after the locals sold out to a multi-national), but the upside of their sale is the products are available everywhere, even here in Plaidlandia.

The contents listed on the box include: corn flour, salt, cayenne, garlic, lemon juice, pepper and onion, and the instructions are simple:  dredge your fish in the mixture and fry.  None of that horsing around with flour first, then milk or egg, then your fry mixture.  That always makes SUCH a mess (tho I am happy when Mrs. BurgerDogBoy makes onion rings that way!

With an absence of fries in the house, she also chose from the existing inventory of heat and eat products in the freezer, and went with Ore-Ida Crispy Crowns, which I really like.  They are like squished tater tots.  Fine with me.

In minutes, she had the tilapia fried up, and I have to say, the Zat mix makes some of the tastiest fried fish I recall having.  It produces a nice, crispy, light brown coating, perfectly seasoned to my taste, didn’t even douse it with the usual tbsp of salt, as I am wont to do.  Tilapia is such a great fish, it’s light enough in flavor that you can manipulate it to taste like any marinade or seasoning you prefer.

We have a large assortment of Zat products on hand, shrimp and fish fry, hush puppy mix, rice mixes, and so on.  No root beer extract tho, they don’t sell that around here, I sure would appreciate someone in NOLA sending a case! (Hint, daughter!)

Zatarain's Crispy Southern Fish Fri