At-Home Fish Fry: 18 Recipes to Make During Lent (2024)

FAQs

What fish is good for Lent? ›

#1 Atlantic Salmon

The Atlantic salmon is mild in flavor, medium-firm texture, and ranges from light pink to orange in color. Healthy and delicious makes Atlantic salmon a perfect fish option for any day during Lent.

Fish is often served on Friday nights during Lent, the Christian season of repentance, as a restaurant special or through church fundraisers. A fish fry may include potato pancakes (with accompanying side dishes of sour cream or applesauce) and sliced caraway rye bread if served in a German restaurant or area.

The long tradition of eating seafood on Christmas Eve dates from the Roman Catholic tradition of abstaining from eating meat on the eve of a feast day. As no meat or animal fat could be used on such days, observant Catholics would instead eat fish (typically fried in oil).

Kingfish (Surmai): Kingfish is great for frying because it is firm and has a rich taste. It stays together well and gets a beautiful brown crust when fried. Popular Indian fish varieties for frying include pomfret, hilsa, mackerel, and catla. Each has a distinct flavor and texture when fried.

Fish (and shellfish), unlike mammals and birds, are cold-blooded. Given that fish is a permitted food during Lenten Fridays, it has become a tradition in parts of the United States for churches to offer a fish-fry dinner during the Fridays of Lent.

Lenten fasting requires strict abstinence from meat. According to the USCCB, you shouldn't eat meat from chickens, cows, sheep, ham, pigs, or birds. It's also common practice to avoid alcohol, sweets and desserts, and fast foods made from chicken and beef.

Obvious options like golden beer-battered fried fish or lemony baked salmon are delicious and nourishing meals to eat at appropriate times during Lent. Shellfish, alligators, turtles, and even snakes are also religiously-sound options.

Don't skip the flour coating since it provides a delicious crispy texture, protects the fish from soaking up too much oil, and also keeps the fillet in one piece. For best results, use a heavy-bottomed pan, as it distributes the heat evenly.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian American Christmas Eve celebration that operates similarly to Thanksgiving, with traditional dishes and practices that span generations, decades and oceans.

Given that fish is a permitted food during Lenten Fridays, it has become a tradition in parts of the United States for churches to offer a fish-fry dinner during the Fridays of Lent. The fish fry first made its way to the United States with the influx of Catholic immigrants from Eastern Europe, says Travel Wisconsin.

Can you eat eggs during Lent? ›

What can you eat on Fridays during Lent? Fish, eggs and alligators. While flesh meat isn't allowed, the Archdiocese says non-flesh products of the animals is good to have.

White-fleshed fish such as cod, tilapia, and haddock are great for frying. They're perfect for adding different seasonings. Oily fish like mackerel or sardines might overpower other flavors when fried. They don't get as crispy.

For how to fry fish that's just as crispy as what you get at a fish and chips restaurant, dip pieces of fish in a beer batter or several coatings of egg and seasoned flour before you fry it. It will come out a crisp, golden brown.

Lent is traditionally a time of fasting and penance for Christians around the world and for many, that means not eating meat on Fridays. Whether you follow this tradition or not, tuna is an underappreciated and highly delicious meat alternative for Fridays or any day!

The norms concerning abstinence from meat are binding upon members of the Latin Catholic Church from age 14 onwards. A summary of current practice: On Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays of Lent: Everyone of age 14 and up must abstain from consuming meat.

No. Birds are considered meat according to the abstinence guidelines.

But what else can people eat during Lent? While chickens and other birds, cows, sheep and pigs are all considered meat, “salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, (cold-blooded animals) and shellfish are permitted,” according to the Holy Spirit Parish.