Description
When spring is in the air, fried crappie is what all of the fishermen around here are talking about. This year I left the deep-fryer in the cabinet and used my air fryer for a healthier alternative. Serve with malt vinegar, tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, hot pepper sauce, or the condiments of your choice.
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh crappie fillets
- 2 tablespoons salt
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (such as LAWRY’S®)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (Optional)
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Place crappie fillets in a bowl. Add salt and water to cover. Cover and let sit to draw out all the blood
- about 30 minutes. Rinse fillets thoroughly to remove salt. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) according to manufacturer’s instructions.
- Add cornmeal
- flour
- seasoned salt
- paprika
- pepper
- and cayenne to a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Seal and shake until evenly combined. Drop 2 fillets into the bag
- seal
- and shake to coat. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining fillets.
- Spray the tops of the fillets with nonstick cooking spray. Place a layer of fillets in the air fryer basket
- sprayed-side down
- making sure none are overlapping. Spray the tops with cooking spray. Cook for 4 minutes. Carefully flip and spray any chalky spots. Cook until crispy
- about 4 minutes more. Repeat with remaining fillets.
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 8 mins
Total Time: 48 mins
Servings: 4