Today I fried a whole fish then made a sort of pesto by mixing the pan drippings with chopped basil and parsley.
I decided to remove the head so I could see when the meat was cooked through. I will use it (and the fish skeloton) to make stock later.
The fish took a lot longer to fry than I thought and it still was not overcooked. The skin was nice and crispy, all the meat was tender and flaky and the belly fat was superb.
This is my first time attempting to fry a whole fish so I am not sure how long it is really supposed to take. Also it might be different with different fish. This particular fish was a Tilapia and it must have took 10 minutes or so a side, but definitely keep an eye on it and judge for yourself when it is done.
I cut the fish in diagonals both ways then put a slit down to the bone on either side of the top fin. Then rubbed with salt and pepper.
The raw sesame seeds were put in the pan with a good amount of ghee then the fish stuck on top. I pressed down on the fish gently but firmly to get as many seeds stuck to it as possible.
Try to only turn the fish only once or it might fall apart.
I deglazed the pan with a bit of water and whiskey I happened to have sitting beside me… Then added plenty of chopped basil and parsley to make the pesto which I put on top of the rice. We actually mixed all the ingredients together on the plate as they worked well.
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