Elevate Your Fish Sandwiches With Key Toppings

We recently caught up with Food Network host Kardea Brown at the Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Festival, where Brown dished on the topic of perfect fish sandwiches. Sure, your favorite fast food restaurant probably offers a (seasonal) fish sandwich that gets the job done, but it's gonna take a homemade sandwich to truly deliver crispy, fresh, mouthwatering excellence. Picking the right fish for the job is important — Brown likes "any type of white, meaty fish" — but the real magic is found in the sandwich toppings, she insisted.

With the caveat that she's "a minimalist when it comes to fried fish sandwiches," Brown told Foodie that a perfect fish sammie really only needs the essential toppings: tartar sauce and a shredded crunchy lettuce, like romaine. "And if you want to get kind of crazy," she chimed in playfully, "add a slice of cheese." 

Another superstar chef, Gordon Ramsay, adds a secret ingredient to his tartar sauce – hot sauce. That's the kind of culinary mojo that Brown can get behind. "I grew up eating [fried fish] with just mustard and hot sauce," she reminisced. The message is clear: when the fish is right, simplicity is the best move when it comes to toppings.

One of the common mistakes people make when cooking fish is letting it fall apart through mishandling. Kardea Brown heads that one off at the pass by picking the right batter for her fried fish, no matter what type she's serving up. "[H]alf and half," she said, when giving her batter recipe. "Half all-purpose flour, half yellow cornmeal." She also insisted on the necessity of buttermilk to make the batter wet. Not only does buttermilk batter keep the fish filet succulent and moist, it also adds a subtle zing of flavor and airy crunch to the coating. 

But perfecting the protein is only half the battle in making your craveable fish sandwich. Brown instructed us not to forget to lavish the bun with the same attention we give the fish. "Butter [the bun], grill it, get it nice and charred," she said. Keep in mind that grilling the bun helps the bread portion stand up to any moisture from your toppings and maintains the structural integrity of your sandwich.

At the end of the day, however, it can't be denied that Brown is a Southern girl at heart. When we broached the question of potentially sliding a fried green tomato atop a fish sandwich, she was enthusiastic in her approval. "I'm from Charleston, South Carolina," she said. "Fried on top of fried is okay with me."