Fried Fish Sandwich
on Jun 20, 2018, Updated Jun 19, 2025
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A fried fish sandwich, dripping with tartar sauce, is one of the great pleasures of summer, and very easy to make at home.
A fried fish filet sandwich dripping with tartar sauce is one of the great pleasures of summer, and very easy to make at home. In this recipe, the fish is pan-fried, so less oil, less mess, but all of the flavor and crunchy coating. They take only about 20 minutes to make! They are served with a tangy Lemon Basil Tartar Sauce, but you can try other sauces on this fried fish sandwich, like this Sriracha Mayo Sauce or Chipotle Mayo.
You’ll want to plan this out so that the sandwiches are served hot or warm, if possible. In a perfect world, these will be eaten outside, with slices of perfectly ripe tomatoes, a pile of coleslaw, and maybe a bigger pile of potato chips. Quinoa Salad or Zucchini Orzo Casserole would be nice. If you want to start with an appetizer, you can’t do better than some no-shuck grilled clams.
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Best Rolls for Fish Sandwiches
I love a fish sandwich on a brioche bun or a good potato roll. Pick a sturdy roll to encase your beautiful, crispy fish. You can also use a longer roll if you have a longer piece of fish — kind of like a fried fish hoagie.
What Kind of Fish to Use in a Fried Fish Sandwich
You can use any firm, flaky, thick white fish filet for this easy fish sandwich recipe. Halibut, scrod, cod, and haddock are some good choices. On a side note, I am simply incapable of thinking of, reading, or saying the word halibut without saying “just for the halibut” (think “just for the hell of it”). I need help, I’m not kidding.
Alaskan Halibut is worth seeking out, if possible. It’s sweet and delicate, with white, firm, flaky flesh. It keeps its shape really nicely even as you flip it in the pan.
Homemade Tartar Sauce
You could certainly just go out and buy yourself some prepared tartar sauce if you were in a hurry, but a homemade tartar sauce is always head and shoulders above what you would find in a jar.
If you don’t have cornichons, you can substitute jarred relish. This tartar sauce is bright with lemon juice and scallions, and fragrant with basil. It’s great with any and all kinds of seafood.
What Goes With Fried Fish Sandwiches?
- Creamy Blue Cheese and Bacon Coleslaw
- Mayonnaise-Free Potato Salad
- Spicy Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Kimchi Dressing
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Kale Crunch Salad
- POTATO CHIPS!!!
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Fried Fish Sandwich
Ingredients
For the Lemon Basil Tartar Sauce
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons minced cornichons (baby pickles)
- 2 tablespoons minced scallions
- 1 tablespoon capers (drained and rinsed, then minced)
- 2 teaspoons coarse Dijon or Creole mustard
- 1 tablespoon minced basil
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the Halibut Fried Fish Sandwiches
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 4 (6-ounce) pieces halibut
- Vegetable or canola oil (for pan frying the fish)
- 4 potato or other rolls
- Several pieces of leaf or romaine lettuce (torn to fit size of the rolls)
- 1 ripe tomato (sliced)
- Lemon wedges (for serving)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to broil.
- Make the Tartar Sauce. In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, cornichons, scallions, capers, mustard, basil, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Have all of the sandwich rolls and toppings ready to go so that when the fish is cooked so you can assemble the sandwiches right away.
- In a shallow, wide bowl, mix the flour with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. In another shallow, wide bowl, beat the egg with the milk and the hot sauce. Place the panko breadcrumbs in a third shallow wide bowl.
- Heat enough oil to come up 1/4-inch high in a large skillet over medium-high heat. While the oil is heating, dredge each piece of fish first in the flour, shaking off any excess, then in the milk mixture, allowing any excess to drip back into the bowl, then finally dredge the fish in the breadcrumbs. Fry the fish in the oil for about 4 minutes on each side until the fish is golden brown and cooked through. Remove with a slotted spatula and place on a paper towel-lined plate or surface to drain for a minute.
- While the fish is cooking, broil the buns, cut side up, for just a minute until lightly browned. Place a piece of cooked fish on the bottom half of each roll, and top with a spoonful of the tartar sauce. Top with the lettuce and tomato, and then top with the second half of the roll. Serve immediately, with the lemon wedges.
This was really good. Made a couple minor tweeks. Added some dried dill to the tarter sauce, and used a local farmers market garlic onion pickle relish (what I had on hand). I added Laweries seasoning salt and some old bay to the flour mixture prior to dregging.
The magic temp for the oil seemed to be 275-300 but I had really thick halibut.(otherwise it browned too fast)
Definitely a keeper.
Just put the buns in the toaster and toast on the ‘bagel’ setting. It’ll eliminate heating up the kitchen during this hot summer season.
true that!
I live on the Cape — come on down!!
And this is a glorious sandwich — easy, tastes great, and sure is close to what one finds around here. Better at home by far though.
hooray!