Friday, June 17, 2022

Cremant Wine Battered Perch; Michigan and French Classics Collide #FishFridayFoodies #Winophiles

Fresh Michigan Lake Perch dredged in a batter made with Cremant from France.  This was the crispiest, tastiest fish I have ever made.  Beer batter has been replaced with Cremant batter in this household.

Fried fish and wine

I was very excited when Jill of L'OCCASION invited the French Winophiles to join her for this month's event.  Here was the invitation we received......

June 2022: Winophiles members will have the opportunity to get an expert point of view of Crémant d'Alsace. Participants will enjoy a private web class taught by Thierry Fritsch, Alsace Wine educator in chief, a set of publishing resources, and samples for up 10 writers. Your readers are going to love this framework of one of France's finest bubblies.

I wasn't able to attend the session live but did get to watch and learn as it is taped and available on Youtube.  


You will learn all about Alsace and the influence reflected by other countries, the terroir that creates the grapes used, the culture of generations of people who take seriously that they are the "stewards of the land".

Cremant Wines

I was also lucky enough to receive bottles of Cremant wine for tasting purposes. Today I will be sharing my tasting notes on the Charles Frey Brut Nature.  Brut Nature signifies that there is no sugar added to the wine when it is being made any sugars found are residual and natural from the grapes.

Charles Frey Cremant

Our Fish Friday Foodies this month is being hosted by Stacy of Food Lust People Love.  Stacy asked us to join her in sharing a battered or crusted fish.  My neighbor had provided me with some fresh caught lake perch.  Fresh lake perch is one of the joys of living in Michigan.  

Batter and Wine

I was going to fry up the perch in a beer batter and pair it with the Cremant when inspiration struck.  Why not use the wine instead of beer? 

Fried Fish

Folks, every once in a while I have a stroke of genius and this is one of them.  This fish turned out with the lightest, crispest batter I have ever made, and I have fried a lot of fish over the years!!  This is the first fish that actually snapped when I broke it in half.  The batter was thin and complemented the fish perfectly.  I will be using this batter exclusively from now on when cooking at home.

Let's take a look at the crunchy delights the others are sharing with us today.........



Fried Fish Pin

Let's talk a bit about the Charles Frey wine.  We know that it makes excellent fried fish now but how did it pair with that fish it battered?  Like they were made for each other.  A blend of Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois and Riesling this wine is dry, bright, clean and crisp.  Why anyone would choose a Champagne over a Cremant is a mystery to me.

We will be talking more about the wines of Cremant tomorrow morning at 11 AM.  You are welcome to join us for Twitter Chat and will find us by following #Winophiles.  Here are articles we will be discussing........

 
Fish, Frying, Battered, Wine, Perch
Entrees, Fish
American
Yield: 6 servings
Author: Wendy Klik
Cremant Battered Perch

Cremant Battered Perch

Fresh Michigan Lake Perch dredged in a batter made with Cremant from France. This was the crispiest, tastiest fish I have ever made. Beer batter has been replaced with Cremant batter in this household.
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs. lake perch filets
  • 1 c. flour, divided
  • 1 T. baking powder
  • 1 t. garlic powder
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 c. Cremant wine

Instructions

  1. Wash and pat dry fish filets.
  2. Place 1/2 cup flour into a plastic bag, season with salt and pepper, set aside.
  3. Place the other 1/2 cup flour, garlic powder and baking powder into a large bowl, season with salt and pepper. Whisk in the wine until batter is smooth, adding a bit more if needed, to reach desired consistency.
  4. Heat your deep fryer or a dutch oven filled with canola oil to 350*.
  5. Place the fish, in batches, into the bag of flour and shake to coat lightly. Dredge the fish in the batter and carefully place into the deep fryer, gently swirling each piece to set batter before dropping it. Cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes, and place onto a rack over a cookie sheet in a warm oven while frying the remaining fish.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

214.99

Fat (grams)

1.25

Sat. Fat (grams)

0.24

Carbs (grams)

17.91

Fiber (grams)

0.61

Net carbs

17.31

Sugar (grams)

0.39

Protein (grams)

24.26

Sodium (milligrams)

317.34

Cholesterol (grams)

102.06

14 comments:

  1. The French call what you made goujons and they are one of my favorite appetizers to order. What a stroke of genius it was to use the cremant!

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    Replies
    1. Well thanks for the lesson Stacy, that would have been a great name for my title.

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  2. That was a stroke of genius! Your perch look perfectly light and crisp!

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  3. Love these appetizers, it looks delicious!

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  4. The fish sounds delicious and I'm glad you only used 1 cup of the Cremant in the batter, so that you could enjoy the rest of that bottle!

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  5. Growing up in Ohio, I'm well acquainted with fried perch - yum. And now, pairing them with Crémant d'Alsace - doubly good!

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  6. What a GREAT idea to use Crémant instead of beer for the batter. I have fond memories of eating perch in Northern Wisconsin that my father caught!

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  7. I do think that's a stroke of genius. I'm going to have to try this . . . if I can manage to give up my bubbles to the batter.

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