Readers of my site will know that I love eating fish and seafood. One lesser known fish is skate. The edible parts are the wings and stand-alone fish mongers and many Asian markets will carry this delicious fish.

Buy skate (and any fish and seafood) from a trusted fishmonger. Skate  deteriorates quicker than other fish. You’ll know when you take a whiff up close – if it smells sweet and of the sea then you’re good but if you get any other smell, most likely an ammonia smell then take a hard pass.

I recommend buying your skate on the day you’re going to cook them. Otherwise, cook no later than the next day, ask your fishmonger to give your some ice to keep it super-chilled in the fridge.

Skate are a bottom-feeding fish, explaining why this fish is so tasty. I’ve had it in a pan with with a delicious sauce and as prepared today, fried in oil. The simplest preparation is to dredge it in seasoned flour and pan-fried. I’ve gone a step further and tossed it in fried chicken seasoned flour and deep fried. The result is fantastic!

Serve as a main or appetizer with wedges of lemon and my walnut skordalia.

Fried Skate Wing

(serve 4)

2 skate wings (ask fish monger to remove skin for and cut into desired size)

approx. 2 cups milk

1 tbsp. white vinegar

Flour Blend

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. seasoning salt (or plain salt)

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. sweet paprika

1. Season your skate pieces with salt and pepper and place in a bowl. Add the milk and vinegar and toss. Cover and place in the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.
2. Take the bowl out of the fridge and allow place skate in a strainer.
3. Into a bowl or deep dish, add all the flour mix ingredients and stir with a fork to mix. Toss the skate in the flour mixture.
4. If you have a home deep-fryer, set temperature to 325F. Alternately, you can use a deep pot or deep cast iron skillet. Add enough oil to come up 2 inches on the side.
5. Once your oil has reached 325F, shake off excess flour and carefully add skate pieces (fry in batches) into your oil, fry for 7 minutes or until golden-brown. Reserve fried skate on a wire rack and fry remaining pieces.
6. Garnish with lemon wedges and serve with my walnut skordalia.