The Best Type Of Fish To Use For Homemade Fish Sticks

The humble fish stick is misunderstood in American culture. Some have questioned whether fish sticks even contain real fish (yes, they do) or if the fish that's on the label is accurate. Ever since pre-made fish sticks were introduced by Gorton's in 1953, fish sticks have been a cheap and easy meal for those looking for convenience. If you love fish in stick form and want to be sure about the ingredients and how it's made — just make fish sticks at home from scratch.

If you're choosing to make fish sticks at home, what kind of fish should you use? While you could technically use any kind of fish to make fish sticks, some work much better than others. In general, your best choices here are going to be sturdy white fish that can hold together during the cooking process. This gives you a lot of options (even if cod is the first thing you think of), but you want to make sure you're not breaking the bank. And don't worry about the fish being fresh; frozen is perfectly okay for making fish sticks (just don't stick a half-frozen block of fish directly in the fryer).

When you're making fish sticks at home, you still want a meal that's going to be cost-effective. This doesn't mean all cheaper fish are necessarily great choices — mackerel may be affordable, but its overpowering, oily fish flavor may not make it a great choice for a battered fish. Try and follow suit with the same kinds of fish that you see being used for fish and chips.

There's a reason meaty white fish are generally the preferred choice for fish and chips, and they definitely should be for homemade fish sticks as well. You want a fish that's sturdy enough but will become light and flaky inside when fried (or baked). This means that fish like haddock, pollock, halibut, or even catfish will all work — although the almighty cod might still be the best overall choice. These aren't your only options, though; if you want to go for something a little more interesting, something like wahoo or even salmon will work (even though it's a pink fish).

When making fish sticks from scratch there are a few fish you should probably avoid using for various reasons. Swordfish, for example, is a bad choice because it's going to be a little too meaty and dense for a fish stick, and also, it's considered very high in mercury which comes along with certain health risks. It's also not remotely cost-effective, and you're making fish sticks here. 

For a lot of the same reasons, tuna is best avoided. Certain kinds of tuna are higher in mercury than others. The more firm kinds of raw tuna are generally on the expensive side and are going to be best seared rare as tuna steaks rather than bread and fried. Canned tuna won't hold together particularly well without a lot of filler. So yes, while you can use any fish you want for your homemade fish sticks, avoid wasting your money on the more expensive kinds — you're frying it crispy and dipping it in sauce, after all.