What is "fish fry"

n. (context US English) A meal, especially a cookout, featuring deep-fried, battered fish.

n. a cookout where fried fish is the main course

A fish fry is a meal containing battered or breaded fried fish. It typically also includes french fries, coleslaw, hushpuppies, lemon slices, tartar sauce, hot sauce, malt vinegar and dessert. Some Native American versions are cooked by coating fish with semolina and egg yolk.

Fish is often served on Friday nights during Lent as a restaurant special or through church fundraisers. Beer is a common beverage of choice to accompany a fish fry. A fish fry may include potato pancakes (with accompanying side dishes of sour cream or applesauce) and sliced caraway rye bread if served in a German restaurant or area.

A Shore Lunch is traditional in the northern United States and Canada. For decades outdoor enthusiasts have been cooking their catch on the shores of their favorite lakes.

Fish fries are very common in the Midwestern and northeastern regions of the United States. This is especially true for predominantly Roman Catholic communities on Fridays during Lent, when regulations call for abstinence from most meat products.