Perch substitutes

The best substitute there is - the other great Midwestern fry fish, and closer to perch than anything saltwater.

Best for

fish fry, beer batter, pan-frying in butter, breaded fillets, fish tacos

Same sweet, clean, slightly nutty freshwater flavour, with a firmer bite and a larger flake because the fillets are two or three times the size. Cut walleye fillets into perch-sized pieces if you want the same crust-to-fish ratio, which is really what a perch fry is about. Add about a minute of frying time for the extra thickness. It usually costs more than perch, sometimes considerably.

Functionally the same ingredient - small, thin, sweet freshwater fillets meant to be fried.

Best for

fish fry, shore lunch, cornmeal-breaded fillets, sandwiches

Crappie is slightly milder and a touch softer than perch; bluegill is sweeter and even smaller. Both cook in 2-3 minutes total in hot fat, so watch them closely - the difference between golden and dry is under a minute at this size. If you get them from a fisherman rather than a shop, they are often better than anything sold at retail.

Available in every supermarket and the right kind of mild, but blander and softer than perch.

Best for

fish fry, breaded fillets, baked fish, fish tacos, sandwiches

Tilapia lacks perch's distinct sweetness and can carry a faint earthy or muddy note depending on where it was farmed - a squeeze of lemon and a good tartare sauce sorts that out. The fillets are thicker, so slice them lengthwise into two or three perch-sized strips before breading; otherwise the coating browns before the middle is hot. Texture is looser, so handle it gently going into the oil.

Right size, right thinness, right lake-fish character - but a distinctly richer, more assertive flavour.

Best for

pan-frying in butter, cornmeal crust, grilling, baked with lemon

Trout has more fat than perch, so it stays moist and tastes fuller, and the flesh is pinkish rather than white. In a butter-and-lemon pan fry that is an improvement. In a beer-battered fish fry where the mild sweetness of perch is the point, it changes the dish - the trout flavour comes through the batter. Cooks in about the same time.

The fish people find when they search for perch - a good fry fish, but a saltwater one with a different flavour.

Best for

fish fry, breaded or battered fillets, fish sandwiches, chowder

Ocean perch is not a perch at all - it is a rockfish, sold as small skin-on reddish fillets. It is firmer than yellow perch, slightly more saline and less sweet, and it holds together better in the pan. If your recipe came from the Great Lakes and you are cooking on a coast, this is a good swap; just do not expect the sweet, delicate freshwater flavour that lake perch is famous for.

Matches the thinness and delicacy better than anything else at the supermarket, at the cost of the sweetness.

Best for

pan-frying, lightly breaded fillets, butter and lemon

These are the right shape and cook in the same 3-4 minutes, so the crust-to-fish ratio comes out close to a real perch fry. They are milder, more fragile and slightly saline. Flour them lightly rather than using a heavy batter, because a thick coating overwhelms them, and turn them once with a wide spatula.

The reliable fallback for a fish fry, though the texture is chunky where perch is fine.

Best for

beer-battered fish, fish fry, fish and chips, sandwiches

Cut the fillet into finger-width strips so the pieces fry in the same time perch would. You get large moist flakes instead of a fine tender bite, and much less sweetness. It is the most widely available option and nobody will complain, but a Wisconsin Friday fry made with cod tastes like fish and chips rather than a perch fry.