Fried Dogfish | Local-Caught, Crowd-Approved

FRIED DOGFISH: It’s crispy on the outside, tender on the inside.

Fall is festival time for us on Cape Cod. Nothing compares to the Love Live Local Fest in Hyannis or the Oyster Festival in Wellfleet — except, of course, Chatham’s Oktoberfest.

Oktoberfest is pretty special for the Harvesters. 

We had the opportunity to serve up Chatham’s best seafood alongside Elwood’s Raw Bar and Chatham Shellfish Company,  two hometown favorites. It felt like a mini seafood festival within the larger celebration of great food, music, and community.

We served up crowd favorites, day boat sea scallops, smoked bluefish, and our famous lobster snack packs. But the surprise hit of the day? Fried dogfish! 

As our board member (and festival food-expediter extraordinaire) Shannon Eldredge summed it up: “We sold out of dogfish just as fast as sea scallops at a family event filled with mostly non-locals. What a win for local seafood, and an abundant under appreciated fish.”

Back when Shannon’s father went trawling (hook-and-line ground fishing for cod) dogfish was the most despised fish among the Chatham fleet. As a young crewman on his brother’s boat, he remembered steaming out of Stage Harbor, heading past Monomoy Island, and seeing the dogfish so thick they churned at the surface, even striking the boat as it pushed through the massive schools.

When the dogfish were running heavy, some boats would tie up for a few days, search for new fishing grounds, or add extra weights to their lines so the hooks could drop quickly to the bottom before the dogfish grabbed the bait.

Today, with so few groundfish like cod being landed on Cape Cod, it’s the under- appreciated and abundant species like dogfish and skate that emerge as the stars of our local waters. Yet, most of this catch is still exported overseas to Europe and Asia.

Here’s a surprising fact: the “codfish” you see on the menu at your favorite restaurant or in your local fish market is most likely imported from Iceland.

That’s why Chatham Harvesters came together as a cooperative — to build new domestic markets for abundant species like dogfish and to challenge the old myths about this delicious, flaky white fish. When handled properly from boat to freezer, dogfish is every bit as good as cod; fresh, sustainable, and proudly local.

So, the next time you’re craving something local, sustainable, and straight from Cape waters, skip the imported fillet and give dogfish a try. It’s mild, firm, and perfect for frying, a true taste of Chatham’s coastal heritage. In the spirit of celebrating local seafood and our sell-out success at Oktoberfest, we’re sharing our Fried Dogfish Recipe. It’s crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and proof that this once-overlooked fish deserves a starring role at your table.

FRIED DOGFISH

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon paprika (optional, for color)

¾ cup very cold milk 

Oil for frying (peanut, canola, or sunflower — enough for 2-3 inch depth)

Directions

Prep the Dogfish

Pat your 1 lb dogfish fillets dry with a paper towel.

Lightly season with salt and pepper.

Make the Batter

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.

Place milk in another bowl. 

Fry It Up

Heat oil to 350 °F in a fryer, deep skillet, or Dutch oven.

Dip each filet in the milk, then dredge the fillet into the dry batter, shake off excess

Fry for 3–4 minutes per side, or until golden and crisp.

Drain on a rack or paper towels and sprinkle with a touch of sea salt.

About the Blogger- Shareen Davis:

Shareen Davis is the Marketing and Sales Manager for Chatham Harvesters Cooperative. A true seafood enthusiast with deep, generational roots in Chatham’s fishing community, she blends her love of local flavors with her passion for sharing the stories behind the catch.