I really like deep fried fish. Breaded or battered it doesn’t matter. The frying gives such a great crispy crust and the meat stays moist and firm. However, She Who Must Be Obeyed points out I make a mess when I deep fry and it is bad for me. I hate it when she is right (an all too common occurrence).
I had some nice haddock fillets and decided to bake them to keep on the good side of my lovely wife. The problem is that I find most baked fish gets soft and it doesn’t have that great crunchy coating. You can use Panko bread crumbs but buying bread crumbs when I have stale bread around disturbs my skinflint side. So I decided I would toast some bread crumbs for a crunchy coating.
The coating is only half the problem though. I wanted that same moist and firm meat that deep frying gives. Instead of using an egg wash to glue the crumbs to the fish, I decided to make an egg batter which would act to seal in the moisture like deep frying.
I started by tearing 2 slices of bread into a blender or food processor. I drizzled 15 ml (1 tablespoon) olive oil over them and added 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) of garlic powder and 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) of onion powder. I processed by pulsing until the bread was in large crumbs.
I spread the crumbs on a baking tray and baked at 350 F, stirring every couple of minutes until the crumbs are golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Put the crumbs on a plate and set aside.
I put 25 ml (2 tablespoons) flour on a plate.
I put 1 egg, 3 ml (1/2 teaspoon) Sriracha sauce, 15 ml (1 tablespoon) mayonniase and 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) paprika in a shallow casserole dish and mixed to combine. I added 25 ml (2 tablespoons) of flour and mixed to make a medium batter.
Line up the flour plate, then the batter dish and the crumb plate. Roll a firm white fish fillet (haddock, cod, halibut for example) in the flour. dip it in the batter to coat. Lay it on the bread crumbs and shovel bread crumbs over it to coat. Put the fish on a rack over a baking tray.
Repeat with second fillet.
Bake the fish at 350 F to an internal temperature of 140 F. Use a spatula to carefully lift the fish to a plate.
I served the fish with baked potatoes and a nice salad.
The Verdict.
Success! This isn’t deep fried fish but it does have a tasty, crunchy coating. The interior of the fish was firm and moist. The Sriracha just added a nice warmth without any uncomfortable heat. You need to try this!
The Old Fat Guy
Ingredients
- 2 three quarter inch thick firm white fish fillets (cod, haddock, halibut for example)
- 2 bread slices
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) olive oil
- 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) garlic powder
- 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) onion powder
- 50 ml (1/4 cup) flour
- 3 ml (1/2 teaspoon) Sriracha sauce
- 1 egg
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) mayonnaise
- 1 ml (1/4 teaspoon) paprika
Instructions
- Tear the bread into a blender or food processor.
- Drizzle oil over the bread and add the garlic and onion powder.
- Pulse until the bread is coarse crumbs.
- Spread the bread over a baking tray and bake at 350 F, stirring every couple of minutes, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Put the crumbs on a plate and set aside.
- Put 1/2 of the flour on a plate.
- Put the Sriracha, egg, mayonnaise and paprika in a shallow casserole. Mix to combine.
- Add the remaining flour to the egg mixture and stir to make a batter.
- Line up the plate with the flour, the casserole with the egg mixture and the plate with the crumbs.
- Roll a fish fillet in the flour.
- Dip it in the batter to coat.
- Put it on the bread crumbs and shovel crumbs over the top to coat.
- Put the fillet on a rack over a baking tray.
- Repeat with the second fillet.
- Bake at 350 F to an internal temperature of 140 F, about 20 minutes.
2 Responses
This was amazing!
How kind of you! Thanks very much.