Crispy Fish Fillets

A few weeks ago I discovered a fantastic new technique for breading fish and chicken. Informercial voiceover time (use your imagination for the action), cause I am going to sell you on this:

"Are you tired of soggy fish? Does your breaded chicken taste likes it's been soaking in flavorless mush? Are you inept at everything you do in life? Don't these people who are pretending to be the cooks look like they've never even seen a kitchen before and could cut themselves with a plastic spoon?? Then you need AWESOME AND EASY BREADING MACHINE!! Even these people will stop looking so stupid in no time!"

Okay so it's not a machine and you don't have to actually buy anything, but you're welcome to send me two easy payments of $19.99 any way. But seriously, when I started breading this way (and it's really just one tiny little change) instead of the traditional way, the food was exponentially better. "Wow! No more soggy fish!!"

All you have to do is one eensy extra step and it will make a huge difference. Okay, I'm just going to get to it now.


Crispy Tilapia Fillets

Panko (not breadcrumbs, I repeat, not breadcrumbs)
Butter (I'm using garlic butter for a little extra flavor but it doesn't matter)
Any Seasoning You Like *** (see note at end)***
Kosher Salt (for the record, it's always kosher salt for these dinner recipes, make the change if you haven't already)
Flour
Egg
Tilapia Fillets (or whatever fish you like, these are cheap and yummy. 2 grouper fillets at $21.99 or  6 tilapia at $7.99...Your decision)

1. Preheat the oven to 425F. In a small frying pan, melt the butter over medium low heat and add about 1/4 c. panko for each fish fillet (it's always good to make a little more than you think, it's sad when the last fillet gets the short straw on the breading). Mix in the seasoning and some salt and stir the panko til it gets nice and brown. Maybe about 4 minutes. It can go to burnt fast, yuck, so watch it carefully. 

Try the pan flippy method if you're brave...

Ready! Look how pretty and brown!

2. Line up three bowls for your breading. After the last bowl, have your baking sheet ready. Lining the baking sheet with foil makes cleanup much faster.

    Bowl 1 = 1/2 c. or so of flour; add a little of your seasoning
    Bowl 2 = 1 beaten egg; add a little more of the seasoning-we're gettin crazy here
    Bowl 3 = Panko; don't add more seasoning, that would be ridiculous

3. Pat dry each thawed fish fillet (with paper towels, just like the chicken yesterday, but not as salmonella-y) and dredge in the flour, making sure to cover fully but shake off exess; then the egg, making sure to coat but let excess drip off; and finally the panko, making sure to crust every square mm with the delicious breading. Place the fillet on the baking sheet and repeat!

They look good enough to eat! But they are not cooked yet, so don't.

4. If you have any extra breading, don't be shy, smush it on top of your fillets! Can't hurt! Unless you're on a diet, in which case this blog will not be good for you at all. 

5. Bake for about 8-12 minutes, longer if you are using thicker fillets of fish.They say it's supposed to flake if it's ready, I usually just hope for the best. Enjoy!!

*At the last second, I decided to make a quick little sauce to top the fish with. Nothing crazy-just mayo, a little mustard, a squeeze of lemon juice, a healthy amount of cajun seasoning, and some salt. It was actually good! Like a remouloade jr sauce.

And no final photo op tonight. My sides were frankly embarrassing. I was so preoccupied with prancing around taking these pictures that I forgot about the rice-and that is not something you can whip up in a minute or two (unless you have minute rice, which I didn't). So the hubby got leftover mashed potatoes and I settled for just green beans. Hey, this isn't the Food Network people!! We roll with it! :o)


Conclusion: The beauty of sauteing the panko first is that you don't have to count on the oven to brown the crust for you, you've taken matters into your own hands. Because the oven is bad at browning and crisping up panko, your fish (or chicken, this works great for them too) will end up soggy at least on the bottom, likely all around. Am I the last person on earth to figure this out or have you learned something new tonight?

***Ohhh, don't you hate it when they leave it so wide open? I always think, "Just tell me what to use!" Here are some ideas: Lemon Pepper, Italian, Old Bay, Seasoning Salt, etc... It isn't really fair because I am one of the lucky people to live near a Penzey's Spices store. Never heard of them? Well please follow the link and order a catalog, you will not be disappointed and you may actually become addicted. I am using Florida Seasoned Pepper for this recipe and it is so good with fish. We'll talk more about Penzey's soon.