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Crunchy Oven-Fried Fish Recipe - America's Test Kitchen
To prevent overcooking, buy fish fillets at least 1 inch thick. The bread crumbs can be made up to 3 days in advance, cooled, and stored at room temperature in an airtight container. Serve with Sweet and Tangy Tartar Sauce (see related recipe) or lemon wedges.
Crunchy Oven-Fried Fish
Serves 4
Batter-fried is the gold standard for fish with a flavorful coating, but frying is a messy operation that splatters hot oil all over the stove and spreads fishy odors throughout the house. So home cooks often resort to “oven-fried” fish with comparatively disappointing flavor.
We wanted a recipe for moist, flavorful oven-baked fillets coated in a crunchy crust that would not merely play second fiddle to batter-fried fish, but stand as a worthy dish on its own.
Our first task was to select the fish. Dense varieties like swordfish and tuna with meaty textures didn’t provide contrast between crust and interior, and thin fillets overcooked before the coating browned. Cod and haddock proved the best bet. After trying a number of coating candidates (fresh bread crumbs, saltine crackers, potato chips, Melba toast), the best option was fresh bread crumbs. But in our initial testing, fresh crumbs were still undercooked and soft when the fish had finished cooking. The answer was manifold. First, we added melted butter while processing the bread crumbs, subsequently crisping the crumbs in an oven to a deep golden-brown. We dipped the fillets first in flour and then coated the fish with a thick wash made from eggs and mayonnaise before applying the browned crumbs. Placing the coated fish on a wire rack while baking allowed air to circulate all around the fish, crisping all sides. We boosted flavor in two more ways, adding shallots and parsley to the breading and horseradish, cayenne, and paprika to the egg wash. As a final touch, we whipped up a tartar sauce with mayonnaise, capers, and sweet relish.
