# Breading fish



## Addie (Feb 19, 2012)

I was watching John Besh of New Orleans today. He took two slices of fresh white bread and with a rolling pin, rolled them out as flat as they would go. He them took a square cut fillet of red snapper (or fish of your choice) and placed it on the rolled out bread. The bread was still larger than the fillet, so he cut it to size. He placed the two pieces in his hand and turned over so the bread was showing. Placed a couple of pats of butter on the bread and placed on a grill like a grilled cheese sandwich. When the bread was toasted, he then turned it over and with a bit of oil and seasoning on the fish, he fried the fish until done. 

He said that he made this at a competition in Iceland and won with it. It looked real good.


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## joesfolk (Feb 19, 2012)

So this was basically a piece of grilled fish with a piece of bread and butter on top?


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## Siegal (Feb 19, 2012)

sometimes simple is the best.


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## Addie (Feb 20, 2012)

joesfolk said:


> So this was basically a piece of grilled fish with a piece of bread and butter on top?


 
Yup. And he won the competion with it. Who'd a thunk it!! You serve it with the fish on top. He also had Hollandaise sauce as the bed for it.


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## MrsBlueEyzz (Feb 20, 2012)

That is really cool. I don't like bought white bread, so I would have to try that with some other kind instead. Seems so much easier than what I do now


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## GLC (Feb 20, 2012)

Recipe online for "breaded" redfish:
http://jeffbook.net/Site/content/food/coastal_living_chef_besh.pdf


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## justplainbill (Feb 20, 2012)

Since (hopefully) the main constituent of white bread is flour, I prefer to bread my fish in a flour of my choosing (sans calcium propionate, etc.)


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## PolishedTopaz (Feb 20, 2012)

*I saw something very similar on ICA last night, but Chef used pumpernickle instead. Morimoto won anyway. lol Natch. *


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## Addie (Feb 20, 2012)

So I am sitting here and had a thought. (Oh dear, the world is in danger again) I have yet to buy panko bread crumbs. But they are on my list for next month's shopping. 

Would it be possible to make a patty of sorts with the panko to replace the piece of bread and do the piece of fish that way? Or would it fall apart when you flip it?


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## Greg Who Cooks (Feb 20, 2012)

I think you need something to bind the Panko crumbs to the fish, probably egg.


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## Addie (Feb 20, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> I think you need something to bind the Panko to the fish, probably egg.


 
Could I use the egg to form the panko into a patty like a piece of bread? Would it hold up?


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## PolishedTopaz (Feb 20, 2012)

Addie said:


> Could I use the egg to form the panko into a patty like a piece of bread? Would it hold up?


 
I don't think it would hold up. But, if you want to use Panko...........

*Depends on the cooking method.........deep fry I would say milk>flour>egg>panko.*
*Pan or oven fry, just milk works well. I do the former method for chicken frequently. If you are doing a thin fillet of fish I would recomend the oven {drizzle w/melted butter cook @ 425 for 7+ mins till done} *


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## Addie (Feb 20, 2012)

Thank you


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## Margi Cintrano (Mar 3, 2012)

*Saffron Flour*

I sometimes prepare fish or chicken cutlets in all purpose flour with 1 tsp of saffron threads ( crush in mortar with pestle ) --- and if there is an availability problem, perhaps u can find ground saffron or a saffron mix for paella in Latin Grocer ...

Adds a nice aroma ... and also, u can add some fresh herbs or dried herbs to compliment. Sauté in olive oil ... 

Thanks for posting and have nice wkend. 

Margi.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Mar 3, 2012)

Let's examine how breading works.  First, you have something to be breaded, some kind of meat or veggie.  Meats are naturally moist; so flour will stick to their surface.  But breadcrumbs of any sort, are just too heavy, with too little surface area to stick effectively to meat, or skin.  The trick is to get something to act as a glue of sorts, to hold the breadcrumbs, or whatever coating you are using, to stick to the outside surface of the item to be breaded.

Here is a classic, 3-part method for getting breading to stick properly to meat, poultry, or fish.

Place 3 shallow containers on a table, side by side.  I the first, place plain or seasoned flour.  Fill the 2nd with egg-wash made up of beaten egg, and milk.  Put breadcrumbs into the 3rd shallow container.

Pat the meat, poultry, or fish dry with a paper towel so that the outer surface is a little sticky, but not wet.  Dredge the item to be breaded in the flour, making sure to coat the entire piece.  Shake off all excess flour.  Now, dip the item into the egg wash, again making sure that all of the item is coated.  Remove and let excess drip back into the container.  Now dredge in the breadcrumbs.  Again shake off the excess and place onto a cooking rack.  Let sit for 5 minutes before placing in the hot oil.

Here's why this works.  The skin, or outer meat that is to be breaded is not sticky enough to hold fast to a coating.  But it will adhere to the fine grains of flour.  The flour gives the egg wash something to stick to, and hydrate.  The hydrated flour acts as a paste to hold firmly to the breadcrumbs.  Letting everything sit for a moment allows the flour paste to dry a little, and anchor the breading to the breaded item.

Of course, you can change the final pan ingredients to corn meal, farina, panko breadcrumbs, or even panko breadcrumbs mixed with shredded coconut (yummy on chicken, pork, and seafood).

And there you have it, the famous three step process for breading meats, poultry, fish, and anything else you might want to bread.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


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## TATTRAT (Mar 3, 2012)

Chief Longwind Of The North said:


> Let's examine how breading works.  First, you have something to be breaded, some kind of meat or veggie.  Meats are naturally moist; so flour will stick to their surface.  But breadcrumbs of any sort, are just too heavy, with too little surface area to stick effectively to meat, or skin.  The trick is to get something to act as a glue of sorts, to hold the breadcrumbs, or whatever coating you are using, to stick to the outside surface of the item to be breaded.
> 
> Here is a classic, 3-part method for getting breading to stick properly to meat, poultry, or fish.
> 
> ...




In adding to this, crushed potato chips, crushed corn chips(like blue corn crisps or something), even course chopped popcorn(fun on shrimp), or war in shoestring potatoes, all make for fun and different textures and breading.

Al lof it of course is just helping to add to what a few Chef buddies and I refer to as "Americas favorite Flavor. . .CRUNCH" lol.


sometimes, I just prefer a quick dredge through some flour with malt powder and a dip in some really thin batter of rice flour, AP flour, baking powder, salt, and seltzer water. Not quite an Asian Tempura, not quite a fish n' chip batter, just light, flaky and delicate.

Also, for a nice Asian style batter, 4 egg whites to 4T of corn starch makes what at first is a gummy batter(to look at and see in the bowl), but pan fries/deep fries up to be an amazingly light, and crisp tempura, best for shrimp, calamari, and little chunks of cubed chicken like if you were making a Kung Pao style dish.


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## Greg Who Cooks (Mar 4, 2012)

TATTRAT said:


> Also, for a nice Asian style batter, 4 egg whites to 4T of corn starch makes what at first is a gummy batter(to look at and see in the bowl), but pan fries/deep fries up to be an amazingly light, and crisp tempura, best for shrimp, calamari, and little chunks of cubed chicken like if you were making a Kung Pao style dish.



Funny you mention that, I've just recently been experimenting with 1:1 egg white:cornstarch batter for Asian dishes. Would you happen to have any marinade suggestions for use before battering? (shrimp)


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## Sir_Loin_of_Beef (Mar 4, 2012)

You need three containers. I use pie plates. One with flour, one with egg wash, and one with panko crumbs.

1. Dredge the fish in flour. This eliminates any wet spots on the fish. Egg and/or crumbs will not stick to wet fish.

2. Dip the fish into the egg wash. This makes it sticky for the bread crumbs.

3. Roll the fish in the bread crumbs, patting them into place where necessary.

Sauté the fish in a skillet with hot oil in it, turning once only. I use light olive oil, but canola or peanut oil will work.


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## TATTRAT (Mar 4, 2012)

Gourmet Greg said:


> Funny you mention that, I've just recently been experimenting with 1:1 egg white:cornstarch batter for Asian dishes. Would you happen to have any marinade suggestions for use before battering? (shrimp)




Shoyu, ginger, garlic, brown sugar, mirin, a little lime and a little sesame oil.


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## Claire (Mar 4, 2012)

Just as an oddity:  Mayonnaise makes an excellent sub for eggs as the first step in breading.  A friend in Hawaii taught me that and I use it often.  

Another tip is that instant mashed potato flakes (not buds, or at least I've not tried them) actually can mimic panko and add another dimension.  I don't know if I've ever used them to make mashed potatoes, but often use them for breading and thickening soups and sauces.


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