# Breading your vegetables or hands



## Addie (Aug 19, 2017)

When you are breading, do you do the 

One hand dry
The other hand wet method.

Or do you just jump in and get the job done! Worry about the messy hands later. 

I am in the middle of breading three eggplants. Sorry I ever started. After that I have three pork chops that have been marinating in a soy sauce liquid since last night.


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## BlueMoods (Aug 19, 2017)

I do the wet hand - Dry hand technique when I bread anything and, being a southern girl, that's fairly often. We do love our breaded and deep fried food down here. If you aren't sure how to cook it, bread it and fry it, it can't be totally bad that way. :P


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## Andy M. (Aug 19, 2017)

My intent is to do wet/dry hands but it doesn't always end that way.


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## buckytom (Aug 19, 2017)

For sushi, yes, wax on wax off. 
Umm, 1 dry, 1 wet.

Everything else gets made right next to the sink, so rinsing fingers between stages isn't a problem.


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## Addie (Aug 19, 2017)

Andy M. said:


> My intent is to do wet/dry hands but it doesn't always end that way.



I know the feeling well. Breading eggplant today, One large Italian one and two small Japanese one. It would be done by now, but I can't stand that long. So I unplug the fryer, sit for a while and back to work. There are times when I have enough breading on my hands to plop them into the fryer.


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## Just Cooking (Aug 19, 2017)

Andy M. said:


> My intent is to do wet/dry hands but it doesn't always end that way.




Exactly!!!.. I always forget which is which...   

Ross


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## caseydog (Aug 19, 2017)

Andy M. said:


> My intent is to do wet/dry hands but it doesn't always end that way.



I start off with good intentions, too, but by the end, everything is messy, from my hands to half the kitchen. 

CD


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## blissful (Aug 19, 2017)

Addie said:


> There are times when I have enough breading on my hands to plop them into the fryer.



Not that good of an idea. I hear the green thumbs taste like kale chips. The middle of the hand tastes like hearts of palm.


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## medtran49 (Aug 19, 2017)

Andy M. said:


> My intent is to do wet/dry hands but it doesn't always end that way.



Me  too.


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## Katie H (Aug 19, 2017)

I don't do either.  I use a pigtail turner that has freed me from the dreaded breading fingers.  It does all the picking up and breading for me.  I simply poke the turner into the targeted food, dip, dunk or whatever and slip it off the turner.  Haven't had any breading issues since I began using my handy little piggy.


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## caseydog (Aug 19, 2017)

blissful said:


> Not that good of an idea. I hear the green thumbs taste like kale chips. The middle of the hand tastes like hearts of palm.



Gives a whole new meaning to "finger food." 

CD


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## CakePoet (Aug 20, 2017)

I try but I get confused and then I get dough hands... So yeah  wet concrete!


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## CharlieD (Aug 20, 2017)

I'm not really sure what I do. Or for that matter what does the above mention technic means.  Care to explain, please.


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## Addie (Aug 20, 2017)

CharlieD said:


> I'm not really sure what I do. Or for that matter what does the above mention technic means.  Care to explain, please.



Charlie when you are breading your food, like a veal cutlet or a vegetable with flour, egg and breadcrumbs. You dip the food in the flour first, with just one hand, while you keep the other hand out of the way. Then you take it out of the flour and dip it in the egg, and repeat for the breadcrumbs. All the time using one hand to handle the food, while the other hand stays clean for frying. 

That is how it is supposed to be done. But most people start out with that intention and end up using both hands. When they are done with the breading, they have as much egg and bread on both hands as there is on the food. It is an art to keep one hand clean. Not as easy as it sounds.


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## GotGarlic (Aug 20, 2017)

Addie said:


> Charlie when you are breading your food, like a veal cutlet or a vegetable with flour, egg and breadcrumbs. You dip the food in the flour first, with just one hand, while you keep the other hand out of the way. Then you take it out of the flour and dip it in the egg, and repeat for the breadcrumbs. All the time using one hand to handle the food, while the other hand stays clean for frying.



The way I learned to do it is to keep the left hand dry and use the right hand to dip into the egg, so it's the wet hand. So take a piece of food in your left hand (dry hand) and dredge it in the flour. Use your right hand (wet hand) to remove it from the flour and dip it into the egg. Use the same hand to remove it from the egg, letting excess drip off, and lay it on the bread/panko crumbs. Use your left/dry hand to turn it in the crumbs, pressing to adhere, and the same left/dry hand to place it on a rack on a sheet pan. Continue till all the food is coated.

Works for me [emoji2]


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## medtran49 (Aug 20, 2017)

GotGarlic said:


> The way I learned to do it is to keep the left hand dry and use the right hand to dip into the egg, so it's the wet hand. So take a piece of food in your left hand (dry hand) and dredge it in the flour. Use your right hand (wet hand) to remove it from the flour and dip it into the egg. Use the same hand to remove it from the egg, letting excess drip off, and lay it on the bread/panko crumbs. Use your left/dry hand to turn it in the crumbs, pressing to adhere, and the same left/dry hand to place it on a rack on a sheet pan. Continue till all the food is coated.
> 
> Works for me [emoji2]



I'm not trying to argue, but I thought you took the food out of the dry with the dry hand, into the wet, turning with the wet, out with the wet and laying it onto the dry, using the dry to turn and onto plate or into oil as case may be.  Obviously, you just pick it up by the edge of 1 end so you keep from getting fingers wet or crumby.


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## CraigC (Aug 20, 2017)

Addie said:


> Charlie when you are breading your food, like a *veal cutlet *or a vegetable with flour, *egg* and breadcrumbs. You dip the food in the flour first, with just one hand, while you keep the other hand out of the way. Then you take it out of the flour and dip it in the egg, and repeat for the breadcrumbs. All the time using one hand to handle the food, while the other hand stays clean for frying.
> 
> That is how it is supposed to be done. But most people start out with that intention and end up using both hands. When they are done with the breading, they have as much egg and bread on both hands as there is on the food. It is an art to keep one hand clean. Not as easy as it sounds.



I don't think Charlie can use meat and egg together. I think eggs are considered dairy.


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## GotGarlic (Aug 20, 2017)

medtran49 said:


> I'm not trying to argue, but I thought you took the food out of the dry with the dry hand, into the wet, turning with the wet, out with the wet and laying it onto the dry, using the dry to turn and onto plate or into oil as case may be.  Obviously, you just pick it up by the edge of 1 end so you keep from getting fingers wet or crumby.


I think either way will work. The key is to is to keep one hand dry and not touch the egg with it at all. So it's not wet hand/clean hand, as Addie described it.


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## GotGarlic (Aug 20, 2017)

CraigC said:


> I don't think Charlie can use meat and egg together. I think eggs are considered dairy.


"... eggs are considered a separate entity once they have been laid and are considered to be pareve, or neutral, so that they can be eaten with either milk or meat." 

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/698970/jewish/Why-are-chickens-eggs-pareve.htm


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## dragnlaw (Aug 20, 2017)

I just watched 2 video's of breading chicken and .... something else, I forget now, and they used *both* hands! LOL.  One was Japanese, the other Chinese.  I couldn't believe how clean their hands were thru the whole process!

I personally have always done it as *GG *describes, which a lot of the celebrity chefs are showing how to do (actually me Gramma showed me many many years ago). 

I have only one correction to GG's way. 
1. 'Dry' hand dips food into flour.  'Dry' hand picks up food and slips it into egg/milk mixture but do not let your 'Dry' hand touch the mixture. 
2. 'Wet' hand then turns food to coat thoroughly with egg/milk mixture (if necessary), lifts it up and lets it drip a bit then places it into bread/panko/crumb mixture.  
3. Here I sometimes use a plate but more often use a piece of wax paper for the crumb mix.  If using paper, left edges of paper and flip the crumbs onto the wet food. If a plate, use 'dry' hand to start flipping (you can use a spoon) the crumbs onto the food. Now you can flip it over and pat the crumbs on with your dry hand. Transfer to your rack. repeat with the rest... works for me!


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## Kayelle (Aug 21, 2017)

I bought three dedicated pans for the purpose and use tongs.
Works for me.


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## Cooking Goddess (Aug 21, 2017)

I use a fork and our shallow vintage salad dishes. Those exact things worked for my Mom; they now work for me.


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## Sagittarius (Aug 21, 2017)

Pareve foods are:   Eggs, grains, fish, vegetables and fruits ..

Eggs are not considered dairy ..


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## Sagittarius (Aug 21, 2017)

Breading:

I create 3 dishes as well and use thongs for the dusting / dipping and  dredging processes of breading.


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## caseydog (Aug 21, 2017)

Kayelle said:


> I bought three dedicated pans for the purpose and use tongs.
> Works for me.



I use three paper bowls, and throw them away after my breading. It is one of the few things I use paper plates/bowls for. I use throw-away stuff for anything that I know is going to be really messy. I love to cook and love to eat -- I hate cleaning. 

CD


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## Addie (Aug 21, 2017)

caseydog said:


> I use three paper bowls, and throw them away after my breading. It is one of the few things *I use paper plates/bowls *for. I use throw-away stuff for anything that I know is going to be really messy. I love to cook and love to eat -- *I hate cleaning.*
> 
> CD



Join the club friend. I only have regular small plates big enough for a sandwich. Then it is large dinner plates. So I buy luncheon size paper plates to encourage portion control on what we both eat. Me for diabetes, and Pirate for weight issues. But those bowl and plates come in handy for a lot of other purposes though.


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## medtran49 (Aug 22, 2017)

I use wax paper for my dry stuff.


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## CharlieD (Aug 22, 2017)

Addie said:


> Charlie when you are breading your food, like a veal cutlet or a vegetable with flour, egg and breadcrumbs. You dip the food in the flour first, with just one hand, while you keep the other hand out of the way. Then you take it out of the flour and dip it in the egg, and repeat for the breadcrumbs. All the time using one hand to handle the food, while the other hand stays clean for frying.
> 
> That is how it is supposed to be done. But most people start out with that intention and end up using both hands. When they are done with the breading, they have as much egg and bread on both hands as there is on the food. It is an art to keep one hand clean. Not as easy as it sounds.



Got it. Thank you.
I use fork.


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## Addie (Aug 22, 2017)

I recently breaded eggplant. It was a LOT! So I needed something big enough to hold eight eggs. I got out my three pie plates and the one made for a deep dish pie, served for the eggs. But as a rule, I use the paper plates or bowls.


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## Just Cooking (Aug 22, 2017)

Pie plates for me...

Ross


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## Katie H (Aug 22, 2017)

For years saucers and pie plates worked just fine for me.  I'd seen the triple-type breading pans in catalogues, etc. and poo pooed them.  Thought they were a waste of money until...yep.  Saw a set at Goodwill for 50 cents and bought them.  They are plastic and look just like these.

I love them and am double surprised how nice a job they do.  There's something about the shape of them and the depth that makes them work very well.  I'm a believer now.

With my trusty pigtail turner and these little gems, I don't have any more issues with the dreaded "breading hands/fingers."


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## Kayelle (Aug 22, 2017)

Katie H said:


> For years saucers and pie plates worked just fine for me.  I'd seen the triple-type breading pans in catalogues, etc. and poo pooed them.  Thought they were a waste of money until...yep.  Saw a set at Goodwill for 50 cents and bought them.  They are plastic and look just like these.
> 
> *I love them and am double surprised how nice a job they do.  There's something about the shape of them and the depth that makes them work very well.  I'm a believer now.
> *
> *With my trusty pigtail turner* and these little gems, I don't have any more issues with the dreaded "breading hands/fingers."



That's exactly what I have Katie, and although I rarely bread anything, there really is something to be said for having just the right tool for the job. For one thing, they never make a mess on the counter because of the shape and depth. I really have to look into your pigtail turner, as you've mentioned so often.


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## Just Cooking (Aug 22, 2017)

Pig tail turner....

I had one years ago... I need another...

Ross


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## Katie H (Aug 22, 2017)

Just Cooking said:


> Pig tail turner....
> 
> I had one years ago... I need another...
> 
> Ross



A little off topic, but we have two of the pigtail turners.  A large one for the outdoor grill and the smaller one for the kitchen.  I can't tell you how many times a week the little guy gets used.  So much so that there's a dedicated place near the stove/prep area for it.  It's great for turning bacon, frying green tomatoes, so many things.


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## Mad Cook (Aug 25, 2017)

Addie said:


> When you are breading, do you do the
> 
> One hand dry
> The other hand wet method.
> ...


Wet hand- dry hand method for me on the rare occasions I need to


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## Rparrny (Aug 31, 2017)

Katie H said:


> I don't do either.  I use a pigtail turner that has freed me from the dreaded breading fingers.  It does all the picking up and breading for me.  I simply poke the turner into the targeted food, dip, dunk or whatever and slip it off the turner.  Haven't had any breading issues since I began using my handy little piggy.




I have never heard of a pigtail turner before so I looked it up...what a great idea!


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## Addie (Aug 31, 2017)

Rparrny said:


> I have never heard of a pigtail turner before so I looked it up...what a great idea!



Pigtails are great for using at a BBQ or in a commercial kitchen for the man/girl on the grill. A few Christmas's ago, I bought my SIL one. I had to teach him how to use it. At first he thought it was a joke present.


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## taxlady (Aug 31, 2017)

What is it that makes the pig tail turner so useful?


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## Addie (Aug 31, 2017)

taxlady said:


> What is it that makes the pig tail turner so useful?



The end is curled like a pigs. The point of it is *very pointed and sharp.* You hold it in your hand and bring the point down on the steak or other piece of meat. It grabs the meat and it is much easier to turn it. If you are BBQing, you don't have to stand so close to the heat of the grill, and turning meat, whether in the kitchen or in the yard, it is a great piece of equipment to have for flipping meat. 

When you are standing at the grill out in the yard, and there is a lot of meat on the grate, you can flip all of them in less than a minute. Once my SIL learned to use it, now it is his favorite toy.


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## dragnlaw (Sep 1, 2017)

Not only is it easy to grab the object, it also lets it go with an opposite twist of the wrist.  I would love to get one too.  Google them *taxy* they're neat!


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## Katie H (Sep 1, 2017)

As I already mentioned, our handy little pigtail turner is one of the most-often used tools in the kitchen and, certainly, at the grill outside.

Our little kitchen one barely has time to cool off between uses.


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## taxlady (Sep 1, 2017)

dragnlaw said:


> Not only is it easy to grab the object, it also lets it go with an opposite twist of the wrist.  I would love to get one too.  Google them *taxy* they're neat!


I did. I watched a few videos. It does look nifty.


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## Mad Cook (Sep 4, 2017)

I use tongs


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