Baked Fish and Chips

[annud]

Here's a question. I'm trying to make healthy dishes the whole family can enjoy, so one recipe I'm trying is baked (as opposed to fried) fish and chips. The chips part I have down just fine in the oven, but the fish give me trouble.

What kind of breadcrumbs are the best for baking? I love my fish with a bit of crisp. Do you use egg or egg white or flour to help the crumbs stick?

[ChefTorrie]

Try Panko Breadcrumbs. I think they work great for baked fish dishes.

They are more light, airy, and crispy than Italian style breadcrumbs.

[greyeaglem]

Baked would be less fat than fried, but what makes oven-fried things crisp and golden brown is a combination of crumbs of some sort, and, unfortunately, oil. Anything wet can make crumbs stick, but egg wash or or something kind of thick, like buttermilk works best. I worked in an institution where they often made breaded pork loin by dipping the pork pieces in egg wash, dredging in crumbs and then baking on a dry sheet pan. Problem was, they didn't brown and were drier than a popcorn f*rt. For oven fried chicken, you dip the chicken pieces in melted butter or margarine and then in the crumbs. I believe you are also supposed to melt some of same on the sheet pan you cook it on. I read on a thread here once where someone said you could use mayonnaise instead of egg wash before dredging and get nice results. I never did try it, but it would probably work and would be less fat than straight oil or butter. I don't think you can get a good fat-free result, but even if you dip the pieces of fish in oil of some kind, it will still be less than fried.

[annud]

This is great feedback, I'll have to try it multiple ways.

I do use the Panko breadcumbs, my family loves them!