Baked fried fish?

[jpshaw]

Everyone is saying that I shouldn't eat "fried" fish but I see recipes for chicken tenders that bake after it has been breaded. You spray the cornmeal, flour, spice coating with a non-stick oil to allow it to brown before baking at 350 for 30 minutes, turning once. Shouldn't that work with fish also? I am looking for something that I could eat with my homemade ketsup.

[Dilbert]

not sure where the "Thou Shallt Not Consume Fried Fish" thing is coming from but frying - pan or deep - when done properly adds very little oil to a dish, and using something like olive oil, can be 'good' for you too (the olive oil low heart disease Mediterranean diet theory,,,,)

"properly" means the right (high) temperature. putting a breaded anything in oil that's too cool results in the oil being absorbed - the breaded thingie should sizzle & fizzle the instant it hits the oil.

I bread & pan fry fish, pork, schnitzels, beef, chicken - about the only thing I deep fry anymore is beer battered butterfly shrimp.

stuff that takes longer to cook - like a breaded pork chop - I saute for color & crunch, finish in a 325-350'F oven on a rack. stuff like fish cooks thru by the time you've got color (except really thick pcs - like a salmon steak)

if you want nice color in a fake&bake routine, try browning the bread crumbs before breading . . .

[Mama Mangia]

I bake fish - no problem

dip filet in egg/milk combo - 1 egg to 2 t. milk

dredge through coating

oil/spray baking sheet

350 for 20 to 25 minutes - until it flakes done and depending on size of filet

[jpshaw]

not sure where the "Thou Shallt Not Consume Fried Fish" thing is coming from but frying - pan or deep - when done properly adds very little oil to a dish, and using something like olive oil, can be 'good' for you too (the olive oil low heart disease Mediterranean diet theory,,,,

The wife says I'm eating too much fried food plus I am on a very low sodium diet (bad heart). I know about the hot oil thing, in fact I'm going to get a mini Fry Daddy just so I'll know that it's 350 - 375 degrees before the frying begins. I've been pan frying fish lately but decided to start baking it to make clean up a lot easier, not to mention not getting as much oil.

BTW thanks Mama. I've been using a lemon juice/olive oil dip before the batter when frying and it works pretty good. The lowest sodium fish I've found has been quick frozen flounder at 30 mg per 4 oz. The only problem with it is it's a very tender fish and falls apart if you stare at it too hard.

[Mama Mangia]

sometimes I put grated Parmesan cheese in my breading - and you can use flour, cornmeal or a combination and crackers, etc.

I know what you mean about frozen fish - I bought a package and it practically disintegrated on me!

I ended up with a good tasting mess - LOL

[Dilbert]

jp-

I'll leave the too much fried food debate between youse guys [g]

watch the FryBaby - a small volume of oil will lose a lot of temp - especially if 'overloaded' - I use a pot and a thermometer - it's surprising how much / how fast the temp drops.

>>flounder
funny thing happened on the way to the Forum . . . I was instructed 'founder for dinner' - it's domestic wild caught flash frozen, thawed at the counter.
probably 1.5 Tb oil in the pan:

[jpshaw]

sometimes I put grated Parmesan cheese in my breading

Cheese is usually a no-no with sodium restricted diets. Almost all dairy products or either out or very limited. When cheese is used in low sodium cookbooks it's mostly Alpine Lace - Low sodium Swiss. And as usual the low sodium variety isn't sold within a 100 miles of me. The curse of living in a rural area.

Dilbert, your flounder sounds a lot like the one I found. I've been frying it in a skillet with a little more then 1.5 Tbs of oil. Maybe I should reduce that amount.

[Dilbert]

>>reduce that amount

doesn't take a lot - I've found too much slows the browning - which can result in "nice color dear but the fish is overcooked"....

that breading is yellow corn meal & ap flour (50-50, roughly) plus seasonings. if the oil is hot - past the shimmer stage and pushing the 'getting ready to smoke' stage - very little oil is absorbed. typically I heat the pan at 'high' then as soon as the first pcs go in reduce the heat - left on full blast it will burn vs. brown. I go 'by ear' - keep the heat high enough that it is always sizzling....

don't seem to have a big problem with the fish breaking up - not sure I've learned any deep dark secrets but my 'technique' is put it in the pan, touch it not until ready to flip, use two wide spatulas - one on each side (that is one under, the other over - trapping the filet between the two) - to gently turn over - that allows me to control the filet better than a scoop&flip approach.

[jpshaw]

I've been using a 3 part cornmeal to 2 part flour with my onion and garlic powder plus pepper seasoning. The flipping is where they usually get pretty beat up but you're going to have to turn it whether baked or fried unless deep fried.

[Mama Mangia]

Lemon pepper goes well on it with garlic and onion!