Not too long ago I was stuck in a long line at the grocery store, one that wound all the way past the frozen food section. And there, staring meaningfully at me from the freezer, were the golden and glorious frozen fish sticks of childhood.
How I craved them! So, I decided to come up with a recipe to make them fresh at home. It turned out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself, so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.
Homemade Fish Sticks (serves 2-3)
Ingredients
1 lb fresh cod fillets
Sourdough bread
3/4 cup of flour
1 egg white
Salt & pepper
Canola Oil (enough to fill a heavy-duty pot about 1-2 inches deep)
Garnish
Lemons cut into quarters
1/3 cup Mayo
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp olive oil
Instructions
Lightly wash the cod fillet and pat dry (it's important to get the fillets very dry). Cut them into short, fat strips of roughly equivalent size. Set aside.
Meanwhile, fill a shallow dish with flour for dredging and season it well with salt and pepper. Whisk the egg yolk with some salt until loose and slightly foamy.
For the breadcrumbs, tear some chunks of the sourdough bread and process them in a food processor. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread the breadcrumbs onto a cookie sheet and toast until dry and lightly browned (keep a close eye on them so they don't burn). Place the dry crumbs into a shallow dish and season these with salt and pepper as well. [This really is worth the extra 5 minutes or so that it takes; the sourdough crumbs add something special to the final product]
Season the cod fingers with salt and pepper. Dredge them in the flour to lightly coat. Then slip them through the egg white, shaking off any excess, and press them into the breadcrumbs to cover all sides of the sticks.
Heat the oil to 350 degrees. When it comes to temperature, drop in the cod fingers. Only fry a few at a time - it is very important not to crowd pan so that the temperature remains constant. It is okay if the oil doesn't cover the fish sticks all the way. Let the sticks sizzle and bubble in the oil for about 1 minute and then flip them over (they should be a nice golden brown) and brown the other side. Don't overcook - you want a crispy crust with a tender flaky interior. Drain the fingers on a couple layers of paper towels while you fry the remaining fish sticks.
Serve with lemon wedges and a simple aoili (for the aoili, mix together the garlic powder, mayo, and 1 tsp of olive oil).
These are great with oven fried potato wedges and some nice sauted Swiss Chard.
Bon Appetit!
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