Panko Crusted Cod Fillets
boneless, skinless cod fillets
all-purpose flour
old bay seasoning blend
eggs
milk
panko bread crumbs
oil
Set up a "pane" station - flour, egg and breadcrumb station meant for breading foods.
Have your fish fillets at one end.
Mix together the flour and seasoning and set in one container.
Beat the eggs with a little milk and set in a second container.
Place the panko in a third container.
Have any empty container or tray at the other end for the breaded fish.
I like to use shallow, long containers for pane, especially with fish fillets. This allows you to oat multiple fillets at once time and evenly coats them. It is particularly handy if you have containers with lids. This does take up a lot of counter space, but it the most efficient way to do it.
Place several fillets in the flour and shake to coat the flour to cover the fillets (this is when you can slap a lid on the container and gently shake back and forth. Don't get too crazy though, fish is delicate).
Shake the excess flour off the fillets before placing them in the egg mixture.
Turn the fillets to coat completely in egg (I don't recommend the lid method here).
Allow excess egg to drip off before placing fillets in the panko, and again, shake to coat the fillets with the crumbs, turning them over as needed.
Place fillets on prepared tray.
To cook: Heat the oil in a pan until smoking, then sear fillets (do not crowd them, cook in batches, if needed) on both sides. They will only take a minute or two on each side until they are golden.
Transfer to a baking sheet and finish in the oven until cooked through.
Recently we tried a different type of fish for supper. We tried some cod, however, I didn't really want to just use the typical breadcrumb coating we use for pan-fried haddock. Now could we plank it and grill it as we do salmon. After searching through some suggested recipes for cod and other similar fish, and discovering we didn't have cornmeal, cornflakes, or panko bread crumbs on hand, I came up with this, untypical coating - crisp rice cereal. It's similar to using bread crumbs, or cracker crumbs, or crushed cornflakes. So, we tried it.
The procedure:
cod fillets
all-purpose flour
beaten egg
salt & spices
lightly crushed crisp rice cereal
Dredge the cod fillets in the flour mixed with desired herbs and spices, then the egg, then the cereal. Place on a lined baking pan and bake at 375◦F for 15-25 minutes until cooked through, and fish flakes easily with a fork. The amount of baking time will vary depending on the thickness of the fillets. Once they are cooked, brush the tops with a little oil or melted butter if desired (or leave plain) and broil them for a minute or two for an extra-crispy top coating.
The result? A nice change from regular breadcrumbs - crispy on the top and a moist coating on the bottom. The flavor was different, but not really reminiscent of breakfast cereal. The coating doesn't have the usually problem of slipping right off either, due to the flour, egg, cereal process. And the flavor may be altered depending on what herbs and spices are added to the flour.
