You Don't Have To Fry Fish To Get A Crisp Crust — Your Oven Does The Trick

When chicken nuggets are starting to look a little boring, or you want something that balances indulgence and nutrient density, you can turn to fried fish in its myriad of forms: fish sticks, fried filets, and more. One of the main challenges of getting any fried fish recipe right, however, comes down to the breading. Deep-frying your fish will give you a crispy coating on all sides. The lighter option is to bake your fried fish, but the breading just isn't crispy enough — until now. 

The next time you want to get crispy breading on the outside of your baked fish, try spraying your breadcrumbs with oil. In Susan Olayinka's recipe for Parmesan-crusted tilapia, she coats the filets with mayonnaise to help the breadcrumbs stick and before the filets go into the oven, the breaded fish gets a quick spritz with cooking oil. When it comes out of the oven, it's perfectly golden brown and ready to be paired with a simple everyday, herby salad or steamed rice. 

Grocery store baking sprays are a common pantry ingredient. When shopping for one for your recipe, be sure to take a peek at the label. You'll want to avoid selecting ones that have anything other than oil and propellant. Some sprays, like PAM products, may contain flour or starch. If you're using gluten-free breadcrumbs and feeding someone with an allergy or Celiac disease, be sure to avoid cross-contaminating with a flour-containing spray. Neutral oils, like avocado oil spray or olive oil spray, may be better suited for your recipe than extra virgin olive oil, which tends to have a grassier, more noticeable flavor and a lower smoke point. 

The nice thing about this tip is that you can use it for fish or any other instance where you want to crisp up your breadcrumb coating without frying it. Homemade chicken nuggets are a good place to start; you can even try it in Taylor Murray's air fryer chicken nugget recipe. It's also a simple way to crisp up your gooey, stringy mozzarella sticks at home; just add a coating to the outside of the sticks before baking them in an oven or an air fryer.