“First, you brine a pleasant piece of fish and refrigerate it in a single day. Then, you coat the fish with mayonnaise and crushed Ritz crackers and broil it. You may have a chunk of fish such as you’ve by no means had earlier than!”
This recommendation did not come from a TikTok influencer or a recipe from the again of a cracker field … it got here from the chief chef of the French Laundry, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Napa Valley that many think about one of the best restaurant within the U.S. A meal at The French Laundry prices upward of $390 per individual, so I used to be stunned to get this tip from its govt chef, David Breeden.
In 2021, I participated in a once-in-a-lifetime cooking expertise with The French Laundry’s culinary crew. The occasion was a charitable fundraiser dinner hosted by Spoon and Steady, the Minneapolis restaurant the place I labored as a baker. The sold-out dinners raised cash for native charities and allowed our crew to be taught from the nation’s most achieved cooks.
Although skilled in haute delicacies’s basic strategies, Breeden grew up in rural Tennessee and by no means outgrew his appreciation for humble dishes similar to cornbread and collard greens. I’ve since realized that his unlikely recipe for flaky white fish topped with buttery Ritz cracker crumbs is a conventional New England dish served at many shoreline eating places. Ritz crackers have been launched in 1934 by Nabisco and the title was supposed to impart a way of luxurious to individuals struggling in the course of the Nice Despair. The crackers have been buttery, toasty and mildly salty in order that they have been ultimate for making a super-crunchy topping for tender, flaky fish.
I obtain fish deliveries every month from the seafood purveyor Sitka Seafood Market and have a number of packages of wild-caught Pacific cod in my freezer. My household and associates think about me a meals snob, so it raised eyebrows after I served them broiled cod slathered in mayonnaise and encrusted in Ritz cracker crumbs. However everybody needed to admit, it was fairly rattling good. Although this recipe is straightforward and solely requires a couple of elements, it taught me a few new ideas: Why you need to brine and dry fish earlier than cooking, and the shocking advantages of mayonnaise as a coating.
Listed here are a number of causes for brining fish earlier than cooking:
It eliminates any floor micro organism that would have an effect on the fragile flesh.
The salt within the brine seasons the fish, enhancing its taste.
The brine improves the feel of the fish by drawing out extra moisture and makes it simpler to prepare dinner, particularly delicate fish – like whitefish, cod, or rockfish.
It helps to set the albumen, the protein within the fish’s flesh that congeals when uncovered to warmth, giving the cooked fish a greater look. America’s Take a look at Kitchen recommends a 6% brine (57 grams of salt in 1 quart of water) for quarter-hour.
Coating the fish with mayonnaise has these advantages:
Mayonnaise is sticky because of the fats and egg’s emulsification so it sticks to meals higher than different fat, similar to oil and butter. This stickiness permits for coatings like panko or cornmeal to stick significantly effectively.
Not like butter, which has a low smoke level at 350 levels, mayonnaise will not begin to smoke till about 450 levels.
The egg proteins in mayo encourage floor browning and the fat create a protecting seal, so moisture stays contained in the fish and would not evaporate.
Mayo is a good impartial car for different flavors so you may add aromatics like garlic or ginger, spices like coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, different acids like lemon juice and zest.
Baked cod with mayonnaise and a Ritz cracker crust
This recipe can be utilized with any white, lean fish. Cod and haddock are conventional in New England, however walleye, catfish, bass and snapper additionally work.
Serves 4
Elements:
4 5-7-ounce skinless cod fillets
1 quart chilly water
57 grams of kosher salt (see notes beneath) plus extra for seasoning
Freshly floor black pepper
1 sleeve Ritz crackers
2 tablespoons minced parsley, divided
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 lemon, lower into wedges
Notes: Six tablespoons if utilizing Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 4 tablespoons if utilizing Morton kosher salt
Preparation:
In a medium bowl, mix the water and salt. Add the fish to the brine for quarter-hour.
After quarter-hour, take away the fish from the brine, rinse completely and pat dry. Place the fish on a wire rack set over a sheet tray and air dry uncovered within the fridge for at least one hour or ideally in a single day.
In a big resealable bag, crush the Ritz crackers into small pea-sized items with a rolling pin or wine bottle.
In a medium bowl, mix the cracker crumbs and 1 tablespoon of minced parsley.
In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and remaining parsley.
Regulate the oven rack to the center place and preheat the oven to 450 levels.
Pat the fish dry with paper towels and season on either side with salt and pepper. Switch the fish to a parchment-lined baking sheet and unfold the mayonnaise excessive. Sprinkle the crushed Ritz crackers over the mayonnaise and gently press down on the crumbs to stick.
Bake till golden brown and the middle registers 130 to 135 levels. This might take from 12 to fifteen minutes, so watch carefully. If the topping turns into too brown earlier than the middle involves temperature, decrease the oven to 425 levels, cowl it with a sheet of foil, and proceed cooking till performed, a few minutes longer.
Garnish with lemon wedges and serve instantly.
