How to Bread Rockfish Fillets

Rockfish have a dense consistency that lends itself well to deep frying, and an ideal texture for holding a crisp, golden-brown crust. Rockfish, commonly referred to as striped bass, have a mild flavor that needs only a bit of seasoned flour to highlight its clean taste. Use the standard technique when breading rockfish, which entails first dredging food in a dry ingredient, such as flour, followed by a wet ingredient, commonly egg wash, and finishing with another dry ingredient, ideally panko bread crumbs.

Things You'll Need

2 8-oz. rockfish fillets
Paper towels
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. coarse salt, such as sea salt or kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 shallow dishes

2 cups panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp. heavy cream
Sheet pan

Instructions

Pat the rockfish fillets dry with paper towels. Mix together 1 cup of unbleached all-purpose flour, 2 tsp. of coarse salt and 1 tsp. of freshly ground black pepper and place it in a shallow dish.
Pour 2 cups of panko breadcrumbs in an even layer in a shallow dish. Japanese breadcrumbs, also referred to as panko, have a coarse, flaky texture that results from an aeration technique incorporated during processing. As a result, panko absorbs less oil and, because of its texture, doesn't compact during breading, which produces a lighter, crispier crumb when fried.
Mix together 2 eggs, 1 tsp. of freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 tbsp. of heavy cream in a bowl and set aside.
Dredge the rockfish fillets in the flour. Dip each fillet in the egg wash and coat them in the panko, pressing slightly but not hard enough to damage the rockfish.
Arrange the fillets on a sheet pan to dry for a couple minutes before frying.

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