“First, you brine a nice piece of fish and refrigerate it overnight. Then, you coat the fish with mayonnaise and crushed Ritz crackers and broil it. You’ll have a piece of fish like you’ve never had before!”
This advice didn’t come from a TikTok influencer or a recipe from the back of a cracker box … it came from the executive chef of the French Laundry, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Napa Valley that many consider the best restaurant in the U.S. A meal at The French Laundry costs upward of $390 per person, so I was surprised to get this tip from its executive chef, David Breeden.
In 2021, I participated in a once-in-a-lifetime cooking experience with The French Laundry’s culinary team. The event was a charitable fundraiser dinner hosted by Spoon and Stable, the Minneapolis restaurant where I worked as a baker. The sold-out dinners raised money for local charities and allowed our team to learn from the nation’s most accomplished chefs.
Though trained in haute cuisine’s classic techniques, Breeden grew up in rural Tennessee and never outgrew his appreciation for humble dishes such as cornbread and collard greens. I’ve since learned that his unlikely recipe for flaky white fish topped with buttery Ritz cracker crumbs is a traditional New England dish served at many shoreline restaurants. Ritz crackers were introduced in 1934 by Nabisco and the name was intended to impart a sense of luxury to people suffering during the Great Depression. The crackers were buttery, toasty and mildly salty so they were ideal for making a super-crunchy topping for tender, flaky fish.
I receive fish deliveries each month from the seafood purveyor Sitka Seafood Market and have several packages of wild-caught Pacific cod in my freezer. My family and friends consider me a food snob, so it raised eyebrows when I served them broiled cod slathered in mayonnaise and encrusted in Ritz cracker crumbs. But everyone had to admit, it was pretty damn good. Though this recipe is easy and only requires a few ingredients, it taught me a couple of new concepts: Why you should brine and dry fish before cooking, and the surprising benefits of mayonnaise as a coating.
Here are several reasons for brining fish before cooking:
It eliminates any surface bacteria that could affect the delicate flesh.
The salt in the brine seasons the fish, improving its flavor.
The brine improves the texture of the fish by drawing out excess moisture and makes it easier to cook, especially delicate fish – like whitefish, cod, or rockfish.
It helps to set the albumen, the protein in the fish’s flesh that congeals when exposed to heat, giving the cooked fish a better appearance. America’s Test Kitchen recommends a 6% brine (57 grams of salt in 1 quart of water) for 15 minutes.
Coating the fish with mayonnaise has these benefits:
Mayonnaise is sticky due to the fat and egg’s emulsification so it sticks to foods better than other fats, such as oil and butter. This stickiness allows for coatings like panko or cornmeal to adhere particularly well.
Unlike butter, which has a low smoke point at 350 degrees, mayonnaise won’t start to smoke until about 450 degrees.
The egg proteins in mayo encourage surface browning and the fats create a protective seal, so moisture stays inside the fish and doesn’t evaporate.
Mayo is a great neutral vehicle for other flavors so you can add aromatics like garlic or ginger, spices like coriander, cumin, smoked paprika, other acids like lemon juice and zest.
Baked cod with mayonnaise and a Ritz cracker crust
This recipe can be used with any white, lean fish. Cod and haddock are traditional in New England, but walleye, catfish, bass and snapper also work.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 5-7-ounce skinless cod fillets
1 quart cold water
57 grams of kosher salt (see notes below) plus more for seasoning
Freshly ground 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, cut into wedges
Notes: Six tablespoons if using Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 4 tablespoons if using Morton kosher salt
Preparation:
In a medium bowl, combine the water and salt. Add the fish to the brine for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes, remove the fish from the brine, rinse thoroughly and pat dry. Place the fish on a wire rack set over a sheet tray and air dry uncovered in the refrigerator for a minimum of one hour or preferably overnight.
In a large resealable bag, crush the Ritz crackers into small pea-sized pieces with a rolling pin or wine bottle.
In a medium bowl, combine the cracker crumbs and 1 tablespoon of minced parsley.
In a separate bowl, combine the mayonnaise, minced garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice and remaining parsley.
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Pat the fish dry with paper towels and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Transfer the fish to a parchment-lined baking sheet and spread the mayonnaise over the top. Sprinkle the crushed Ritz crackers over the mayonnaise and gently press down on the crumbs to adhere.
Bake until golden brown and the center registers 130 to 135 degrees. This could take from 12 to 15 minutes, so watch closely. If the topping becomes too brown before the center comes to temperature, lower the oven to 425 degrees, cover it with a sheet of foil, and continue cooking until done, a couple of minutes longer.
Garnish with lemon wedges and serve immediately.
发表回复