Ooops...forgot to post the oven 'fried' fish recipe as I said I would.
OVEN 'FRIEND' FISH
INGREDIENTS:
-- 4 tilapia (or other firm white fish fillets) that are 6 ozs. each
-- 1 egg white
-- 1/2 cup butter milk *
-- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
-- 1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
-- 2 teaspoons paprika
--1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
-- 1 teaspoon salt
-- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.) Position rack on top shelf in oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees F.
2.) Line a rimmed baking sheet pan with foil and set a wire rack on top.
3.) Lightly spray or brush the rack with vegetable oil .
4.) Wash and pat the fish dry with paper towels; make sure the fish is very, very dry. *
5.) Lightly spray or brush rack with vegetable oil.
6.) Pat fish dry with paper towels and then if the fillets are large, slice the fillets in half lengthwise to form long pieces.
7.) In a pie plate or wide shallow dish, whisk the egg whit with the buttermilk.
8.) In another dish, stir the flour with the bread crumbs, paprika, cayenne and salt.
9.) Working with 1 piece of fish at a time, lightly coat with the flour mixture and then shake off the excess flour.
10.) Then dip the fish into buttermilk mixture and turn evenly to coat . Once coated shake off the excess liquid.
11.) Coat the fish again in the flour and then shake off the excess coating.
12.) Place the fish on the rack and repeat with the remaining fish, 1 piece at a time. When done discard any remaining buttermilk and flour mixtures.
13.) Lightly spray the fish with oil OR using a brush, lightly daub about 1 Tbsp of oil as evenly as possible over the coating of the fish.
14.) DO NOT SKIP STEP 13!!!! IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR 'OVEN FRYING' AND OBTAINING 'CRISPY' FISH!!!
15.) Bake the fish on the top rack of a preheated 500F oven until the coating is crisp and golden; approximately 12-15 minutes. DO NOT turn the fish.
NUTRITITION INFORMATION:
serving size: 1 piece
servings per recipe: 4
Calories: 324
Fat: 68G/21%
Total Fat 7.6G
Cholesterol: 86;3 mg/28%
Sodium: 815.7mg/33%
Carbs 23.9G/7%
Fiber 1.5G/5%
Sugars 2.5G/5%
Protein 39.7G/79%
* Buttermilk--- You can use 2% milk and 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice or white distilled vinegar to equal q cup of buttermilk. Allow to sit a minimum of 5-15 minutes before using.
*Any excess moisture in or on the fish keeps the breading/batter from getting as crispy as possible. I found if you can take the fish out in the a.m. and wash and dry it and let it dry all afternoon that is best. Then by the time you need to cook it in the mid afternoon it is very, very dry which is perfect. You could even defrost, wash and dry it a day ahead of time. The drier the fish is the better in my opinion.
