Make your own: fish sticks (regular & grain-free)

I grew up in a bedroom town just west of Jackson, Mississippi. For many years, the town of Clinton had only one fast food restaurant: Dairy Queen. I spent countless hours in that place — after school functions, church functions, sports function — there was nowhere else to go (think of the Alamo Freeze in Friday Night Lights, only not as many cute football players and supposed-small-town cheerleaders sporting $300 haircuts). For many years, rumor had it that our DQ was the highest-grossing of its chain in the nation. To which I responded — of course, it’s a friggin’ monopoly for fries and ice cream in a desperate, dry southern town of 30,000.

Anyway. One of my favorite things to get there was the fish sandwich. With tartar sauce. Because what kid doesn’t like fried fish on a bun?

(insert rebuttals of each and every one of you who hated fish, in all forms, as children. let’s just pretend your plight was heard.)

These days, my kids are funny about fish sticks — likely because we never go to Dairy Queen, and I never buy the frozen ones. Not that I have anything against them — it’s just that the ones that are anything close to all-natural likely cost more than I want to spend. So every once in a while I spring these on them — catching them unawares, sneaking seafood into dinner. Mainly because I still have a soft spot in my pre-pubescent heart for them (time to confess that my own cravings regularly dictate the dinner menu).

When I made them this week, I had an additional challenge: make some of them grain-free. So I made them both ways, and it wasn’t much more of a hassle. Both recipes are below, you can take your pick.

The great thing about these? Say you find cod on sale — you can buy double, and freeze half of them for a future “convenience food” night. Batter them all, then just bake half and freeze the other uncooked (directions below).

Of course, to live the true Dairy Queen experience, you’ll need to stick some in a bun with tartar sauce, and eat them through heavily-glossed lips with a waft of hairspray in the air. Perhaps put a Journey or Boston tape in the deck, and keep checking the door for the cute boy that you’re hoping is the next one to walk through.

Really, they taste better that way.

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I always make my own bread crumbs, because they’re fresher and cheaper that way. Keep a bag of loaf ends in the freezer — the ones nobody wants to eat and usually get thrown out — and when you need crumbs, just stick these in the toaster or oven to thaw and dry out a bit. Grind them finely in a food processor (the dryer they are, the finer they will be). I use whole-wheat bread since that’s usually what we have, but you can use any type.

You can substitute another white fish, such as tilapia or halibut, but I like cod for its texture and price.

 

Recipe: Fish Sticks (to bake or freeze)

Ingredients

• 1  pound cod (wild-caught if you can find it)
• 1/4 cup (rounded) flour
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1-2 eggs
• 1 (or more) cups fine bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450°, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rinse fish and pat with paper towels to dry thoroughly. Cut into 1 1/2″ x 1/2″ sticks, or whatever size your prefer.
3. Get out 3 shallow bowls. In the first, combine the flour, salt, chili powder, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper — whisk to combine. In the second bowl, whisk one egg. In the third bowl, place the bread crumbs.
4. Dredge each piece of fish: first in the flour, then in the egg wash, then coat in bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet (you may need an additional egg or bread crumbs, depending on the size of your fish).
5. (At this point, you can freeze the fish sticks for future use: place on a parchment-lined tray, and freeze until solid. Once frozen you can transfer to a zipper freezer bag for storage until ready to bake.)
6. Bake freshly-made fish sticks for 10-12 minutes, or until firm and golden-brown. (Bake frozen fish sticks for 20 minutes — no need to thaw.)
7. Serve with ketchup or tartar sauce.

Copyright © Katy Carter, 2012.

 

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Recipe: Fish Sticks (grain-free)

Ingredients

• 1 pound cod (wild-caught if available)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1-2 eggs
• 1-2 cups blanched almond flour

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450º. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Rinse fish and pat with paper towels to thoroughly dry. Cut into 1 1/2″ x 1″ pieces, or whatever size you prefer.
3. In a small bowl, combine the salt, pepper, and spices. Sprinkle this mixture on both sides of the fish pieces.
4. Whisk the egg in a shallow bowl. In a second shallow bowl pour the almond flour.
5. Dredge each seasoned piece of cod in the egg wash, let excess drain, then coat in almond flour. Place on lined baking sheet.
6. (At this point, you can freeze the fish sticks for future use: place on a parchment-lined tray, and freeze until solid. Once frozen you can transfer to a zipper freezer bag for storage until ready to bake.)
7. Bake freshly-made fish sticks for 10-12 minutes, or until firm and golden-brown. (Bake frozen fish sticks for 20 minutes — no need to thaw.)
8. Serve with ketchup or tartar sauce.

Copyright © Katy Carter, 2012.

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This post was linked up to Simple Lives Thursday.