[0 - 2] Hey guys, welcome back to Basics with Babish, where this week
[2 - 6] we're taking a look at a few ways to simply prepare fish. Whether you're baking or frying,
[6 - 12] it's an economically and ecologically responsible way to make dinner tonight. Let's get down to basics.
[27 - 29] Alright guys, so let's start out with something really simple,
[30 - 33] salmon. We're gonna make a salmon fillet crusted with bread crumbs.
[33 - 40] So we're gonna start by toasting some bread crumbs in some melted butter and adding a little bit of freshly chopped thyme and rosemary.
[40 - 42] These are Panko bread crumbs, by the way. Go big or go home.
[43 - 47] We just want to get a little bit of a roasty, golden color on these bread crumbs before
[47 - 53] adding the herbs and maybe toasting for another 30 seconds or so to just sort of wake up those flavors. Now
[53 - 57] it's time to set these guys aside because they're gonna have the opportunity to crisp up more in the oven,
[57 - 61] but we need to season them with a little bit of kosher salt and, of course, freshly ground black pepper.
[61 - 66] You want to try to get into the habit of seasoning every element of a dish on its own, that way there's no bland parts
[66 - 68] of your plate. Speaking of which, a nice
[69 - 74] 50/50 mix of grain mustard and mayo is gonna make an excellent glue for our bread crumb mixture
[74 - 78] And now it's time to set the stage upon which our players will perform.
[78 - 83] We're gonna cut this hunk of salmon into two even fillets, keeping an eye out for any bones that your local fishmonger
[83 - 88] might have missed. Fish will cling to aluminum foil like your landlord clings to your security deposit
[88 - 94] so make sure you oil it down with a nonstick spray or some vegetable oil. Place the fillets on top and then remember what I
[94 - 96] said, we're gonna season these guys with salt and pepper.
[96 - 100] We're now going to apply a generous layer of our tasty mayonnaise glue
[100 - 102] (that sounded better in my head)
[102 - 103] to each fish fillet.
[103 - 109] spreading with the back of a spoon so it coats the fish evenly. And then to help give the breadcrumb mixture some structure we're going
[109 - 113] To add an egg white. At first, this mixtures gonna seem a little soggy, but don't worry
[113 - 115] It's gonna crisp up real nice in the oven
[115 - 118] And as you may have guessed it's now time to spread our bread crumb mixture
[118 - 123] evenly over the top of each fish fillet making sure to cover every little bit of mayonnaise glue.
[123 - 130] These guys are going in a 325 degree Fahrenheit oven for 18 to 25 minutes depending upon your preferred doneness
[130 - 138] I like to shoot for 125 degrees Fahrenheit internal and then what we're left with is a crispy, herby, moist, tender,
[138 - 141] flavorful salmon cooked hopefully to a lovely medium-rare
[141 - 143] This is a delicious
[143 - 147] economical and I think maybe even healthy weeknight dinner for two or four or
[147 - 152] Whatever you're into. But what if it's Friday night and you're all dressed up and you want the batter side of fish.
[152 - 160] Well, look no further than fish and chips. Let's start by making our chips. Chips translates roughly to big, fat, greasy french fries
[160 - 165] So we're gonna cut ourselves some big ol' ten to maybe fifteen millimeter wide fries. Yes
[165 - 170] I just switched a metric because we're speaking the Queen's English now. And we've made french fries a few times on this show
[170 - 171] so we're gonna try a different method that is
[171 - 173] starting the potatoes off in room temperature oil.
[173 - 176] Very much the same way that you might start them in room-temperature water
[176 - 180] if you're boiling them. Then slowly bringing the oil up to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
[181 - 188] lets you forgo the usual double frying or freezing or whatever and gives you really deeply crispy french fries right out of the gate
[188 - 191] so long as you keep them moving. Once they're a lovely golden brown,
[191 - 196] Let them drain on some paper towels and while they're still warm season them with a little bit of kosher salt and keep them warm
[196 - 201] in the oven because now we've got bigger fish to fry. Literally. To build our beer batter
[201 - 207] We're starting with one and a half cups of all-purpose flour, half a cup of all-purpose cornstarch- aka: cornstarch
[207 - 212] and then we're going to season this mixture with a little bit of paprika, a pinch of kosher salt, and a few twists of freshly
[212 - 219] ground black pepper before adding baking powder. We're gonna whisk to combine and set aside one cup of this flour mixture to a tray
[219 - 222] We're gonna use this for dredging. Then once you've got this separated
[222 - 229] we are introducing alcohol to the situation. Add a teaspoon of baking powder, whisk to combine, and add one whole delicious, refreshing
[230 - 233] Mexican beer. Administer one to yourself if necessary. Whisk to combine
[234 - 238] until it just comes together kind of like pancake batter. It can still be lumpy. We don't want to build up gluten.
[238 - 246] Get some nice high-quality white fish like cod or haddock. Start by gently dredging in the flour mixture and then dipping in the beer batter.
[246 - 251] Once dipped it is time to drop into a 350 degree Fahrenheit bubbling cauldron of peanut oil
[251 - 255] That is my preferred frying oil. If you have an allergy just use vegetable oil. It's fine.
[255 - 261] You'll notice how I'm waving the fish back and forth gently- that is to help the batter stay together as we slowly drop our fillet
[261 - 263] into the frying oil.
[263 - 270] We are letting this guy fry for between 6 to 9 minutes until our batter has turned a beautiful golden brown. Likewise,
[270 - 275] we're gonna let this guy drain on paper towels for a minute or two before we serve next to a mountain of french fries and
[275 - 279] tartar sauce. So there you have it guys, the healthy and very unhealthy polar extremes
[279 - 281] that fish can reach. Give it a try yourself
[282 - 284] Take a picture. Tag me on Instagram. Let me know how it goes.
[284 - 289] And I will see you guys next week in the new Binging with Babish kitchen.