Carole Food.

Filet O Fish

I love McDonald’s filet o fish! I wanted to make an at home version, but wasn’t really in the mood for the faff of deep frying, so in the oven it went. This was one of those recipes that I was pretty shocked at how well it turned out. Who knew baking battered fish could be so easy? 

I’d definitely recommend buying the softest rolls you can for this, I used brioche burger buns and they worked really well. Also don’t feel like you need to make the tartar sauce yourself, sometimes I do and sometimes I just used the jarred stuff. 

What ingredients do you need for this dish (includes possible substitutions)? 

White fish fillets: I used pollock, but other white fish fillets would work fine as a substitute, e.g. coley, cod, bass.

Plain flour: this is used to dry coat the fish. 

Panko breadcrumbs: Panko are made from white bread that is processed into flakes and then dried. Panko has a dryer and flakier consistency than regular breadcrumbs, and as a result they absorb less oil. Because of this, it produces lighter and crunchier fried (or baked!) food. I’d recommend investing in some panko breadcrumbs for this recipe.

Smoked paprika and garlic powder: gives the coating a rich flavour and slight colour. 

Egg: used for the wet batter. 

American style cheese: to get the full filet o fish experience, American style cheese is the way forward! But of course if you’re adverse to this type of cheese, use your favourite (no judgment from me). 

Brioche buns: use brioche or standard white buns, but the key thing is that they’re super soft and squidgy. 

What to serve this with? 

Some chips would of course be a great pairing. 

Instructions 

Preheat your oven and prepare the baking tray 

Preheat the oven to 240c/220c fan. Place a lined baking tray with 2 tbsp of oil in the oven, we want the tray hot when the fish is added! 

Mix together the dry ingredients 

In a shallow bowl, mix together the plain flour, breadcrumbs, flaky salt, smoked paprika and garlic powder. 

Place the egg in a bowl 

In a separate shallow bowl, add the beaten egg. 

Coat the fish in the dry and wet batter.

Lightly dip the fish in the flour mixture. Then fully coat the fish in the egg, and fully coat the fish back in the flour mixture. 

Place the fish in the oven 

Reduce the oven to 220c/200c fan, remove the tray from the oven then place the fish on the tray. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes then flip the fish and bake for an extra 5 - 10 minutes. 

Make the tartar sauce

If you want to make your own, add the tartar sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix together.

Assemble the burger

Assemble the burger by placing a slice of cheese on the bun, then the fish, then the tartar sauce. The heat from the bun and fish should melt the cheese slightly, but if not, I found placing the finished burger in the microwave for 10 second increments seems to do the trick!