Breaded Panko Cod. An Experiment.

Once upon a time, when I first began Above My Waves, I had a day called Monday Meals in which I wrote about my adventures in cooking. It has, admittedly, been a while since I posted about my cooking adventures, but today is a special day, my friends. You see, yesterday I had a true experiment–for me. For the first time, I made breaded fish. This is my adventure in cooking breaded Cod. Also french fries, but I just put those in the air fryer per usual.

Do I Even Like Cod?

That is the question I asked myself as I was thawing the fish.

I do like fish. In fact, one of my go-to lunches lately has been a Dill Tuna sandwich and one of my favorite dinners is Teriyaki Baked Salmon with Kale. My favorite restaurant? It’s Red Lobster. So yes, I enjoy fish. A lot. But Cod? I can’t remember the last time I ate Codfish. Which means it didn’t really hook me. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) However, my husband likes it and requested it for dinner, so I made it.

All-Purpose Flour. Or Not?

I actually had breaded Cod on the menu for last week, but when I looked at the recipe on the box it called for All Purpose flour, which I definitely do not have. So I gladly made something else for dinner that night. I made sure to add APF to our shopping list, though. Then, when we were finalizing our list, the hubby looked at the recipe and we realized that we do not, in fact, need the flour. Oops. Oh well.

Fast forward to last night. I double checked with a recipe search on Pinterest and sure enough, I did not need flour. Yippee!! Good thing, too, because we definitely did not buy flour.

So. If you are wondering if you need Flour for Panko Breaded Cod, you do not. I don’t think.

The Process.

First of all. I assumed the Cod came in individual packages like Salmon does. It does not and since the bag had been in the freezer for awhile, all the fish was frozen together. I just let the bag sit in some hot water in the sink until most of it was thawed then stuck the rest in the microwave. Not a big deal, but it did put me behind just a bit.

Second mistake: When mixing the seasoning in with the panko crumbs, I used the wrong seasoning. I had intended to use the Bay Seasoning and instead I used Cajun. Thankfully it wasn’t much and I just sprinkled the Bay Seasoning on top of the fish before putting it in the oven.

Okay so after mixing together the crumbs and seasoning, I whisked a single egg with a bit of olive oil, dipped the fish in and coated it with the crumbs. I also lightly coated the glass baking dish with olive oil so that the fish wouldn’t stick to it before placing the breaded fish in. Then I baked it for seven minutes, turned them over, and baked for another seven.

The Results.

Good news! The breading turned out good.

Bad news! I do not like Cod.

I didn’t even finish my single fillet. I had mostly french fries for dinner. (I knew I should’ve baked some kale or steamed veggies like I originally planned.) Not even a coating of tartar sauce could help me stomach it.

My hubby said he liked the breading, though he admitted that something was missing. But hey! That’s why this is an experiment, right?! Maybe it would’ve tasted better on some other type of fish? Maybe I should’ve browned the crumbs before coating the fish? (Even though the box said the crumbs were already toasted, so Idk.)

I guess it’s back to the experiment counter.

Do you have any suggestions?

Have you made breaded fish before? Please, share your wisdom with me! I will gladly read and learn from your comments on this.

Happy Wednesday!