Graham Cracker Coated Fish
Inspired by a Sara's Secrets show on her favorite restaurant dishes, we coat fish with an unusual cracker—a graham cracker! On the show, calamari was coated with a graham cracker and flour mixture. We replace the squid with a simple white fish fillet. The slightly sweet coating is adored by the children. It works for the adults as well, complemented by a spicy cocktail sauce or a sharp malt vinegar. Originally served as part of: Graham Crackers Everywhere.
Ingredients
- 1¼ pounds fresh, skinned, cod fillet fish
- ½ cup whole milk
- canola oil
- 5 sheets low-fat honey graham crackers (Honey Maid)
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- coarse salt
- malt vinegar
- olive mayonnaise
- substituting with lime juice and Chipotle hot sauce cocktail sauce
Instructions
We begin by soaking the whole cod fillet in some milk for tenderness and freshness. We rinse it, put it in a large resealable plastic bag, add milk, and close the bag. We wash up and then put the bag in a bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
We put our Dutch oven (a deep heavy pot) on the stove and put about an inch and a half of oil in it for frying. We turn on the heat to medium-high and put a frying thermometer into the oil. We want the oil to reach 365° to start frying.
While the fish soaks, we break the graham crackers into smaller pieces and put in the food processor. We purée the graham crackers, yielding 2/3 cup.
The graham cracker purée is combined in another plastic bag with an equal amount of flour. We seal, shake, and set aside. We also get a dinner plate ready, covered with paper towels.
When the oil is almost ready, we pull the fish from the bag and use kitchen scissors to cut the fish into 1 inch by 2 inch strips.
We add a third of the pieces of fish to the graham cracker flour mixture and shake. We gently put the fish into the oil, one at a time, and cook for 1 minute. We turn them with our chinese strainer and cook for another minute or so. We want the fish golden.
We remove them to the paper-towel-lined plate and sprinkle with salt. We put more fish pieces into the coating, shake, and then when the oil is back up to 375° or so we repeat the frying. We could have transferred the already cooked fish into a warm oven, but we do not bother here. We let the 2 batches of fish cool slightly for our children and the rest we eat ourselves.
Ingredients
- 1¼ lb fresh skinned cod fillet
- ½ cup whole milk
- canola oil (for frying)
- 5 sheets low-fat honey graham crackers (Honey Maid)
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- coarse salt
- malt vinegar
- olive mayonnaise
- cocktail sauce (made with lime and chipotle hot sauce)
Instructions
What's a kid job?
A Kid job is a step kids can help with, with a grown-up nearby, not one they do on their own. Every kid is different, so go by what your child can do rather than by age. Roughly:
- Little ones (about 2 to 4) can stir, pour in ingredients a grown-up has measured, tear lettuce, wash vegetables and sprinkle toppings.
- Older kids (about 5 to 8) can also measure and level, crack eggs, whisk, roll and cut out dough, and put things together.
- Bigger kids can read the recipe aloud, keep track of the timer, and take on more of the cooking as they're ready.
Steps with a knife, microplane, skewers, stove, oven, grill or hot oil, or with raw meat, poultry or seafood, are marked Grown-up. Kids can still watch those, from a safe distance.
Grown-up
Rinse the cod, put it in a large resealable bag with the milk, seal, and refrigerate in a bowl 15 minutes. Wash up.
Grown-up
Heat 1½ inches of oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat with a thermometer, to 365°F.
Kid job
Meanwhile, break up the graham crackers and grind them fine in the food processor (about ⅔ cup). Shake with the flour in another bag. Line a plate with paper towels.
Grown-up
When the oil is nearly ready, cut the fish into 1-by-2-inch strips with kitchen scissors. Shake a third of the pieces in the coating and gently lower them into the oil. Fry 1 minute, turn with a spider, and fry about 1 minute more, until golden.
Drain on paper towels and salt. Let the oil come back to about 375°F between batches. Serve with malt vinegar, olive mayonnaise or a spicy cocktail sauce.