Fish Sticks Recipe

Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on a package of fish sticks? There are so many unpronounceable ingredients that it’s a little disturbing. And often the first ingredient in minced fish.

That means it has been pressed into stick shapes and held together with some kind of binding agent.  I don’t know about you, but I think that any home cook can do better for their family than store-bought fish sticks. Use a nice mild fish like pollock or haddock for the kids, and then offer a couple of dipping sauces - one the kids will enjoy and another for the adults.

White fish is very economical to buy, and sustainable sources are easy to find, as well.  Make a whole bunch of fish sticks at one time, and freeze some for another meal or two. Here’s a great opportunity to break out your FoodSaver to freeze the fish in.

Fish Sticks

It is hard to say how many this recipe will feed - it completely depends on who is eating, how many are eating, and how hungry they are. Figure 2-3 fish sticks per young child and maybe 4-6 per older kids and adults.  Feel free to pan fry or bake these. They will be very tasty either way.

• 1 pound mild white fish fillets, such as pollock, haddock, flounder or tilapia
• juice of half a lemon
• 1 cup flour
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 cups dried fine bread crumbs, preferably panko
• 1/2-1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (or your favorite spice blend)
• olive oil (not extra virgin) for frying, optional

Cut the fillets into sticks of as equal a size as you can get, approximately 3-4″x1/2″.

Sprinkle the fish with lemon juice. Set aside.

Stir salt and pepper, to taste, into the flour and put in a shallow dish.

Place the egg whites in a shallow dish.

Whisk your preferred seasoning blend into the bread crumbs, and put in a shallow dish.

Spray a cooling rack with pan spray and set over a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.

Dredge each fish stick in lightly in the seasoned flour, knocking off the excess. Then, dip in the egg white. Let drain a few seconds. Lastly, dredge in the seasoned bread crumbs. Set each stick on the rack.

At this point, you can either bake these or pan fry.

To bake:

Preheat the oven to 450F.

Let the fish sticks set up for about ten minutes on the rack. This will help to keep the breading from flaking off.

Bake on the cooling rack/jelly roll pan set up until the fish is cooked and the breading is nice and golden brown, about ten minutes.

To pan fry:

Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat until hot.

Add olive oil to a depth of about 1/4″.

When the oil is hot, fry the sticks, making sure not to crowd the pan.  Turn as each side cooks and turns golden brown. Total cooking time will be about ten minutes.

Remove to paper towels to drain.

Kid-Friendly Sauces

• ketchup
• honey mustard (simply whisk together honey and mustard, to taste)
• the kids’ favorite barbecue sauce
• ranch dressing or other salad dressing
• tartar sauce
• raita or tzatziki sauce
• marinara sauce

Adult-Friendly Sauces

• Hollandaise sauce seasoned with parsley and dill
• Cocktail sauce with horseradish
• Soy sauce and Sriracha
• a mixture of mirin, dark soy sauce, minced fresh ginger and a pinch of sugar
• curry sauce
• sauce puttanesca