Dish the Fish: Crunchy Caesar Fish Sticks
Updated: Aug 24
You only need 3 ingredients to make these flavorful monkfish bites!
Easy as 1, 2, 3...
You probably already have two of the three ingredients you need to make these quick and easy fish sticks in your pantry: breadcrumbs, and Caesar salad dressing. All you need is the actual fish! So pop on down to your local fish market and grab some fillets. Monkfish works great in this recipe since it is a firmer-fleshed fish — remaining juicy and tender but not flaking apart after it bakes. If you prefer a different Maine fish, hake or haddock would also hold up well in this preparation. In under an hour, you'll have a delicious and local seafood feast on the table that tastes as decadent as fried fish without all the actual frying.
This recipe was inspired by our friends at Sea Salt Lobster Wholesale who cooked a version of this dish for us earlier in the year and our staff hasn't stopped dreaming about it ever since. Thanks, Shawn!
Crunchy Caesar Fish Sticks
Serves: 2-4
Prep & cook time: <1 hour
INGREDIENTS:
1# monkfish (or other firm whitefish)
1 cup Caesar salad dressing
2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400°.
Cut your fish into 1"x2" strips (or whatever shapes you like — aim for a two-bite nugget, about 1-1.5 oz each).
Put the fish pieces into a bowl, add Caesar dressing, and mix until coated.
Cover the bowl and marinate fish in the fridge for 1 hour, or as along as overnight (if you're in a pinch, you'll still get lots of flavor even with a 5-minute marinade).
Pour the breadcrumbs into a Ziplock bag.
Shake excess dressing off of fish pieces and add them to the Ziplock bag with the breadcrumbs.
Seal the bag well and shake vigorously until fish pieces are coated in crumbs.
Shake excess crumbs off of fish pieces and place them on a parchment-lined sheet tray.
Bake for 15-2o minutes, until fish reaches internal temp of 145° or is opaque in the center.
Serve hot with your favorite sauce — ketchup, mayo, tartar, you name it.
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