Once again I’m a day late and a dollar short – although not so short on dollars that I couldn’t buy my fish and my bacon.
This week’s recipe was for Panfried Fish Sandwiches with Bacon Mayonnaise. Just say that to yourself a few times, reverently.
Bronwen chose the recipe from The Improvisational Cook – which looks like something I ought to get my hands on. Because lately I’m all about tweaking recipes. This week I didn’t change much, though, and it was a thing of beauty as is.
First you cook your bacon, and perhaps nibble on it or save it for a BLT later. Then you mix your warm bacon fat with some mayonnaise. Which is a beautiful thing. In the meantime, you can salt and pepper your fish and dredge it in flour. The recipe recommended a meaty white fish such as striped or black bass, red snapper, or grouper, none of which were at the fish counter at NS. So I went with a ling cod that was rated yellow on their scale, ie ‘good alternatives.’ I have no idea about ling vs other cods, but I figured since it was smothering it in fats and frying it, I didn’t need to worry about getting a fancy fish.
I put a few slices of leftover crusty potato bread under the broiler (on low) and then cooked the fish – in olive oil AND butter as recommended, plus I used the bacon pan so there was a bit of bacon fat left in there for good measure. Medium high, a minute and a half per side and it looked perfectly done. I forgot to pat it dry, so the bread got a trifle soggy, but that might have happened anyway. When it was toasted, I sprinkled a little olive oil on the bread and rubbed it with a cut-open clove of garlic. Do not skip this step, especially if you like garlic. Not only does it smell heavenly when you’re rubbing the warm bread, but it really adds a lot of taste. Then spread the bread with your bacon mayo (I used TJ’s mayo, but I bet homemade would be even more fabulous). Top with the fish, plenty of lettuce, and a garden tomato is nice, too, if you have one.
I’m looking forward to a repeat for tomorrow’s lunch. I bought 1/2 lb of fish and sliced it in half horizontally, perfect for two sandwiches. I had this one for lunch while reading the New Yorker’s food issue.
6 comments
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September 11, 2007 at 4:07 pm
J
That’s a goodlooking recipe.
Did you read about olive oil crime?
September 12, 2007 at 6:35 am
pam
This sounds incredible. I can feel my arteries hardening while I read this, but also, my mouth is totally watering.
September 12, 2007 at 8:44 am
jessmonster
J, I couldn’t find the olive oil article. It’s not in the food issue as far as I could see.
Pam, I think that a three-kinds-of-fat panfried fish sandwich can be part of a balanced diet. What is it they always say in cereal commercials? Where it’s totally sugar and empty carbs and they tell you that along with a balanced diet, it can lower your cholesterol? Just like that, only much much better.
September 12, 2007 at 9:22 am
Di
That sandwich looks incredible!!!
September 24, 2007 at 12:29 pm
beege
BACON MAYO?!
I think I just died and went to heaven.
September 24, 2007 at 12:34 pm
jessmonster
Bacon mayo – easy and delicious. Why not make some today? See, I could write copy for bacon mayo.