Breading fillets is one of those preparations that at first glance seems to have no mystery. However, when push comes to shove, achieving a succulent result is more difficult than we think. The goal is for this breading to be crispy, without the inside being raw.
It is common to end up with a whitish, flimsy breading, without flavor, color, or consistency. To achieve crispy breaded steaks, we refer to the tips that chef Karlos Arguiñano shared last night during his time on the Antena 3 program El Hormiguero.
Karlos Arguiñano visited El Hormiguero last Thursday night to present his new book “Cocina de 10 con Karlos Arguiñano”, which includes recipes from his son Joseba. In addition to talking about the recipe book and reviewing his 30 years in charge of the kitchen of his cooking program, the chef had time to reveal some gastronomic tips to Pablo Motos.
The presenter confessed that, when he makes battered fillets, the batter is white and not at all crunchy. This happens by skimping on the oil when frying, in an attempt to save money or make it lighter and healthier. Likewise, the lack of sufficient heat is also partly to blame.
For this reason, Arguiñano recommends choosing some not very thick fillets and, after seasoning them with salt and pepper, we pass them through flour, egg and breadcrumbs. Here’s one of the chef’s tricks: crush the breadcrumbs, squeeze them a little.
“In the pan over high heat, not to cook it, but to fry it, high heat for 20 seconds on each side and that breaded steak will come out crispy without a doubt,” Arguiñano promises. To which he added, “another thing is that you make a slow breading, with a little oil and over low heat, that is overcooking,” he warned.
Motos also commented that he couldn’t get the puff pastry to rise when baking it, to which Arguiñano responded that there is no reason to do it at home. Instead, he advocates buying plates that come ready-to-bake at supermarkets.
“You cut it into the size you want, put whatever you want on top and put it in the oven at 180º degrees, about 20 minutes,” it’s that simple. “The puff pastry has to be cooked, it has to be made like a cookie,” the chef emphasizes.
As a last culinary tip: “With a fork you prick them so that they don’t rise and on top you put little things, some shrimp, some anchovies, onion… you go to the oven and in 20 minutes you have some puff pastry canapés to succeed,” Arguiñano promised.
