Crunchy Air-Fried Cod Fillets
By America's Test KitchenPublished on January 6, 2020
Time
45 minutes (12 minutes cook time)
Yield
Serves 2
Ingredients
⅓ cup panko bread crumbs 1 teaspoon vegetable oil 1 small shallot, minced1 small garlic clove, minced½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ⅛ teaspoon driedSalt and pepper 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 1 large egg yolk ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving2 (8-ounce) skinless cod fillets, 1¼ inches thick
Before You Begin
You can substitute halibut or haddock for the cod. Serve with Creamy Chipotle Chile Sauce, if desired.
Instructions
- Make foil sling for air-fryer basket by folding 1 long sheet of aluminum foil so it is 4 inches wide. Lay sheet of foil widthwise across basket, pressing foil into and up sides of basket. Fold excess foil as needed so that edges of foil are flush with top of basket. Lightly spray foil and basket with vegetable oil spray.
- Toss panko with oil in bowl until evenly coated. Stir in shallot, garlic, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Microwave, stirring frequently, until panko is light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to shallow dish and let cool slightly; stir in parsley. Whisk mayonnaise, egg yolk, lemon zest, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper together in bowl.
- Pat cod dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Arrange fillets skinned side down on plate and brush tops evenly with mayonnaise mixture. (Tuck thinner tail ends of fillets under themselves as needed to create uniform pieces.) Working with 1 fillet at a time, dredge coated side in panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Arrange fillets crumb side up on sling in prepared basket, spaced evenly apart. Place basket in air fryer and set temperature to 300 degrees. Cook until cod registers 140 degrees, 12 to 16 minutes, using sling to rotate fillets halfway through cooking. Using sling, carefully remove cod from air fryer. Serve with lemon wedges.
Photography by Daniel J. van Ackere. Styling by Chantal Lambeth.
Photography by Daniel J. van Ackere. Styling by Chantal Lambeth.
Time
45 minutes (12 minutes cook time)Yield
Serves 2Ingredients
⅓ cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 small shallot, minced
1 small garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ⅛ teaspoon dried
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 large egg yolk
¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving
2 (8-ounce) skinless cod fillets, 1¼ inches thick
Ingredients
⅓ cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 small shallot, minced
1 small garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ⅛ teaspoon dried
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 large egg yolk
¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving
2 (8-ounce) skinless cod fillets, 1¼ inches thick
Ingredients
⅓ cup panko bread crumbs
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 small shallot, minced
1 small garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon minced fresh thyme or ⅛ teaspoon dried
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 large egg yolk
¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus lemon wedges for serving
2 (8-ounce) skinless cod fillets, 1¼ inches thick
Why This Recipe Works
Fish is so moist that any attempt to give it a crisp crust (short of deep frying) is likely to end up soggy. Rather than fight this, we didn't try to bread the fish all over but instead simply pressed pretoasted panko crumbs onto the top, which streamlined the process and still gave us crunch in every bite. A coating of mayonnaise, egg yolk, and lemon zest boosted flavor and helped the crumbs adhere. But even with our streamlined breading, the flaky cod was too delicate to lift from the air-fryer basket without breaking. A foil sling came to the rescue, enabling us to rotate and later remove the fillets in one piece.
Before You Begin
You can substitute halibut or haddock for the cod. Serve with Creamy Chipotle Chile Sauce, if desired.
Instructions
- Make foil sling for air-fryer basket by folding 1 long sheet of aluminum foil so it is 4 inches wide. Lay sheet of foil widthwise across basket, pressing foil into and up sides of basket. Fold excess foil as needed so that edges of foil are flush with top of basket. Lightly spray foil and basket with vegetable oil spray.
- Toss panko with oil in bowl until evenly coated. Stir in shallot, garlic, thyme, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper. Microwave, stirring frequently, until panko is light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer to shallow dish and let cool slightly; stir in parsley. Whisk mayonnaise, egg yolk, lemon zest, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper together in bowl.
- Pat cod dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Arrange fillets skinned side down on plate and brush tops evenly with mayonnaise mixture. (Tuck thinner tail ends of fillets under themselves as needed to create uniform pieces.) Working with 1 fillet at a time, dredge coated side in panko mixture, pressing gently to adhere. Arrange fillets crumb side up on sling in prepared basket, spaced evenly apart. Place basket in air fryer and set temperature to 300 degrees. Cook until cod registers 140 degrees, 12 to 16 minutes, using sling to rotate fillets halfway through cooking. Using sling, carefully remove cod from air fryer. Serve with lemon wedges.
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20 Comments
Louis P.
1 year ago
It turned out better than expected, I will cook it again.
I browned panko crumbs in a skillet not in microwave.
I didn’t use an aluminum foil boat. Just careful flipped with a very thin spatula. Crust stayed on.
We have a Instapot Vortex with a perforated metal basket not a wire basket.
Thin pieces cooked 12 minutes. Thick cooked 16 minutes.
MONA W.
1 year ago
The crumb coating was delicious and came out nice and crunchy. The fish needed to be seasoned on both sides before adding the coating.
I used my Thermapen Dot to monitor the temp and it came out at exactly 140. The texture of the fish was good and it was tender. The topping tasted good, but the wild-caught Alaskan Cod wasn't enjoyable to eat due to the lack of seasoning. (salt) If I make this again, I will season the fish because the seasoned crumb topping by itself doesn't cut it. My husband didn't enjoy it either.
I followed the recipe to the T and usually love all Cook's Illustrated recipes.
Eric G.
1 year ago
This was one of the best tasting fish dishes I've ever had and the air fryer makes it almost effortless. The crumb coating was marvelously crispy and very flavorful, but doesn't take anything away from the delicate fish. I used thawed frozen cod from Costco and it came out great. I was cooking for me only tonight and had 1 lonely piece of cod in the freezer and thus had a lot of crumbs left over which I added to my side dish of wilted greens. Yummy. Also, I got ahead of myself and coated all sides of the fish with the yolk/mayo mixture and put the crumbs on both sides too. Only after doing that did I realize it was supposed to be only one side. No problem at all and I flipped the fish halfway through baking and had beautifully crisped crumbs all around. Taking heed from other commenters, I checked early for doneness and it was at 130. 3 more minutes brought it up to 140 and was perfectly cooked. I have some leftover yolk/mayo coating and may use it for air fryer boneless pork chops tomorrow.