Recipe—Homemade Fish Sticks & Tartar Sauce

The other night I asked my son what he would like for dinner. His reply, an enthusiastic “FISH STICKS!” I was not so enthusiastic. I have never been a fan of the frozen mystery fish sticks you get in your store’s frozen section, I am however a huge fan of good, quality, fresh fish. So I was on a mission to make some out of this world homemade fish sticks. Why not go with one of the best pieces of fish on the market, halibut. These turned out incredible! By far the best fish sticks I have ever had. These were a huge hit not for only my husband and I, but my son loved them. We had a happy family all around. I served them with my macadamia nut rice and some coleslaw. Talk about totally indulgent. We will be making these again very soon.

Note: Halibut filets typically come with a layer of skin on them. Many butchers will remove it for you if you bat your eyes and ask them nicely. So unless you want to remove the skin yourself, see if you can get a butcher to remove the skin from the filet for you. Trust me, it’s worth it.

FISH STICK INGREDIENTS
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk
1 lb halibut filets cut into 1” strips
1 1/2 c panko
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 c vegetable oil

TARTAR SAUCE INGREDIENTS
1/4 c sour cream
3 tbsp mayo
2 tbsp sweet pickle relish
2 tsp capers, minced
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

GARNISH
lemon wedges

STEPS

• Make tartar sauce by combining all ingredients in a small bowl mixing well. Place tartar sauce in fridge until ready to use.
• For the fish sticks, whisk together eggs and milk.
• Add fish strips to the egg wash and gently toss to coat.
• In a shallow bowl combine panko, salt, and pepper.
• Remove the fish strips one at a time from the egg wash and coat them in the panko mixture. Set the breaded fish to the side on a cutting board as you finish them.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add as many of the fish sticks to the hot oil as you can making sure not to overlap.
• Cook for 4 minutes turning once to making sure all sides are a golden brown.
• Remove the fish sticks from the oil as they are done cooking and place on a paper towel lined sheet.
• Repeat the last 3 steps until all of the fish sticks are done.
• Serve fish sticks with the tartar sauce and a lemon wedge.