cornmeal crusted lime chili tilapia

I only made this once before but it came out really good. Hopefully I remember how I did this. Tilapia is a low fat, sustainable, cheap, and easy to flavor fish. This is an easy and quick to prepare recipe.

4 tilapia filets
3/4 cup coarse ground cornmeal
3/4 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp ancho or chipolte powder
1/2 tsp old bay
2 eggs
2 limes for zest and juice
Handful of cilantro leaves
Canola oil for pan frying

Begin by mixing your breadcrumbs cornmeal salt and pepper in a flat dish for breading. In a separate dish mix your flour ancho or chipolte powder and old bay. In a third dish crack two eggs and zest your limes. Beat lightly and allow to sit for a few minutes so the zest releases some if oils.

Now take your fillets and cut if half crosswise. Worry more about weight then size when halving, do your best to estimate. Pat fillets with a paper towel if the appear damp. Now dredge each piece in flour being sure to shake off excess. Then egg bath then breadcrumb/cornmeal mix.

While breading the fillets have your biggest heavy skillet heating over medium heat with quarter inch of oil in the pan. Once the oil is shimmering you are ready for the fish. Leave 2 inches of space around each piece. Do not over crowd the pan or else your fish will cook unevenly! It's better to cook in several batches. Leave each piece for 3-4 mins on the first side or until golden brown. Try not to play with the fillets too much or else you won't get a nice evenly brown crust. Turn over and give another 4-6 mins or until brown. Drain on paper towels. When ready to serve squeeze a little lime juice over and sprinkle some cilantro on each piece.

Notes:
If you don' have access to ancho or chipotle powder, ground cayenne is a good substitute.

Putting your seasoning in the flour dredge may seem like a waste but with spice blends such as old bay there are a lot of spices that easily burn (such as paprika). By hiding the spices under the breading you preserve the flavor and allow it to cook into to meat.

Make sure your fry oil is fully heated before adding the fish. If it isn't fully heated you will end up with soggy greasy under cooked fish. Also allow enough time in between each batch to let the oil come back up to temperature.

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