Chef Thomas
A British BLT
Back bacon crisped in a hot pan, a ripe tomato that actually tastes of something, crisp lettuce and real butter on proper toast. A sandwich that earns its place in the notebook.
Culinary Explorer
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Fish Finger Sandwich
Created by Chef Thomas
Homemade fish fingers in soft buttered white bread with a sharp tartare sauce. The kind of sandwich that bridges the gap between who you were at eight and who you are now, without apology.
Sandwiches & Wraps
British
Quick Meal
Comfort Food
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield2 sandwiches
The smell of fish fingers frying is one of those kitchen smells that lands somewhere between memory and appetite. You know it before you see it. The breadcrumbs going golden in hot oil, the fish turning from translucent to opaque inside its crust. It doesn't matter how old you are. That smell takes you back to a kitchen you once stood in, waiting.
The sandwich is the thing, though. Soft white bread, real butter, the fish fingers still hot enough from the pan that the butter starts to melt where they sit. Something sharp to cut through it: ketchup if you're feeling loyal to your younger self, a quick tartare sauce if you want to meet the dish halfway between comfort and cooking. Both are right. Your kitchen, your rules.
I make these with fresh fish now. A piece of cod or haddock from the fishmonger, cut into thick fingers, dredged and fried until the coating is properly crisp and the fish inside is just cooked through. Ten minutes of real work. The kind of dinner that makes you wonder why you ever complicate things. I won't pretend the frozen sort don't have their own charm, but there's a difference between a fish finger made from a slab of reconstituted something and one made from a piece of fish you chose yourself, held in your hand, pressed with your thumb to check the firmness. Sourcing is the first and most important skill.
I wrote it down in the notebook last winter: fish fingers, white bread, tartare sauce, Tuesday. We're only making dinner. But sometimes dinner is the best thing that happens all day.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
cod or haddock fillet
Quantity
400g
skinned, cut into thick fingers
plain flour
Quantity
3 tablespoons
large egg
Quantity
1
beaten
fresh white breadcrumbs
Quantity
100g
fine sea salt
Quantity
to taste
sunflower or vegetable oil
Quantity
for frying
soft white bread
Quantity
4 slices
butter
Quantity
for spreading
softened
good mayonnaise
Quantity
3 tablespoons
cornichons
Quantity
3
finely chopped
capers
Quantity
1 tablespoon
roughly chopped
lemon juice
Quantity
a squeeze
flat-leaf parsley
Quantity
small handful
chopped
Little Gem lettuce (optional)
Quantity
a few leaves
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| cod or haddock filletskinned, cut into thick fingers | 400g |
| plain flour | 3 tablespoons |
| large eggbeaten | 1 |
| fresh white breadcrumbs | 100g |
| fine sea salt | to taste |
| sunflower or vegetable oil | for frying |
| soft white bread | 4 slices |
| buttersoftened | for spreading |
| good mayonnaise | 3 tablespoons |
| cornichonsfinely chopped | 3 |
| capersroughly chopped | 1 tablespoon |
| lemon juice | a squeeze |
| flat-leaf parsleychopped | small handful |
| Little Gem lettuce (optional) | a few leaves |
Equipment Needed
- •Large frying pan
- •Three shallow dishes for breading
- •Fish slice or spatula
Instructions
- 1
Cut the fish
Pat the fish dry and cut it into thick fingers, roughly the width of two of your own. Don't be dainty. Thin strips dry out in the pan and you lose the whole point, which is that moment of biting through the crust to the soft, flaking fish inside. Season them with a little salt and set them on a plate.
- 2
Make the tartare sauce
Stir the mayonnaise, chopped cornichons, capers, lemon juice, and parsley together in a small bowl. Taste it. It should be sharp and briny, a proper counterpoint to the richness of the fried fish. If it needs more lemon, add more lemon. Set it aside. This takes two minutes and is worth every one of them.
Ketchup is also correct here. I won't pretend otherwise. But if you've gone to the trouble of making fish fingers from scratch, meet them halfway with the tartare. - 3
Bread the fish fingers
Set out three shallow dishes: flour in the first, beaten egg in the second, breadcrumbs in the third. Take each piece of fish through in order. Flour first, shaking off the excess. Then egg, letting the surplus drip away. Then breadcrumbs, pressing them on gently so the coating sticks. Lay the breaded fingers on a clean plate. Don't stack them or the crumbs go soggy where they touch.
Fresh breadcrumbs from a day-old loaf give the best texture, slightly rough and irregular, with a colour that goes properly golden rather than uniformly brown. Blitz the bread in a food processor for ten seconds, no more. - 4
Fry until golden
Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to come about a centimetre up the sides. Set it over a medium heat. When the oil shimmers and a breadcrumb dropped in sizzles immediately, the pan is ready. Lay the fish fingers in, leaving space between them. Don't crowd the pan or the temperature drops and the crumbs absorb oil instead of crisping. Fry for three to four minutes on each side, turning once, until the coating is deep golden and the fish is cooked through. You'll know. The crust goes from pale to golden to the colour of a good biscuit, and the kitchen starts to smell like something you remember. Lift them onto kitchen paper for a moment.
Trust your nose. The oil should sizzle steadily, not spit or smoke. If it's smoking, it's too hot. Pull the pan off the heat for thirty seconds, then carry on. - 5
Build the sandwich
Butter the bread generously. Not a scrape. Proper butter, corner to corner, the way you'd want someone to butter it for you. Spread tartare sauce on two of the slices. Lay the fish fingers on top, three or four per sandwich, close together so every bite gets fish. Add a leaf or two of lettuce if you like the cool crunch against the hot crust. Press the top slice down gently, cut in half, and eat it standing up if you want to. Nobody's watching. There are few better feelings than putting a warm plate in front of someone, but eating this over the kitchen sink on a tired Wednesday comes close.
Chef Tips
- •Buy the fish from a fishmonger if you can. Cod and haddock both work, but haddock has a slightly sweeter flavour that I prefer here. Ask for a thick piece from the loin end. It holds together better when you cut it into fingers and won't fall apart in the pan.
- •The bread matters more than you think. You want something soft, white, and slightly cheap about it. A proper bloomer or a farmhouse white, not sourdough, not a rustic loaf with holes in it. The bread needs to yield to the crunch of the fish finger, not compete with it.
- •If you're feeding children, or the child in yourself, leave the tartare sauce on the side and put the ketchup on the table. A recipe is a conversation, not a contract. Let people build their own sandwich the way they want it.
Advance Preparation
- •The tartare sauce can be made a day ahead and kept in the fridge. It improves slightly as the flavours settle together.
- •Fish fingers can be breaded up to an hour before frying and kept in the fridge on a plate, uncovered. The coating firms up and holds together better in the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 330g)
Calories
850 calories
Total Fat
47 g
Saturated Fat
11 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
34 g
Cholesterol
190 mg
Sodium
1730 mg
Total Carbohydrates
57 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
48 g
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